5 features of a modern TV

I sell electrical products as a career, in fact as a team we sell thousands of the things every year - big ones, small ones, some as big as your bed. We have very knowledgeable and enthusiastic go-to folk I can rely on to know most of what there is to know. 

Because of that I’d like to think I was reasonably well up on the tech, I go to the odd training course to keep up to date and until recently had a decent TV at home, a top for the range set from about five years ago. Its a Samsung and its been great so I had no hesitation to get another. Its a very big and beautifully sleek model from just over half way up the range, figure about ￡1000 (well it is a 65”) but you can get the below features for substantially less. It was installed on the wall in time to watch the first competitive Strictly program of the year – what a treat.

The subsequent days were a wonderment of how good a modern TV is and the 'apps' that you can get on them. Here is my top 5

Streaming Services - In the 80’s we went to the video shop and chose from a few hundred worn out movies we’d never heard of. In the 90’s we bought tens of DVD’s and Blu rays, watched them once then years later felt guilty throwing them out. Now we have access to thousands of digital-clear movies to download instantly that are rated by others and suggested from our previous viewing for ease. All this for a few pounds a month by subscribing to Netflix or Amazon. Cosy nights in watching movies with a loved one is the new going out.

4k content – although you can’t get 4k ultra high definition over the aerial there are many programs available on the streaming services provided you have decent broadband. All the better TV's are 4k ultra high definition now, which is stunning when you first see it so everything else is a poor substitute. Thousands of items on YouTube are in 4k as well.

YouTube – like most people getting their first mobile phones and tablets we played with the YouTube app for a little while then found something better to do. In the subsequent 15 years the service has been acquired by Google and developed greatly, it is now the third most used site on the internet. It is regarded as the the future of viewing, everything on demand, many young people don't have a need for a television set. Revisit that app (it will be on your smart phone), search for your favorite artist then the word mix and you get all their videos, all evening - subscription free. Any subject you choose will have content (not all good quality mind).

The i Player type services have come of age too. Sign up and sign in and the app will line up the next episode to watch and even suggest from your viewing habits. The quality is up and the software more robust. A recent feature is that you can watch from the start by pressing the green button, when you switch to a program that has already started, another iPlayer function.

Controlling other units – gone are the days of several remote controls balancing on the coffee table. Following agreement by the brands the new TV remote can control other units, like a Sony blue ray or a set top box (although why would you need either now)?

And a couple of other little features. Voice control – yes its been around for a while but now it really works, it's going to get bigger and it will be everywhere - we can genuinely ask the TV to mute and it will. Screen mirroring – a super easy way to pop what is on your tablet or phone screen on to your main TV, showing the relatives your photos or online shopping with an audience, it’s there if you need.

TV's a much better than they were just a handful of years ago and there are some cracking things to watch on TV now from the BBC and others, depending on your tastes no adverts either. There is a world of programming that we can select and watch on demand from all over the world. The only downside of a modern TV is the sound quality but that is easily remedied with a sound bar, but that’s s a subject for another day.