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diff --git a/old/published/How To Wiki/howtosync_smart_tv.txt b/old/published/How To Wiki/howtosync_smart_tv.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0f42fce --- /dev/null +++ b/old/published/How To Wiki/howtosync_smart_tv.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +The future of television is connected. Smart TVs are already coming on the market, but despite the name they aren't yet terribly smart. A better way to think of these new TVs is connected -- pulling video from the web and services like Netflix or Hulu Plus in addition to typical broadcast content. + +Sadly, it's still going to be a while before your television is smart enough to know what you want to watch before you do. For now your best bet is to sync the content you're already consuming over the web -- YouTube favorites, Netflix queue, etc -- to your new smart TV. + +Here's our guide to getting everything on your PC onto your smart television + +## Start with apps + +Like smartphones, smart TVs have embraced the app model. Netflix, Hulu Plus and other sites with streaming content -- everything from MLB to Twitter and weather forecasts -- have developed apps that will work on most smart TVs. In these cases syncing is simply a matter of logging in to your account. Once your TV has your YouTube info, for example, anything you've liked or added to your queue on YouTube is now available on your TV. + +## Add a little wifi + +So far so good, but what about all those movies you have on your PC? Well, that depends on your TV. The latest and greatest TVs can connect to your local network and automatically find any videos on your PC. For example, LG's new Smart Share TVs can stream any content on your PC's media player. Smart Share also includes what LG calls "Media Link," which provides extra information about what you're watching -- plot synopsis, actor bios and other metadata. + +LG's new Smart TVs, and similar models from other manufacturers, also offer their own homegrown apps for streaming other things, like educational content or games for kids. And of course most offer a built-in web browser as well. Though browsing the web from your armchair is not an ideal experience, it does offer a fall back plan for content that you can't get any other way. + +## Fallbacks + +If your TV isn't one of the newest models that includes built-in streaming tools you'll need to add another box to the mix -- like the Apple TV 2, [http://www.boxee.tv/ Boxee] or a PC running [http://xbmc.org/ XMBC]. + +## Go mobile, or not + +The AppleTV 2 makes it incredibly simple to stream content from any iOS mobile device to an AppleTV on the same network. Sadly, the smart TVs on the market at the time of this writing can not easily stream movies or other content on your phone. For now at least, you'll have to content yourself with the movies on your PC or jump on the Apple bandwagon.
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