Best Smart TV Systems

Smart TV systems have come a long way in the last few years: going from a clunky web browser that was little more than a curiosity, to a sophisticated video streamer that most people would consider essential. In fact, there’s a good chance that the average consumer uses the video streaming services on their smart TV as much as they use the built-in tuner.

So what makes a good smart TV system? First and foremost, it should include as comprehensive a set of video streaming providers as possible. That doesn’t just mean the ubiquitous Netflix, Amazon and YouTube, but all the UK TV catch-up services, such as BBC iPlayer, ITVhub, All4, My5, BBC News & Sport and UK Play. If it also has other subscription services like Now, Rakuten and Chili, then so much the better.

Of course people still watch regular TV, so an effective Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) is important, and time shifting content to an external storage device is also convenient. If you do miss something there’s always the catch-up services, but with so much choice these days, a smart platform that can collate and recommend content is essential.

The ability to effortlessly select any connected source such as a games console or disc player is crucial, as is a smart platform’s ability to access your home network, and stream content (videos, music and photos) from other connected devices like smartphones, tablets or NAS drives.

An app store of some sort is another must-have feature, allowing users the option to load additional apps to the platform. This ensures the system can adapt and evolve, as new features are added or improved. Finally voice control, either directly or via a third party like Amazon or Google, is becoming increasingly popular.

Every major TV brand offers a smart platform but which is the best? Each has its strengths and weaknesses: some go for a fairly basic approach, others are more sophisticated and there are even some platforms based on the Android operating system.

In this article we’ll take you through each platform, describing its layout, identifying its key features and revealing how it performs in practice. So, in alphabetical order, here are the best smart TV systems.

Hisense VIDAA

The Chinese manufacturer Hisense may not be a name with which you’re immediately familiar, but it’s been making in-roads into the UK TV market over the last few years. Hisense specialises in building solid TVs that deliver a decent performance at a competitive price. The company’s VIDAA smart TV system reflects this approach, with a relatively simple in-house platform that gets the job done.

Layout

You access VIDAA by pressing the Home button on the remote, which will give you the option of choosing tiles for Freeview Play, Apps, Inputs, Media and Settings. So you can immediately see that VIDAA has all the main features covered. The system overlays the tiles onto the picture, with each providing direct access to that specific smart function. This particular Smart TV system keeps things relatively simple, but in doing so it’s highly intuitive to use

App Support

FreeviewPlay provides access to all the UK TV catch-up services and even integrates with the EPG, allowing you to go backwards in time if you missed one of your favourite shows. There’s also a feature that allows you to time shift programmes by recording them on a connected drive, turning your TV into a Personal Video Recorder (PVR).

The Apps section unsurprisingly contains all the apps that the TV can run, including Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and Rakuten TV. In fact, of the main video streaming services, only Now TV is missing. Netflix and Amazon support 4K and HDR (High Dynamic Range), while the BBC iPlayer app supports 4K and HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma).

Hardware Support

The Home page also provides direct access to all the inputs, including any connected devices, whether that is physical or wireless, and the Media option supports DLNA, allowing you to access content on your home network.

Performance

You interact with the system using a standard remote control, and aside from being a simple and intuitive user interface, VIDAA is also responsive and robust thanks to quad-core processing. The importance of this can’t be over-emphasised, there is nothing worse than smart TV systems that are slow or have a tendency to crash. Overall Hisense’s VIDAA smart TV system is an easy-to-use platform, that is sure to meet the majority of your needs.

LG WebOS

It’s hard to overstate how influential LG’s WebOS smart TV system has been since it was first released four years ago. The platform was a real game changer when it launched, and despite being copied by a number of manufacturers, it remains one of the best.

Layout

What makes WebOS so revolutionary is that it treats everything, whether its a video streaming service, a connected device or a feature as an app. You then access all these apps using a launcher bar that appears along the bottom of the screen, when you press the home button.

The launcher bar allows you choose apps for various streaming services and connected devices, as well as other features such as the Live TV, Sky Store, LG Content, TV Guide (EPG), Recordings (PVR), Gallery and Web Browser.

On the left hand side of the screen are My Channels and My Content options, where you can add your favourite TV shows and content. Over on the right hand side of the screen is a very useful Recommendations service that monitors your viewing habits and makes recommendations based on a predictive algorithm.

