Smart TV: on demand movies right in your house
Not long ago the Internet was accessed almost exclusively from our computers. Now the Internet has “invaded” most of our devices: mobiles, tablets, and even household products. Can we even imagine ourselves without our new mobile “assistants”?
A new way of using our TV is gaining popularity and we would like to tell you more about Smart TV.
According to Wikipedia Microsoft suggested already in 1997 the idea of smart TV but it didn’t succeed because of the low speed of most connections. New products, such as digital recorders changed the panorama entirely by allowing the viewer to digitally record content and watch it at will. The evolution of these systems is now in a place where the TV has become a powerful multimedia platform that allows you to watch high definition television and to control it via gestures.
Technically a TV now has a PC inside (Wow!). As a rule, the application logic is implemented on JavaScript and the user interface is written on HTML and CSS. In other words there is not much difference between creating an app for a Smart TV platform and creating an ordinary web application.
However, there are some peculiarities, for instance, the embedded processor isn’t as powerful as its computer counterparts. This means that when developing applications it’s better to use faster and more effective algorithms. RAM in a Smart TV set is generally much smaller than in a modern desktop or even a new mobile. For this reason developers should always keep an eye on the RAM usage.
Fastdev developed SmartTV applications for SF Anytime together with our customer Valtech.
The application runs on the LG Smart TV platform with a well designed user experience including functionalities such as:
• User Registration and silent authentication
• 3 methods of payment (credit card, mobile and via value codes)
• Access to favourites
• Video content search
• Copy right protected content play back
• Available in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland with local language support
• Support for local language subtlitles or dubbed movies
This technology is developing very fast. The developers of TV platforms are eager to include as many new functions as possible creating really great opportunities for implementing new and amazing services in the future.
