Why Is My Smart TV So Dumb?

 FLORIDA  

Opinion by:  
E. Eugene Webb PhD

I have several smart TVs in my home. All of them bill themselves as excellent devices to use to access the Internet, view streaming content, and the list goes on.

After a couple of years of trying to figure these devices out, I have concluded that they are not really all that smart.

The first and most disconcerting thing about these so-called smart TVs, is the scrolling interface, you know, that little screen that pops up when you want to do something and you must navigate around with your remote, it is absolutely maddening.

So, here is a simple solution to that problem if you would like to try it.  Most of the smart TVs allow for interfacing Bluetooth devices to them, and I have acquired a Bluetooth keyboard and a Bluetooth mouse and paired both with my smart TVs. For the most part you can use the keyboard instead of that irritating remote navigation screen.

Second is this whole issue of applications from both the Android and Google play stores. Some TVs will not let you download some apps from either store because they now have their own proprietary app that does tracking and generates revenue for them.

I have one of those TVs, you will soon be able to purchase it at one of the local Goodwill stores.

Regarding smart TV apps, take it from me they are not all the same. For example, I have an app labeled NBC News and then I have another app from NBC labeled NBC News. The first one allows you access to all the NBC News services but constantly buffers. The one from NBC works quite well. Check the application’s source before you download.

Like your cell phone, your smart TV is primarily an information gathering, marketing, and selling tool. Its primary purpose in life is not necessarily to provide you with an intelligent interface to the Internet, but to provide massive amounts of data back to the TV manufacturer or the app location for their use in sales while generating the maximum amount of revenue.

If you use your smart TV with the applications that come pre-installed, you will find that things work quite well. If you decide to download some custom applications, you will find that things get complicated in a hurry.

I would like to see some artificial intelligence start showing up in the smart TVs where I can simply sit there and have a conversation with the TV about what I would like to look at, how I would like it presented, and why is everything buffering so much. Let's just do away with that little app that provides the screen you can scroll around with the remote.

Finally, be careful where you click. If you have a credit card on file with Google, Apple, iTunes, Amazon, or any other app on your cell phone and you inadvertently click an app you may have just paid for it. One thing I have noticed is that my smart TV is quite capable of figuring out where my credit cards are.

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