First look at LG's new 2011 Smart TVs

Smart TV is the next generation of TVs with internet and interactivity. The TV manufacturers hope to bring the internet content into the living room and expand communications with other consumer electronic devices in order to revolutionize the TV industry. In this article we will take a look at LG's new Internet platform – called Smart TV. LG’s Smart TV interface is a part of most new 2011 LG TVs. 

LG Smart TV
You may have seen flat panel TVs with access to YouTube and TVs with built-in DLNA that allows users to stream music, movies and images from other devices in the home to the TV. But this is only the very beginning. In the future, TVs will evolve dramatically and the great revolution that took place from cell phones to smartphones is copied in the TV universe with “Smart TV”. 

In 2011 LG plans to combine the forces of the Internet, DLNA, USB recording, and TV control in one complete solution called Smart TV. Below you see the main screen when you press the Smart TV button on the remote.


LG 2011 Smart TV

To the left you see the TV channel or video input that you were watching before you entered the Smart TV interface
In the middle you have LG’s Premium services, including access to YouTube and movie rentals. These service vary depending on your country.
To the right is the a of DLNA, smartphone, NAS and other devices that can communicate with the TV.

Once you dive deeper into the possibilities you will find that this is only the surface. LG’s Smart TVs handles video, music and photos in a very intuitive way and if, for example, you have a NAS with movies, LG’s TV will automatically connect to IMDB.com and collect information on actors, directors, resumes etc.

Control it with your smartphone
LG has aimed to create a user-friendly and simple interface. And if you like you can control everything with a smartphone running iOS, Android or Windows 7.

On the more expensive models LG includes a so-called Magic Motion remote control that uses hand gestures just like a Nintendo Wii.


LG 2011 Smart TV

But there’s more if you’re a smartphone owner. With the new 2011 LG TVs you can stream content from our phone directly to the screen with.
This was also possible in the past via DLNA where you had to share content from your phone, log into the DLNA interface on your TV and press play. LG has made it simpler with Wi-Fi Direct. This basically means that you can select play on the phone and the video starts playing on the TV – similar to Apple AirPlay.

Web browser supports Flash and Java
Some TV manufacturers tried to incorporate a web browser in the past but pretty much any attempt has failed miserably. LG believes that Apps is the proper way to get content from the internet onto the TV but LG also acknowledges that some users prefer to browse freely.

That’s why LG has incorporated a full web browser with flash and java support. We didn’t see it in action, however.

App Store arrives in Q3
The Internet is constantly evolving and smartphones adapt. TVs need to do the same and LG hopes to allow that with a coming App store.


LG 2011 Smart TV

The App market is not available on LG’s TVs from day 1 but is expected to arrive in Q3 2011 with a firmware update available Smart TV enabled LG TVs

Samsung announced their App Store last year and recently they announced that users had downloaded more than 2 million Apps. That’s not a lot compared to Apple’s App Store success but it certainly indicates a potential.

Let’s conclude this short preview by saying that LG’s Smart TV platform looks really interesting. We will take a closer look in our coming LG reviews. Join our Newsletter or RSS Feeds to receive an-email when new reviews are online. 

Learn more about LG’s 2011 TVs in this article:
LG 2011 TV line-up - with full spec list.