Hi.
About when did 'smart' TVs came to market ? Was it before 2015 ?
What features make a TV 'smart' ? If it has ethernet jack/wired connector, is it 'smart' ? How to tell ?

 

Hi.
About when did 'smart' TVs came to market ? Was it before 2015 ?
What features make a TV 'smart' ? If it has ethernet jack/wired connector, is it 'smart' ? How to tell ?

Have you tried searching for information about what a smart television is and their history?

Perhaps try Googling something like "what is a smart television" or "smart television history".

See what you find and, if that doesn't answer your questions, come back and tell us what you found and what you are still trying to learn.

 

"Smart" is one of those freely used advertising words attributed to many products these days.
For a TV I think it generally refers to those with an internet connection (WiFi these days) that allows you to watch TV using Streaming Service apps.

I have three smart TVs but I prefer using an external device (Amazon stick) for all of them because I like its interface and then it's the same for all the TVs.

 

Thanks. I remember about 10 years ago a feature "smart hub" in some Samsung TVs.

I was at a demonstration room of an electronics store and entered the www address of a foreign channel I enjoy the most, to confirm that was the TV I wanted to buy if was capable of receiving that channel. (NHK)
Well, the idiot clerk on that department shut off the demonstration TV and yelled 'you are on the internet ! That is forbidden ! You cannot do that !

I do not know if such 'smart hub' is not any more a feature on modern TVs; or it is just renamed 'smart TV' by all brands. And personnel in stores have prohibition to demonstrate the features. More than once was told "Buy it and try at home, if does not do what you want, return it, we cannot demo it here"

Well, years later bought a laptop only to receive some foreign channels I want via ethernet LAN and fed on HDMI. Wondering if the 'smart' TVs would take the place of the non-smart + the laptop... I believe yes.

So, another doubt is the Hulus, Netflixes and alikes are sites that 'channelize' internet addresses of broadcasters in the world and present them to the user as "a channel selector knob" so I do not have to save web addresses on my laptop... ¿?

 

The first "smart tv" I got was in 2015.

 

Generally, a Smart TV includes the ability to use network-based resources such as streaming services, and can add other functionality such as voice control (often in the form of embedded Amazon Alexa). It was, at one point, common to include a web browser as well but given the nature of the remote control on most TVs, this has limited utility.

We have some Samsung TVs that go further, offering Microsoft 365 Office Suite capability (with BT keyboard and mouse), as well as remote desktop ability for both WIndows and MacOS. Samsung also offers access to an amazing amount of content which may be most of what most people buy cable/satellite service for—of course you need Internet service—for no cost beyond buying the TV.

They also include native apps for the main streaming services (e.g.: Netflix, Prime, Disney, &c.) and some kind of game stuff that I am unfamiliar with. So overall, a Smart TV can be seen as an Internet entertainment terminal, sometimes with productivity features thrown in.