During the RoNewMedia event, which took place last week, the people from Samsung were present with several stands and I saw there the smart TV that they promote so intensely. Initial I had seen it at CES 2012 in a few video clips, but now I tested it and I was a little disappointed because it is not easy to interact with it through gestures or voice commands, and its operating system runs the installed applications quite hard. Leaving aside the experience of use, I liked to see that in Romania the idea of displaying digital content is being promoted not via cable, but via the Internet.
All the Samsung TVs there were connected to an online service that allowed users to watch TV channels with the help of an Internet connection, and I think that's where the future is headed. Practically any user pays an online subscription, watches what TV stations he wants and the interesting part is that some services of this kind offer the option to see feeds in HD format without any additional cost. The cable operators demand money to pay additional fees for offering HD stations, not all televisions record the content in this format, but at least the first steps are being taken towards a change.
In addition to online television, I believe that the possibility to buy digital content directly on the TV is a key aspect of this type of product. Virtual stores, such as Apple's iTunes, would allow users to buy/rent their favorite movies and watch them directly on the TV through an Internet connection. Everything is done without a trip to a store to purchase a DVD and without the purchase of separate devices, such as Apple TV, and I like to see that services similar to those in the West are being promoted in Romania.
Of course, a few more years will pass before we have everything that others have in the USA, Canada, France or Great Britain, but the future promises to be interesting.
