Smart TV has become the latest wave of television models to hit the market. It has more features than a normal TV, but the prices are close to one lakh rupees and more. But instead, a box that can connect externally can make the TV at home smart. It costs very less money compared to a SmartTV and provides the opportunity to provide more benefits.
Things on SmartTVs
The main difference between a SmartTV and a normal TV is that it contains a brain or processor and turns it into a computer. Phones with number pads have become smartphones and something has happened here. These TVs run a high-end operating system. It brings things that can be done on a computer or mobile phone to the big screen beyond watching TV. With this, you get the opportunity to connect to the Internet and use Facebook, surf the Internet, and watch YouTube videos, Netflix, etc. on a wide screen.
Android TV operating system is seen in most SmartTVs. As with phone operating systems, manufacturing companies make changes to match the capabilities of the device and give it its own unique look. Because of this, sometimes they have to be trapped in their own App store. But instead of connecting another Box, all the facilities can be used with a single device, saving space, reducing the number of wires, and only having to use a single remote can be called its advantages. For those few advantages, you have to spend about fifty thousand more than the price of a normal TV.
Box types that bring solutions
If you have a large TV at home and it has an HDMI port, it can easily be turned into a smart TV. You don’t have to worry about HDMI because you can also find boxes that have facilities for connecting VCD/DVD players. Disadvantages include a bit of space around the TV and possibly adding another remote, but considering the price difference, we believe it won’t be much of a problem. Below are some popular devices that make a regular TV smart.
MiraCast or Chromecast
You can get a device with Miracast or direct phone or computer screen direct to TV technology at a low price in the internet market. These allow you to view a Chrome-installed laptop or Android phone on the widescreen over Wi-Fi. If you wipe the screen while playing a game on the phone, this becomes a good solution if you want to watch a YouTube video on the widescreen. Chromecast is a slightly more expensive product. Its specialty is that when a YouTube video is played, it is run using the YouTube app owned by that device. Then you will have the opportunity to do other work on the phone in the meantime. To connect the Chromecast, you have to use the power from the TV’s USB port or the phone charger connected to the wall and the HDMI port as input.
Apple TV
As an Apple fan, you can connect an Apple TV to your TV. But since most of the services there are still not supported in Sri Lanka (this is why these devices are not officially available for sale in Sri Lanka) until then, you can surf the internet, and watch photos or videos on your phone through the AirPlay app. A separate remote is available to control this. Alternatively, it can be controlled through the Apple TV Remote app or the Apple Watch. Since Siri is also installed there, it is possible to control the TV through voice without selecting anything. As for the price, it is sky high as usual for an Apple product.
Amazon FireTV
It can be seen in two models a dongle, a remote (FireTV stick), and a slightly larger size (FireTV) to get your choice. This can primarily be used to watch videos on the Internet. Services like NetFlix are related to this and the website says that Prime Video will be provided with basic-level support for Sri Lanka as well. As a product of a well-known company, it cannot be forgotten under this title.
Android TV Box
After MiraCast, Android TV Box can be called as a more powerful and affordable product. Various Chinese name companies in the internet market bring various products under this. So we use the common name Android TV Box here. The specialty of this device is that it is not just dependent on the phone or computer, but it should be powerful as another phone. While choosing these, you have to be careful about the processor and RAM according to your needs while choosing a phone. Especially if you are a computer gamer, you should go for the perfect one of those things. You don’t need a phone to use this, it even helps a TV without a USB to view the contents of the Pen drive, and SD card. These devices provide the opportunity to install apps from the Play Store on the phone as well as through Wi-Fi and do everything done on the phone on the wide-screen TV.
The practical situation in Sri Lanka
The main reason why smartphones became popular in our country was that the young generation realized that more than phones with NumberPad, they can do as much work as a computer through the phone. But as the TV becomes a family device, it is used by people of different age groups and different levels of technical knowledge. Most adults only want the corresponding channel to appear on the screen when they press the number—because of this, keeping a smart TV at home and getting an Android Box will have to be done amid many objections.
But it is not that much of a problem when watching anything over the internet, if you are watching Sri Lankan channels through TV signals, you have to leave the Android Box’s HDMI mode and return to the TV mode again. If you guys use it and finally change the settings to the same way as before, it won’t be a problem for the family. Being able to watch computer games, videos, photos as well as even a video call on the phone on a widescreen, rather than buying a smart TV at a huge cost, being able to do it easily with the money in hand through these devices becomes a good place to experience new technology.