Android TV is your go to for many of the problems the consumers face when it comes to conventional content consumption. It can be you cable company ripping you off or the fact that you want all the amazing online streaming services (from Netflix, Spotify to Hulu) everything directly on your TV in your bedroom. It is not exactly a TV but more like an operating platform for your TV or set top box or gaming console. It is a kind of smart TV like the Apple TV with in built streaming options and games.
You can opt for some options that Sharp and Sony are offering right now, but a latest set is not exactly required. Simply go for the set top boxes that NVidia and others are offering and your TV would definitely be on another level of game. Given the game support Android TV offers, you can have maximum four people playing once on your TV. You can even have game progress from the same level if you switch devices – phone to TV to tablet – if you are a single player. You can obviously browse through Play Store and get all the apps that you need like Netflix, HBO GO, GTA or even The Economist. Turn on your auto upgrade settings so your apps get updated on their own. You can video call through your Android TV using Google Hangouts, which is super cool. What’s more – use Google Cast to share data like movies, songs, games and other things from your smartphone or computer directly to your TV just by paying $35 per month.
Managing Passwords
It can be a real bummer to keep a tab on all the apps you have and the passwords you set to log in to them. But Smart Lock by Google is a savior for all of us who have bit of a memory issue. It will manage all your passwords efficiently for different apps making it easy for you to just lay back and enjoy the experience. Simply go to your Chrome Settings on your Android phone or tablet and turn on Offer to Save Your Web Passwords as well as Auto Sign In and never struggle to remember your passwords again. You can turn it off by simply clicking on Never when your Browser asks to save a password. Or go to Chrome Settings and delete saved passwords.
Using Voice Search
Voice Search is a real relief when it comes to browsing content on your smart TV. Typing in content can be a pain and nothing is better than simply saying our TV what we want to watch by clicking the microphone icon on the remote. The voice search can be used to find content by name or by its feature like let’s say you want to search for all the stuff Tom Hanks has appeared in. You can also get information about weather, updates on matches, trivia like Oscar wins and other general searches on the web using voice search.
Android as Your Remote
You will get a remote with your Android TV or set top box – but get Android TV Remote Control app from Play Store and double your phone up as a remote control to navigate and play games on your TV. You can choose between two interfaces – a D pad (four way control) or touchpad (swipe control). Voice Search is available of course, and you can get it for Android Wear too while using your watch face to swipe.
Multitasking on Your TV
You can use streaming apps to enjoy background listening where you can simply put on an audio while browsing through content to decide whatever to watch.
Screen savers on Your TV
You can use the feature Daydream which is in fact a screensaver and gets turned on, by default, once your screen has been inactive for five minutes. You can put photographs and slide shows as per your like to showcase on your screen when it goes inactive. You can also change the limit of time your TV has before displaying the screensaver.
Limitations of Using a Cable Subscription
Once you use a Smart TV, you would realize how comfortable the switch from typical cable TV is. However, some of your apps like HBO might require cable subscription, but in the latest developments, even HBO has come out with HBO NOW which anyone can use without a cable subscription. Any which way, consuming content on your Smart TV using streaming services is a lot better than using cable and provides you more content freely for lesser prices.
You can use Google Cast as we mentioned above to have your content streamed from your Android to your TV. You can also use an Apple TV or Roku or Amazon Fire TV. All these options are on the rise now a days, and most people are opting for cord cutting one way or the other. Let us know in the comments below which of these options you have liked better. If you have any questions regarding Android TV, feel free to let us know.
