The Future Of Smart TV Technology - Research Paper Example

The Future Of Smart TV Technology Introduction There is no denying the fact that there are but a few inventions that had such a salient impact on the contemporary society as the TV. At the beginning of TV the interested researchers had two technological options facing them. One was to make a mechanical TV based on the principle of rotating disks invented by Paul Nipkow (Smith, 2008, p. 20). The other technological possibility was to invent an electronic television that relied for its success on a range of electronic components like the cathode ray tube invented in 1907 by Boris Rosing and A.A. Campbell-Swinton (Smith, 2008, p. 20). Eventually it was the electronic television that was found to work better as compared to a mechanical television. It was in 1927 that Philo Farnsworth invented the dissector tube that enabled him to successfully transmit a television image (Smith, 2008, p. 24). Also it was Louis Parker who invented the television receiver in 1948 (Smith, 2008, p. 25). The earlier televisions were black and white. Colour television that became a rage was first patented by Zworykin in 1925 (Smith, 2008, p. 25). Since then the electronic gadget called TV has seen much technological development and advancement. In that context, it does need to be mentioned that the smart TVs are the latest entrants in the world of television that have not only expanded the scope of television, but have rather revolutionized the way a television is perceived and thought about be the modern consumers. What is a Smart TV? A smart TV could be any TV that has an inbuilt internet access which enables it to engage with a wide range of internet services like instant messaging, video on demand and social networking (Willis, 2009, p. 226). Some smart TVs even come with a complete web browser that allows access to the websites a consumer wants to see (Harris, 2002, p. 264). Today most of the TVs come with an inbuilt smart functionality and even budget TV sets have started to incorporate some smart functions. It goes without saying that in order to consume the internet based features offered by a smart TV one needs to have internet connectivity. Many of the smart TVs come with an Ethernet port placed at their back that could be plugged directly into a broadband router (Manila Bulletin, 2012). There are also smart TVs that could access Wi-Fi connectivity through the inbuilt features or an optional USB dongle (Manila Bulletin, 2012). The Technology behind Smart TV Smart TVs were but simply a natural progression of the electronic world going online. With the capability to built features in the electronic devices which enabled them to establish internet connectivity, it was but natural to think of a TV that had an element of internet services and connectivity tagged to it. The very first patent for a Smart TV was filed in 1994 (Harris, 2002). Since then, the concept of Smart TV has been evolving and metamorphosing with the advent of open source software frameworks and proprietary software frameworks, which have the capability to run online applications (Marsden, 2012, p. 41). The question that arises is as to what is the technology that makes a Smart TV different? Well, the Smart TV is a compilation of the varied IT innovations invented in the recent times. A Smart TV is a modern day TV that is technologically integrated with an internet access that allows it to engage in online media access, demand streaming media and allows it access the content saved in external storage devices like a USB drive (Marsden, 2012, p. 41). A contemporary Smart TV comprises of almost 2500 hi-tech components and is a state of the art assemblage of many software technologies and the traditional TV hardware A Smart TV has the built in ability to access the internet either hardwired or in a wireless manner with the help of a processor and an embedded operating system or software, very much like the computers, cell phones and similar electronic devices (Dove, 2011). The primary technological objective behind a Smart TV is accessing the online content, with a secondary focus on the conventional broadcast, which happened to be the objective behind the earlier conventional TVs (Dove, 2011). The pivotal feature of a Smart TV is that it facilitates an enhanced viewing with the aid of real time data oriented content, and is interactive with the web, without requiring any computer to enable it to do so (Dove, 2011). Advantages of Smart TV A Smart TV allows for broadcasting programming and searching personal and online content from a single TV interface (Hillery, 2011). The scope of the Smart TV is very wide as compared to a conventional TV and it allows the consumer to access a range of entertainment possibilities thereby enhancing the overall consumer experience. A Smart TV allows the user to download applications online, much like it is the case with mobile phones (Hillery, 2011). A Smart TV allows a user to access social networking sites while watching TV programs and movies on the very same television interface (Hillery, 2011). Modern Smart TVs could also access cloud storage, thereby allowing the users to watch their content in multiple ways on their TV sets (Hillery, 2011). Considering that a Smart TV comes with multiple USB ports, one could attach devices like digital cameras and cell phones to one’s Smart TV. Disadvantages of Smart TV The biggest drawback of a Smart TV is the scarce content that could be accessed through app stores and via IPTV (Hillery, 2011). Although there are third parties that are interested in developing engaging apps, yet this initiative is being derailed by the proprietary approach of the salient TV brands (Hillery, 2011). Much of the existent IPTV content is not accessible as the local broadcasters have purchased the rights to transmit such content (Hillery, 2011). In the case of a poor broadcast, the quality of the content on a Smart TV may get negatively impacted. Conclusion When it comes to the consumer display technology, Smart TVs are the latest and most modern way to access content. Smart TVs have not only revolutionized the world of entertainment, but also offer a range of commensurate possibilities, which was never the case with the conventional TVs. Smart TVs are indeed the future of consumer display technology. References Dove, J. (2011, October 17). The Future of Smart TV Technology. Retrieved from http://www.investmentu.com/2011/October/smart-tv-technology.html Harris, C. (2002). Hyperinnovation. New York: Palgrave. Hillery, A. (2011, October 7). Smart TV: The Facts. Gadget Guy. Retrieved from http://www.gadgetguy.com.au/buyers-guide/smart-tv-the-facts/4/ Marsden, R. (2012, December 2). Long Live the Festive TV Schedule. The Independent, 40-41. Samsung: Future of Smart TV. (2012, April 12) Manila Bulletin, 14-15. Smith, A.R. (2008). Television an International History. New York: Oxford University Press. Willis, J. (2009). The Age of Multimedia and Turbo News. Westport, CT: Praeger. Read More