LAS VEGAS — Turns out that smart TVs can be, well, pretty dumb.
Even moderately priced sets can connect to the Internet and run Netflix and other apps. Yet many people ignore the built-in features and turn to Apple TV, Roku and other stand-alone streaming devices that often do a better job.
In an August report, the NPD Group estimates that roughly a third of smart TVs in the U.S. weren’t connected to the Internet.
Researchers at Parks Associates found that even as more Americans are using smart TV functions, streaming device usage has grown faster.
“If you’re a streaming media box (maker), you’ve got much more ability to push new features out into the market at an affordable price,” said Barbara Kraus, Parks Associates’ director of research. “They’re very stiff competition for smart TVs.”
None of that is slowing down TV manufacturers such as Samsung, though, as they tout their newest and smartest models at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
In a way, putting brains in a device that most people replace only every five to seven years isn’t the brightest idea. Chips get faster every year, and a TV’s brains get old really fast.
Software can present an even bigger problem. Smart TVs are frequently plagued with confusing interfaces, buggy functions and inconsistent updates. They are sometimes unable to run new streaming services and might never be updated to add new features.
Some TV makers focus on bringing new features only to their latest models to persuade people to buy new sets.
Samsung’s 2016 models, for instance, implicitly inform anyone who bought last year’s sets that they’ve already been left behind. Those earlier customers won’t be able to use their Samsung TVs to set mood lighting or check security cameras in a connected home.
Among the new features in LG’s 2016 models: Magic Zoom, which will let viewers zoom in on video while it’s playing — using a digital magnifying glass — to make out small text and other details. But LG won’t say when, if ever, older TVs will get that.
The divide between smart TVs and streaming devices could become more pronounced as the devices adopt the types of app stores common on phones and tablets.
The new Apple TV offers shopping, travel and food-delivery apps, while Nvidia’s Shield Android TV device runs sophisticated games once limited to game consoles and personal computers. A smart TV is fine if all you’re doing is watching video, said Ali Kani, general manager for the Shield business. But he thinks “the living room is going to be revolutionized by apps.”
Some TV makers, including Hisense, Sharp and TCL, have turned to Roku’s smart TV system for that reason. Because the interface shares technology with Roku’s stand-alone streaming devices, app makers can design once for many devices. Plus, Roku smart TVs get software updates about the same time stand-alone devices do.
So why do TV makers bother making smart TVs? Call it the business equivalent of FOMO — Fear Of Missing Out.
“What they don’t want to be is just a piece of glass,” said Jim Denney, TiVo’s vice president of product marketing.
