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Hisense's $10,000 'Laser TV' is a true home cinema in box
Hisense announced a new theater system today -- the 100-inch 4K Ultra HD Smart Laser TV -- which is essentially a projector with speakers. The company says it uses movie theater technology to provide crisp, bright images that don't depend on the lighting in the room and Harman Kardon speakers to provide "room-filling sound with virtually no distortion."
Samsung's 43-inch Frame TV is like a fancy art piece for your wall
When Samsung announced The Frame TV earlier this year, it quickly became a product of interest for people with minimalist taste. That's because it's essentially designed to double as an art piece, and its aesthetics can easily blend in with any paintings you may have on your wall. It launched in June in both 55- and 65-inch size, but at IFA 2017, Samsung unveiled a new 43-inch model. This may be a good option for those of you who maybe liked the looks of the TV but would prefer it in a smaller size.
Samsung has a 43-inch version of its Frame TV for smaller spaces
Samsung has announced that its art-inspired Frame TV, which launched this past June, will soon come in a 43-inch version. The new model could be a good alternative for people who may not be able to fit one of the existing 55- or 65-inch Frame TVs on their wall, or for those who simply think the others are too large for their taste. As part of today's reveal, Samsung also said that it has partnered with Spain's Museo del Prado, aka the Prado museum, on an experience that will let Frame TV owners display about 1,000 of its pieces. There's no word on pricing or availability yet, but you can expect the 43-inch version to cost around $1,500 since the 55 and 65 are $2,000 and $2,800, respectively.
Shazam brings its music-recognition skills to Samsung TVs
Samsung and Shazam have partnered up to put an end to the head-scratching torment of hearing an unidentifiable song on TV. Samsung's newest update for its 2017 smart TV platform will give viewers access to Shazam at the click of a button, allowing them to identify the title, artist and lyrics of a song playing on screen. This can happen live, or via content delivered through HDMI. Viewers can also speak "what is this song?" into the Samsung One Remote to access information, plus stream the music they identify and create playlists that can be accessed without running an external app.
Vizio TVs add the Google Play video app
Vizio has been adding streaming apps to its smart TVs these past few weeks, including Netflix and Amazon Video. The latest addition to its streaming apps collection? Google Play Movies & TV. The company is making the app available on its high-end VIA+ and D-series Smart TVs, giving you a way to buy or rent titles from the app without having to use a phone or tablet and a Chromecast or Roku.
Steam Link puts PC games on Samsung smart TVs
You can now play Steam games on your Samsung 2016 or 2017 smart TVs without having to worry about beta bugs and performance issues. The Steam Link app for the chaebol's latest smart TV models is now out of beta and available for download from the Smart Hub app store. Take note that your TV's firmware must be up to date to be able to install the app, but once you're done, you won't need the $50 Link device to play Steam games on what could be the biggest and clearest display in your home.
Almost every adult still watches TV the old-fashioned way
Surprise: an overwhelming majority of adults still watch TV on a TV despite cord-cutting and the prevalence of mobile broadband. 92 percent of those aged 18 and older according to a recent report from Nielsen, to be exact. "Sure, viewers have more options today, but when looking at platforms in a comparative fashion, it's clear that consumers choose the television as the primary vehicle for [programming]," Tom Ziangas of AMC Research said in a blog post. The study found that of the gross minutes counted last year, 509,196,299,668 minutes (82.1 percent) were spent watching shows and movies via a flatscreen itself, and an additional 63,637,309,003 minutes (10.3 percent) came from TV-connected devices like game consoles.
Starz app streams 'American Gods' to your Samsung Smart TV
If you've wanted to watch the likes of American Gods or Outlander with little more than an internet connection and your TV, you no longer need one of Sony's sets to make it happen. Starz has launched its streaming app on Samsung Smart TVs, bringing its $9 per month streaming service to a decidedly wider audience. You'll need a fairly recent TV ("select" 2014 or newer models with the Smart Hub), but that's about the only real requirement. Our main complaint is simply that this is arriving a bit late -- between Android TV, Apple TV, Roku and Xbox One, determined viewers already have plenty of choices.
YouTube is bringing 360-degree videos to your TV
Google's I/O 2017 developer conference isn't just about its search engine getting smarter. The company has also announced that YouTube's 360-degree videos are coming soon to TVs, expanding beyond smartphones and web browsers for the first time. "It's not just about the size of the screen," YouTube product manager Sarah Ali said before demoing a 360-degree video from Coachella. "It's about giving you an experience that [traditional] TV just can't match."
DJI streams drone footage to your television
Just a few months after GoPro threatens to close its entertainment doors, DJI is ready to step in. The drone-cum-camera company has just announced that it's launching a Smart TV app that'll stream plenty of aerial content and 4k videos captured from DJI drones and cameras. The app will initially be made available on Samsung's Tizen TVs and Apple TV. This is yet another instance in which DJI and GoPro have overlapping businesses. GoPro started with cameras and moved into drones, while DJI went from making drones and then moved into the camera business (The DJI Phantom Vision 2 was the first to ditch GoPro cameras for its own). GoPro has also been trying to make inroads as an entertainment company for a few years now -- indeed, there's a GoPro channel on Xbox, PS4, Roku, Samsung and LG TVs, as well as Virgin America's in-flight entertainment center. And now DJI is starting to do that too. "We've made flying and capturing aerial footage easy with our drones, and now with the DJI Smart TV App, creators will have more ways to share their work with the world," said Paul Pan, DJI's senior product manager in a statement. At the same time, GoPro has been struggling. It had a disappointing earnings report at the end of 2016, and had to cut 15 percent of its workforce late last year. The company laid off another 270 jobs in March of this year. It also announced last year that it would be ending its entertainment division entirely, so those aforementioned GoPro channels might not be around for long. In a few months, DJI might be the only channel streaming action camera content. You can find DJI's Smart TV app in both Apple TV and Samsung's Tizen TV app store. DJI says that the app is also compatible with entertainment devices running on Android 5.1 and above, so get ready for it to be available on even more platforms going forward.
