If you’re like most people these days, your home’s living room is set up around your TV. With so many great smart televisions on offer, at cheaper prices than ever before, it’s no wonder statistics show that most of us are watching on average five or more hours of TV per day.
However, note that the latest gadgets are called “smart” for a reason. It’s not only TV and movie watching they can afford us. In fact, our television screens today provide the ability for us to complete a wide variety of activities with them.
Stream Live Feeds
It’s amazing how many intriguing, entertaining, and educational live stream feeds we can get access to for free now. Check out lists of the most fascinating webcams you can watch, and you’ll notice that you can learn about space, see active volcanos, watch animals at play, or travel around the world from the comfort of home, all through a smart TV.
Streaming videos typically operate 24 hours per day, and there truly is something to suit every taste and age. Checking out the footage from a large-screen TV will make you feel like you’re right in the middle of the action, too. On your compatible device, simply download the relevant streaming apps of your choice.
Listen to Music
If music is more your thing, remember that smart TVs are also perfect for listening to the radio. Forget about setting up an old-fashioned antenna radio; instead, get a radio app on your TVs such as iHeart Radio or TuneIn, and then stream AM/FM stations live. You can also connect to Google Play and iTunes through your television and listen to the latest podcasts directly from the device.
For people who are fans of Spotify and similar software, note that you can integrate these types of tech with smart TVs too. Again, download the app on your gadget, and then you’ll be good to go. Plus, don’t forget that Spotify has some other offerings in addition to music. Choose from, in its “Word” section, playlists of radio dramas, short stories, famous speeches, TED Talks, audiobooks, and even languages.
Play Games
Gamers are taken care of with smart TVs too. You don’t need to keep shelling out money for new games all the time; instead, check out the options available on your television. Most modern products have fun, casual mini-games you can download from manufacturer app stores and play directly on the screen with no need for a separate console.
With the big screen size and clarity that comes with the latest televisions, particularly products such as top QLED TVs, you’ll get the kind of gaming experience that just doesn’t come on a tiny smartphone or small tablet.
Increase Fitness
If you find it hard to fit in time at the gym during your busy work week, your TV might actually help you to get fit! You can increase your fitness at home if your smart TV has fitness and training apps built into its menu – many do, now, as so many people are keen to utilize this feature. Some of the manufacturers create their own flagship apps, too.
For example, Samsung created Fitness VOD. This application includes dozens of different videos related to toning, yoga, cardio, strength, and working the abs, with no special, expensive equipment required. There’s a virtual mirror function so you can tell if you’re doing the moves correctly, and the app also has features such as a recent workout list, favorites list, workout history management, and more.
Check Social Media
Most of us like to check out various social media pages at least daily, or even every hour or two. While smartphones are great for this, it’s also possible to use your smart TV to check your social media feeds in between bingeing your favorite shows. Most of the big-name brands have dedicated Facebook and Twitter apps available for their respective platforms.
While most of the time updating your status on your TV screen is going to be more time consuming than doing it on your phone, it does work well to check feeds and see if there’re any breaking updates you need to know about or respond to ASAP.
Smart TVs are ubiquitous in this digitally-driven age. However, you’re probably not getting as much use out of your device as you could be. Next time you have some time and want to be entertained differently, try utilizing your television for one of the methods mentioned above.
