Unless you are stuck to satellite dish or cable and direct-to-home TV programming and services, you would have noticed that a lot of new television content relies on having an Internet connection. Many of the best TV shows and movies are now found online, and often available exclusively via streaming services like Netflix, Hotstar, and Amazon Prime Video.
Though your smartphone supports popular streaming services, viewing a film on a screen that fits your palm is not the same as viewing it on a 50-inch television screen. But then, chances are that you are still viewing content on an old ‘dumb’ television that is not smart enough to stream content off the net. So how do you make your dumb TV smart?
The simplest way is to go get a dongle or streaming stick that you then plug into the HDMI port on your television. There are numerous options in this category, all offering different features and abilities that let you connect to online services, including Amazon Fire Stick, Apple TV or Chromecast.
If all you need is a device to cast content or mirror the screen of your Android smartphone, you could potentially make do with one of a number of Chromecast ‘clones’ available both online and offline. These plug into the HDMI port on your TV and add Miracast support, letting you directly mirror the screen on your Android smartphone or cast the screen from a number of apps, including Netflix and VLC Media Player.
An even more affordable option to make your TV smart is to connect your laptop to your TV using an HDMI cable and mirror the content on your laptop to the television screen. You can use the laptop as a controller and fetch whatever content you want, which can be downloaded, through specific apps or even an Internet browser. However, be aware that the downside to using a cable to link your laptop to the TV is that everyone looking at your TV will be able to see your notifications and private conversations.
Another option to give greater brain power to your television is to use a game console that you might have around the home. If you have a Sony Playstation 4 or Microsoft Xbox One,or any of their different variants, you can use these as smart streaming devices. These consoles connect to the Internet and have apps available for many of the streaming services, including to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Spotify, YouTube, Plex, and Twitch, to name a few. The other advantage is that you could also use the bigger screen for your games. If you already own a gaming console then install the right apps and you TV instantly becomes smart.
Most of the best content today — including popular TV shows, movies and other programming — can be found online, to the point where a lot of new shows and movies are being produced by online streaming services and are released exclusively online.
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