Education needed please - Smart TVs

JohnB47

Hi.

I still have an old CRT type TV - perfectly OK but I'm now wondering about buying a new flat screen/slim one. The thing is, I've not been keeping up with latest developments e.g. I understand the term 'Smart TV' is now being used but I've no real idea what it means. Similarly I don't know what type of TV technology is available (LED, other?) and what is regarded as good and bad. Also, I believe that some manufacturers use their own 'systems' to integrate other home media with the TV.

Can anyone point me to a good Internet resource that will bring me up to speed?

I have an XP laptop, BT Broadband with wireless router and a Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tablet PC. Oh and I have a Humax 9300T PVR, which I may decide to change soon as I'm having a 'skipping' problem - not sure if it's the PVR or our relatively new Arial.

I Imagine some will ask, well what do you want to do with a new TV? The only thing I can suggest is being able to view the internet and view catch-up TV, like on the BBC iPlayer. Then again, perhaps there are things I could do that I don't know about yet.

Any advice appreciated.

S0litaire

"Smart TV" just means a TV that can access some services on the internet like :
Youtube, iPlayer ITV / Ch4/ Ch5 Catchup services. It also has access to subscription streaming sites like LoveFilm, NetFlix, Blink & Now TV (not all TV's will give the same choices).

It can also act as a basic PVR. It's not like the Humax, you can only record a single channel at a time and usually you can't change the channel to watch something else while it records.

almillar

Buy a YouView box, and whatever TV you like, I prefer brand names. You don't mention size, but go as big as possible, and make sure it's a 1080p screen, and it should also have Freeview HD these days. I think 100Hz motion stuff is a gimmick, as are most of the terms thrown about by manufacturers.
The YouView box will cover the smartness you need (all the catchup channels, really nicely intergrated) and is also a Freeview HD recorder.
'Smart TV' copies from smartphone, a familiar term, but for TVs basically means 'can connect to some services on the internet'. Which service, and how good the 'apps' are, varies massively.

JohnB47

Thanks folks. Something to get me started there.