Philips has beaten the competition to market with the first batch of
Android-based televisions. Philips and kind are all hoping to sell you a television to which you have no need to attach any other devices, but that's no guarantee.
Previous Philips TVs lagged behind the competition in terms of streaming services, but that won't be an issue with the Android sets. You should be able to download all your favourite on demand and catch up services directly from the Google Play store, including BBC iPlayer, 4OD, Demand 5 and Netflix. 4K streaming content is supported, as the Android TVs all have HEVC codec support.
With access to Google Play, there are other possibilities too. One enterprising journalist installed a torrent downloader, found a 4K film trailer online and downloaded it to the TV, without having to jump on a computer or transfer the file from another device first.
Spotify Connect and OnLive Gaming are also on board the Philips 4K package. How the market reacts to this latest round of "innovation" will determine the future for more than one gadget-maker out there.
1) Press Red button on remote labeled Netflix
2) Pick movie/TV show
3) Stop calling me to ask why there's only static on the TV because you put it on channel 5 and the satellite box needs to be on channel 4, or why the VCR isn't playing because you've set the input to the DVD player... Seriously, you were doing this stuff for decades without my help before I married your daughter.
Even if the TV is off, pressing the Netflix button turns the TV on and goes right to Netflix.
For more technically inclined people I recommend getting a "dumb" TV, if you can, with an HDMI port and just plug a PC with wireless keyboard and mouse. I have that setup in my bedroom and it works great, also my wife can't figure out how to use it so I don't have fight with her over the remote. It's getting harder to find good quality TVs that don't have a smart feature now. The new TV in our living room, we just got a month ago, does have a smart TV feature, but when I replace my wife's laptop next year I'll be plugging that in instead. It'll make it a lot easier to watch our downloaded TV shows. The built-in media server client for SmartTVs is really hit or miss and takes a lot of fiddling with to get working. Media Server/Client from PC to PC is a snap, as long as you don't mind using a keyboard and/or mouse instead of a remote to control it. Plus built-in DVD/BlueRay, Netflix and internet. Internet is a nice feature because you can watch a lot of shows, or news in some cases, right from a networks website, which you can't do easily with a SmartTV's crappy built-in basic browser, at least not that I've found.