After years of hacking together make-shift television devices through PC TV tuners cards, wall projectors and more I finally decided it was time to buy my first “real” television. After researching the market and evaluating what mattered the most to my appetite for quality with an app world, it became clear that Samsung was the right choice for me (I’m now the proud owner of a UN55H7150AFXZA 1080P).
It’s not surprising that “Samsung continued to hold its #1 spot in the United States Smart TV market in Q4 2013 with a 29.6% market share,” according to Strategy Analytics. From the somewhat gimmicky but extremely entertaining 3D viewing to the Smart Hub it became clear that I was experience social TV in an extremely new seamless experience that even my set-top TV connected devices couldn’t accomplish. As more consumers begin to experience Samsung’s smart TV world, using social will become more natural than ever before. We spoke with Dave Das, Vice President of Home Entertainment at Samsung about the way the company is changing social TV.
Lost Remote: How do you envision Samsung’s televisions will change the way consumers use social while watching TV?
Dave Das: Samsung Smart TV’s are easier, faster and even more fun to use than before. With our wide breadth of available social apps, such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype and more, consumers can fully enjoy their TV experience. Samsung is enhancing the way consumers use social while watching TVs in many ways.
Through Samsung’s newly designed Smart Hub, consumers can easily access all of their favorite social media apps in one easy-to-browse place
All of our recently launched UHD TVs include Samsung’s Multi-Link feature, which allows consumers to split their TV into multiple screens. Viewers can then easily use social apps while watching TV and enjoy browsing – they can access live TV, stream video content, and explore the web all at once, making multi-tasking a breeze
LR: What are some of the social TV apps for Samsung Smart TV that people might not know about?
Das: Our Samsung Smart TVs have a wide variety of social apps so consumers can use the apps that best fit their needs. One of the apps which people may not know about is the “Social TV” app, through which viewers can enjoy a number of social networking websites (Facebook, Twitter and Google Talk) all in one app. This particular app simply combines multiple social feeds into one, so viewers don’t have to open a different app each time. The app contains a tab for each different social media page so consumers can easily go to one source to start a conversation or check their friends’ latest status updates – all while watching TV.
LR: How is using Twitter/FB on Samsung a different/better experience?
Das: Imagine watching your favorite show on one screen, then reacting to the content live through your social channels on another. The Multilink Screen feature lets viewers split the screen so they can easily enjoy browsing through their social media pages while watching TV. They can also use Skype to watch their favorite shows with friends and family from afar and communicate with them all on one display. Samsung TVs enhance the user experience by providing them with easier access and functionality of their favorite social apps.
LR: How does the smart remote with voice control fit into all this?
Das: Samsung’s Smart Remote Control features faster and more accurate control features, better content selection, and an improved design. The remote’s Voice Interaction functionality enables users to talk into the built-in microphone and conveniently navigate to find their desired content. The remote can also be used to simply point and click.
Photos via Samsung.