Internet TV Buyers Guide

Internet TVs are rapidly becoming the norm and an expected part of the home viewing experience, with a huge selection available. They usually offer the ability to use popular online services such as YouTube, iPlayer, Dailymotion and LoveFilm through applications or widgets, in addition to watching ordinary television, but do not always offer the ability to browse the internet. The services that Internet ready TVs offer vary from brand to brand, as such they can offer anything from a limited selection of services to full blown browsing through wireless connections. This page consists of reviews of the best (and worst) performers and provides readers with a guide to buying a television compatible with Internet TV.

Check how the TV connects to the Internet – do you really want wires trailing everywhere? Can it be expanded to include wireless capability?

Check which Internet TV service it uses – different brands offer completely different services, tiny variations in price sometimes offer the difference between the ability to use iPlayer and Twitter, or just look at Google Maps.

Examine the option of buying a Blu-Ray player with Internet TV capabilities – it could be a cheaper way of obtaining the same service. 

LG’s Netcast service has historically been limited to three apps in the UK, Youtube, Picasa and AccuWeather. However, despite the service’s recent update to include BBC iPlayer, Skype (with the addition of a videocamera module with an inbuilt microphone) Facebook and Twitter (as well as a few movie rental sites) it still lags behind the other services on offer for variety. The Netcast service does show signs of expanding its offering to be a more competitive Internet TV proposition.

Reviews have indicated that there have been issues associated with the speed of the programs over a 2MB connection (Netcast indicates that its minimum connection requirements are 1.5MB) but the author did not encounter this problem.

The interface is simple to use for both experienced and new users, especially with the addition of LG’s magic motion remote (only available with the LX9900).

Verdict:

LG’s Netcast offers buyers a limited Internet TV service at present. Look elsewhere.

Panasonic released additional applications for the service in 2010, but while there are spare slots for additional applications there is still no app store available to users, meaning buyers are at the mercy of Panasonic for more content.

The current Viera Cast Internet TV service offers users access to a number of applications, including the expected YouTube, iPlayer, Twitter, Dailymotion (a video sharing site) and Picasa. Viera Cast also allows users to rent movies and television shows from AceTrax as well as use Skype (assuming users purchase a Panasonic webcam compatible with Viera cast) to make video calls. The service has a number of other applications, including some bizarre foreign language applications, but lags behind other Internet TV offerings.

Unfortunately, the Viera Cast interface is overly complicated, hiding useful applications behind several layers of menu buttons. For example, the Twitter application was hidden behind the ‘More’ button. However, this situation is slightly rectified by the ability to plug in a keyboard (via USB) on some Panasonic TV’s to allow buyers to type text rather than use a remote in a time consuming manner.

Verdict:

Panasonic’s Viera Cast is a solid offering but not the best Internet TV service available to consumers.

Philips’ Internet TV service is called Net TV and is the only service available to offer full internet access, but does not allow users to install Flash, which limits the browsing experience significantly.

The applications on offer include YouTube, Dailymotion, Picasa and eBay but not Skype or BBC iPlayer. The most significant service available is Box365, which offers users the ability to subscribe in order to rent video content, but it seems strange that buyers should shell out extra money to compensate for Net TV’s lack of capability. With the exception of the subscription applications and a few unusual country specific ones (German cars anyone?), I found the selection of applications for the Net TV service to be unsatisfactory.

The model used for testing also had a slightly unresponsive remote, which was a real pain when browsing the internet.

Verdict:

Philips’ Net TV offers buyers a promising Internet TV service, especially given the full browsing capability, let down by the limited selection of applications.

Samsung offers the aptly named Internet@TV service on its Internet TV ready models. It uses an application store to allow buyers to download more widgets and offers users an impressive initial selection for free, including YouTube, LoveFilm, iPlayer, Skype, Facebook and Twitter as well as too many others to list here.

The interface is pain free allowing for easy navigation of applications online (it also looks fantastic) but entering text can be difficult as not all remote controls display the letters associated with the numbers on the remote.

Verdict:

Samsung’s Internet@TV is the best Internet TV offering, and extremely difficult to criticise due to the ease of navigation and sheer volume of high quality applications.

Sony offers Internet TV through a service called Bravia Internet TV. It has about the same number of applications as Samsung’s internet@TV, including YouTube, iPlayer, Demand Five, LoveFilm, Twitter, Facebook, eBay as well as a number of other, less popular features.

Bravia Internet TV does not allow internet browsing and so users are limited to the service’s selection of widgets. The interface looks nice but has comparatively small text and is difficult to navigate. For example, the apps are arranged by content type (e.g. video, audio, Applicast (Bravia) ) but are not searchable, which is a hindrance due to the sheer number of applications.

Verdict:

Sony’s Bravia Internet TV is a great option if you are looking for a decent Internet TV experience, with criticism limited to the lack of browsing and look of service’s associated applications.

Best overall internet TV service:

Samsung’s Internet@TV

Followed by:

Sony’s Bravia Internet TV

Best for online browsing:

Philips’ Net TV