This goes far beyond watching series and films

The pandemic was one of the times in human history when we spent the most time in front of screens. It is not a coincidence. No longer able to go out as usual and spend more time at home, the use of mobile phones, tablets and televisions has exploded. THAT did Many people will change their TV before future purchases.

Currently The vast majority of models, if not all, are smart TVs. That is, they have operating systems on which applications can be installed, whether legal, such as those for streaming music and videos, or illegal, such as those used for watching IPTV broadcasts from broadcast lists.

However, having a TV with a full operating system opens up many more possibilities. And if you don’t have it, you can always install it using devices like Chromecast or Amazon Fire TV. From the television we can control the house and much more.

Control the house

The first function that many people ignore is being able to control home automation devices from the TV. One of the easiest ways to doing it is done with the voice assistant. The TV can have Alexa or Google Assistant, and it can be used like when we use it from a cell phone or smart speaker.

In this way it is possible to turn lights on and off, create reminders, add entries to the calendar, etc. But this is not the only solution. There is apps like Xiaomi Home that were also designed for TVswhich allows you to navigate through it by controlling the different devices.

This, yes, We miss having the Alexa or Google Home app available for operating systems from the same companies that develop these applications. It’s true that they may not be widely used, but just like Xiaomi does, it would make sense for Amazon and Google to have their apps for their own TV systems.

photo frame

Watching films and series is completely normal on televisions. In fact, this is its main use, with the reproduction of free TV channels, either through the antenna or through legal IPTV applications. But also you can see photos.

[10 razones para comprar una televisión con Android TV]

In the case of televisions equipped with Android TV, it is particularly simple since you can use the Google Photos app or any app with Chrome’s Cast system, and see images and videos on a much larger screen than your mobile. In other operating systems this is also possible by cloning the full screen of the mobile phone to the TV with Miracast or similar systems.

View security cameras

In addition to being able to control devices like the vacuum cleaner, lights or smart plugs, is it possible to control security cameras, provided that they are compatible with Google or Amazon systems. The simplest case is that of Ring, a security company owned by Amazon.

The ring cameras are visible on televisions with Fire TV, the system for this type of device from the American giant. Furthermore, If you have a smart doorbell from the brand, it even appears on the screen when someone knocks on the door.

To make video calls

Something similar can be done with video calls. Currently there are not as many as during the pandemic, but their use has become normal. Some TV models have a camerabut the normal thing is to use the smartphone as a camera and the TV as a screen.

To do this, you must reproduce the mobile screen on the TV, with the functions integrated into their operating systems. This, yes, You have to see if the connection is good enough so that there is no delay in video and audio synchronization, something that could spoil the experience. Android 14 for TVs will improve this further, and some devices already include a webcam.

Play without console

The last curious use of the smart TV is to transform it into a console. Thanks to streaming gaming platforms or games available for these operating systems, it is possible to use the TV as a device and you will only need its remote control or a Bluetooth controller to play.

[5 juegos para Chromecast: juega en la TV sin consola]

There are differences here between the different options available on the market. Platforms like Android have a big advantage because they are easier to develop, since it is a modification of the proposals for mobile phones. Apple also has its own system with its Set Top Box, but has not licensed it to other brands like Amazon and Google have done.

Variety of systems

The key to being able to achieve all of these uses is often having an operating system that supports it. The biggest difference is between those who focused on development for televisions, such as Samsung’s Tizen or LG’s WebOS (although it started as a system for smartphones) and those based on Android.

There they not only enter Android TV and Google TVbut also MIUI for TV, from Xiaomi and, above all, Fire TV, Amazon’s proposal which uses free source code from Google development. All of these systems are compatible with Android apps, allowing them to have a much greater variety of apps and games. And we must not lose sight of new proposals, such as TitanOS, a Spanish system focused on the inclusion of advertising, which interests manufacturers, but not so much consumers.