Have you been yearning for a Smart TV? To have your tv connected to the internet, able to add the app you would like and stream your movies and shows. Yet, you like your TV and don’t want to go buy a new tv just to have a smart one?
Fear not, it is simpler than ever to make just about any TV a smart TV. We’re even going to tell you how.
What is a smart TV?
A traditional TV, not being smart, simply means that that the TV is only able to display content from an antenna, cable, or another A/V source such as a DVD player. Everything is connected these days. Our home is an Internet-of-Things (IoT) with connecting printers, lighting, appliances, watches, tablets, speakers, and more. A Smart TV is simply a TV that is connected to the internet.
Smart TVs are more like tablets than traditional TVs, connected to the internet and supporting a wide range of apps. Stream your movies and shows for Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Play games, check your social media, event control the connected devices on your home IoT.
Turn your TV into a Smart TV with Roku (or like devices)
You may have noticed that TVs can be expensive and we tend not to replace them very often. While TV prices have come down, they don’t offer the affordability and flexibility of Roku or Amazon Firestick.
The first thing you’ll want to do when turning your TV into a smart TV is to check if your TV has HDMI ports or not. The smart media player (Roku, Amazon Firestick, and more) will connect to your TV using the HDMI port. If you do not have an HDMI port, you may buy an HDMI-to-RCA adapter that plugs into the red, yellow, and while cables located on the back of your TV.
After deciding which smart media player you would like, connect it to your TV. Next, connect the plug to the media player and plug it into the power source. Turn on your TV and set the input to the corresponding HDMI number that matches the one you connected your media player to (HDMI 1, HDMI 2, and so forth). You should now see a setup display box. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup and connect the smart media player to your WiFi network.
Now that your smart media player is set up and connected to your TV, you will want to see what apps the device has preloaded (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc.) and if there are any apps your would like to add. Every device has there own way to add apps (some devices do not allow you to add any additional apps) from the Google Play Store to the Apple App Store. Add any apps you would like, sign into them, and begin streaming.
We recommend researching the media players you are considering ahead of making any purchase. Find out what apps it has preloaded and how you are able to add any additional apps that you would like. This may also come down to comfort and familiarity, using what you are familiar with.
After you have your smart media player set up to your liking with the apps that you need, it is time for your to kick back, start streaming, and enjoy your smart tv.