Samsung's The Frame TV blends in with the art on your wall
In 2015, Samsung took a minimalist approach with its Serif TV, a 4K television designed to blend in with your furniture at home or office. That product is part of the company's efforts to make TVs look and feel less obtrusive, all without losing their main functionality: letting you watch your favorite movies or TV shows. As of March, this now includes the "Frame TV," which was created with the idea to double as an art piece. The concept is made up of and LCD, UHD panel, Tizen OS smart TV features and a wall-mounting system that, Samsung says, doesn't require you to hire anyone to set it up.
Keep tabs on your kid's location while you binge watch Netflix
It seems like everyone wants to get into your living room. From the Apple TV to Google Home to Amazon's range of devices, your house is the site of the next battle for connected device supremacy. Instead of a voice command gadget with a screen like the Alexa Show, though, Samsung is looking to use its line of smart televisions to keep you connected with friends and family. The company is bringing location-sharing app Glympse to the Tizen operating system on the Samsung Smart TV.
YouTube Kids brings cartoons and bright colors to your smart TV
YouTube Kids' mobile app is fine if your young ones are content to watch videos on a tablet, but what if you just want to plunk them down on the couch to watch on the big screen? You can after today. YouTube is trotting out a version of the Kids app for many LG, Samsung and Sony smart TVs (more details below) in all 26 countries where the child-ready viewer is available. The interface isn't exactly a radical departure, but that's the point, isn't it? Ideally, this lets little tykes watch videos with minimal help from their parents.
Samsung's second-tier 'MU' 4K TVs are an alternative to QLED
With prices beginning at $2,500 for the most basic model, Samsung's QLED 4K TVs are likely out of reach for a lot of people. The good news is that the company hasn't forgotten customers who can't drop that much for a TV and has released a series that includes more affordable alternatives. Samsung's MU series of smart 4K (Ultra HD) TVs have variants that are almost as cheap as Vizio's new 4K offerings. It's composed of four models that come in different sizes, with the smallest (40 inches), most basic one priced at $549.
Samsung's in-house OS is a security nightmare
Samsung's Tizen platform might give the company the technological independence it wouldn't have if it stuck to outside software like Android, but it's apparently a security disaster. Researcher Amihai Neiderman tells Motherboard he has discovered 40 unpatched vulnerabilities in Samsung's operating system, exposing many of its smartphones, smartwatches and TVs to remote attacks. Reportedly, it's the "worst code" the expert has "ever seen" -- it was designed by a team that had no real understanding of security concepts, and makes mistakes that virtually anyone else would avoid.
Exploit attacks your smart TV through over-the-air signals
Worries that someone could hijack your TV with a broadcast have been present for decades (ever see The Outer Limits?), and it's clear that they're not going away any time soon. Oneconsult security researcher Rafael Scheel has outlined an attack that can control smart TVs by embedding code into digital (specifically, DVB-T) over-the-air broadcasts. The intrusion takes advantage of flaws in a set's web browser to get root-level access and issue virtually any command. You only need to have a transmission powerful enough to reach compatible TVs, and at least one attack will work without revealing that something is wrong.
WikiLeaks claims to have the CIA's hacking toolkit (updated)
WikiLeaks just ignited another powder keg. Julian Assange's outfit has posted the first of a string of CIA leaks, nicknamed Vault 7, that purports to reveal the agency's "entire hacking capacity." The information is said to have escaped an "isolated" secure network at the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence in Virginia, and indicates that the organization has far-reaching abilities to snoop on modern technology... including encrypted apps that are supposed to be tough to crack.
Facebook's new video app launches on Samsung smart TVs
Facebook recently confirmed that rumors of a video streaming app were real, and now owners of Samsung's 2017 QLED 4K TVs can download it. As the company said on Valentine's Day, it's focused strictly on video content and isn't just a big-screen version of Facebook. You'll get to see videos shared by friends or folks you follow, along with top live videos from around the world and algorithmic suggestions based on your interests.
Vizio tracked and sold your TV viewing habits without consent (updated)
A settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and the New Jersey Attorney General will cost Vizio $2.2 million. That sum will settle the charges with both the state and federal agencies after a complaint that Vizio installed software on 11 million smart TVs to track viewing histories without consumers' knowledge. As part of the settlement, a federal court could order the company to disclose its data collection and sharing practices and get express consent from customers before doing so.
TCL adds Dolby Vision HDR to more of its 4K Roku TVs
Today at CES, Roku unveiled 25 new Roku 4K TVs for the North American market, lowering the price bar for Dolby Vision HDR tech. As with past models, its latest C-series and P-series sets have built-in Roku streaming, giving you access to most smart TV and streaming services. TCL isn't exactly known for its great picture quality, but those lineups come with Dolby Vision HDR, giving you more colors, a brighter image and deeper blacks. And while such sets have generally cost $1,000 and up, the 50-inch P-series TV will launch for an affordable $500.
