Samsung TVs Go Beyond Entertainment to be Your Smart Home Hub

Posted on 22nd December, 2023
Samsung TVs Go Beyond Entertainment to be Your Smart Home Hub

Samsung’s range of Smart TVs offer so much more than just streaming television services. Samsung’s Tizen technology powers a wealth of features, running the gamut from comprehensive streaming and catch-up TV, to office applications, ambient lounge lighting control, and a dashboard to easily manage your smart home tech.

Available on the latest Samsung range of TVs, including Neo QLED, OLED and QLED, the ultimate smart home hub meets best-in-class picture technology.

The first thing you’ll notice about Samsung’s Tizen platform is that it is exceptionally intuitive to use. The more sophisticated a smart platform becomes, the greater the need is to keep things simple – and Samsung gets the balance exactly right. 

With Tizen’s full-screen interface, everything you need to access is provided in easy-to-browse rails. These horizontal bars house both your streaming app collection and, as you scroll down the screen, a vast array of curated content.

In addition to all the major services, such as Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and Paramount+, you’ll find local apps as well, such as Stan, Binge, Kayo, Optus Sport and Foxtel.

Naturally, Samsung TVs are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled, so you can pair and stream to your set within minutes. It is from this homepage that you can open Settings and quickly optimise the TV’s picture and sound performance, or navigate to any connected device – be it a pay TV box, streaming media stick, games console, Blu-ray player or USB device.

The latest Samsung TV models all come with Samsung TV Plus pre-loaded. This unique collection of more than 100 TV channels is free to view, with no subscription required. So you’re always guaranteed something to watch with Samsung TV Plus.

There’s a dedicated channel for all sorts of passions, from FIFA, to holiday movies, and if that’s not your bag, how about Cricket Gold or your favourite throwback TV show?

Samsung TV Plus channels are integrated with your regular terrestrial or satellite delivered channels, although they don’t come via an aerial, they’re all delivered over the internet.

The Samsung Smart TV platform is also home to Samsungs Gaming Hub, a full screen gateway to games services – and you dont even need a console to play(1). The Gaming Hub houses a variety of cloud-based gaming services from Xbox and Nvdia GEFORCE NOW. Alternatively, pair a joypad directly to the Samsung TV for a seamless gaming experience. With Xbox Game Pass, you can then steam and play popular premium titles such as Halo, Forza, Minecraft and more (2).

Samsung QLED, Neo QLED and OLED TVs have two dedicated Game modes, to enhance your gaming experience – standard Game Mode and Game Motion Plus. Both offer class-leading low input lags. Game Mode removes any processing that might affect latency, giving the lowest possible input lag, while Game Motion Plus applies a modicum of additional processing for picture enhancement. Choose your preferred setting based on the style of games you enjoy playing – fast-paced action titles are probably best in standard Game Mode.

For those with Smart Home aspirations, Samsung TV’s, including Neo QLED and OLED are equipped with a comprehensive SmartThings dashboard. Using your Samsung TV remote control, or voice commands, you can adjust any SmartThings-compatible device directly from the TV screen. Whether you have smart heating and lighting systems, security cameras or EV chargers, the Tizen SmartThings dashboard brings everything together in one place for easy monitoring and control.\

From the comfort of your couch, why not use the SmartThings app to check the contents in your Samsung BESPOKE Refrigerator(3) or monitor the location of your dog  via the Samsung BESPOKE Jet Bot AI+’s front camera(4)? You can even receive laundry cycle notifications directly from your Samsung Smart Washer (5) to your TV screen so you don’t need to worry about missing the timer(6).

Another rewarding feature about the Samsung Smart TVs is the level of personalisation on offer. Your SmartThings experience is always tailored to your own home and connected devices, while TV shows are curated and recommended based on your viewing habits.

Despite housing powerful technology and catalogues of shows and movies to watch, your TV will still look incredible. Samsung’s 2023 range of Smart TVs uniquely support Smart Calibration to maximise the picture quality.

Holding your smartphone to your TV, Smart Calibration will perform a quick optimisation in 15 to 30 seconds(7). If you prefer to go a little more technical, Professional Mode(8) will optimise even more elements of the image, but still only takes around five to eight minutes to complete.

Samsung’s Smart TVs running Tizen can handle more than just home entertainment apps – you can actually partner your smartphone with your TV and create a PC-like office experience.\

Samsung DeX allows you to connect your Samsung smartphone and run a variety of familiar PC applications, including Microsoft Office 365. Meaning you can access your compatible office PC remotely from your TV and use the large screen to multitask with ease. Galaxy devices provide Wireless DeX which connects your mobile to a Smart TV through Wi-Fi(9).

Just connect your DeX compatible smartphone or tablet to your TV using an HDMI adapter(10), or wirelessly via Miracast(11), and once the DeX platform boots up, you can begin working. Adobe Acrobat Reader, Lightroom, Photoshop Sketch, Gmail, and Chrome all work on the DeX platform. For the full office experience, you can even add a DeX compliant wireless keyboard to your setup.

As you can see, Samsung smart TVs powered by Tizen do an awful lot more than the average TV. From streaming services to free TV channels, office apps and SmartThings control, they really are the centre of the Smart Home.

What are you going to do with yours?

For more information visit Samsung

Footnotes
1. Gaming Hub will be available on the following 2022 devices from August 2023: Neo QLED 8K TV (QN900/800B); Neo QLED 4K TV (QN700B, QN95, QN90-70B); Samsung OLED TV (S95B, S90B); QLED TV (Q60B); Odyssey Gaming monitors (G97NB, G85SB, G70/65B); and Smart Monitors (M80B, M70/50B).
2.Game Pass is available on 2021 Smart TVs and onards. Internet connection, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and compatible controller required. Fees apply.
3. Requires download of the SmartThings app and a Samsung account.
4. The ability to recognise your pet may vary depending on the type of pet and living environment. Dogs can be recognised only, and recognisable pets may be added in the future.
5. A Wi-Fi connection and Samsung account are required.
6. Selected models only
7. Calibration performance can vary depending on environment and setup. If you are having problem with your Samsung Smart TV, you should always check to see if there are any software updates available as these may contain a fix for your problem.
8. Basic & Professional Modes are available on select 2022 & 2023 TV models. For Professional Mode, it is recommended to use a tripod within a dark room condition for more accurate picture calibration.
9. Ensure your chosen Galaxy device supports wireless connection with Samsung DeX via Wi-Fi. Only newer Galaxy devices, such as the Note20, S21 or S22 can connect with DeX wirelessly.
10. Keep in mind that DeX will restart if you remove or unplug the HDMI cable. Please remember to save all changes before unplugging the cable. You can perform basic operations using the touchpad connected to your PC, but some gestures, such as pinching with two fingers to zoom in, won’t work.
11. Wireless DeX is supported on Samsung 2018 TVs or newer, and on Smart TVs that support Miracast technology. On phones and tablets with the One UI 3.1 update, you can use DeX on your Smart TV or Smart Monitor.

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Marc Rushton

StereoNET’s Founder and Publisher was born in England and raised on British Hi-Fi before moving to Australia. He developed an early love of music and playing bass guitar before discovering the studio and the other side of the mixing desk. After writing for print magazines, Marc saw the future in digital publishing and founded the first version of StereoNET in 1999.

Posted in: Visual | Technology

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