App Support

WebOS treats everything as an app, and when it comes to the video streaming services it is one of the most comprehensive platforms available. Here you’ll find all the UK catch-up services thanks to Freeview Play, as well as NOW TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Rakuten TV and YouTube. The latter three include support for 4K, HDR and, in the case of Netflix, both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

Voice Control

There’s also voice control, which now includes natural language processing, making interaction more ‘conversational’. It’s actually quite effective and can prove very useful, especially when searching for content. When voice controlling the TV, there are also simple guidelines built in that can be accessed using the appropriate button on the remote.

Hardware Support

The launcher bar provides direct access to all the inputs, including any connected devices, whether that is physical or wireless, and WebOS supports DLNA, allowing you to access content on your home network.

LG has also added ThinQ AI to WebOS. This proprietary artificial intelligence technology is based on the Internet of Things (IoT) and uses ThinQ open-standard control protocols to enable communication with other supporting devices. Among other features, the addition of ThinQ adds Google Home and Amazon Alexa skills to WebOS.

Performance

LG’s WebOS sets the standard as far as smart TV systems are concerned, It is fast, responsive and robust, with a highly intuitive user interface and a comprehensive set of features. You interact with the system using an onscreen pointer controlled by LG’s Magic Remote, although you also have the option of voice control using the microphone built into the remote or via Amazon and Google. Once you have tried LG’s WebOS platform, it’s hard to go back to any other smart TV system.

Panasonic My Home Screen

At first glance, Panasonic’s My Home Screen smart platform appears rather dated compared to much of the competition. Although on its third iteration, My Home Screen remains largely the same as the Firefox OS on which it was originally based. However in operation the system impresses, with an intuitive and simple approach that gives you quick and easy access to all your favourite content.

Layout

The Home button on the remote brings up three options: Live TV, Apps, and Devices. This approach is very easy to understand and even easier to navigate. You can quickly access Live TV and the EPG, as well as find all your frequently used apps in a single location; you can even pin your favourite apps to the home page for quicker access.

App Support

Most importantly, Panasonic’s system is fairly comprehensive when it comes to video streaming services. There’s support for Freeview Play, so you get a complete set of UK catch-up services, and there’s also Netflix, Amazon and YouTube. The latter three support 4K and HDR, and the platform also includes services like Rakuten TV and Chili Cinema. In fact the only major streaming service missing is NOW TV.

Hardware Support

The Home page also provides direct access to all the inputs, including any connected devices, whether that is physical or wireless, and the Media option supports DLNA, allowing you to access content on your home network.

Performance

One of the joys of using the My Home Screen smart platform is that it’s robust and responsive, primarily because it doesn’t require excessive processing power. It also avoids the unnecessary fragmentation seen on some smart TV systems, which can be a problem with some platforms, and it doesn’t inundate you with recommendations, instead just concentrating on all the main streaming and catch-up services.

Philips Android

The majority of smart TV systems are developed in-house, but Philips is one two major manufacturers to use an operating system provided by a third party. The Philips platform is based on Android, which immediately gives it a degree of familiarity, but also means that Philips are dependent on Google to deliver new features and updates.

Layout

The Android TV platform itself uses a series of selectable cards that are grouped into five main sections – Recommendations, Philips Collection, Apps, Games and Settings. You can scroll down through these sections and then scroll across to access something that interests you.

The Recommendations section uses an algorithm to monitor your viewing habits, and then suggests various content based upon the results. The Philips Collection is a throw-back to the manufacturer’s own in-house smart platform and contains a selection of apps provided specifically by Philips themselves.

The Apps section is more generic and here you’ll find Google Play Store, Google Play Movies & TV, Google Play Music and Google Play Games. The Games section provides access to gaming providers like Gamefly, whilst the final section provides access to the settings menu, Finally there is a well designed EPG, combined with the option of adding an HDD to turn your Philips TV into a PVR.

App Support

The Apps section is more generic and here you’ll find Google Play Store, Google Play Movies & TV, Google Play Music and Google Play Games. There is a reasonable selection of video streaming apps including Netflix, YouTube, Amazon and the UK TV catch-up services. Netflix, Amazon and Youtube support 4K and HDR, while the BBC iPlayer supports 4K and HLG.

Hardware Support

The Home page also provides direct access to all the inputs, including any connected devices, whether that is physical or wireless, and the Media option supports DLNA, allowing you to access content on your home network.

Performance

The implementation of Android TV has been problematic, with some TVs lacking the necessary processing power to run the system optimally. Thankfully Philips uses quad-core processing in its TVs, and as result the Android platform is both responsive and stable, free of the software glitches and crashes that have plagued it in the past.

Samsung SmartThings

Samsung’s smart TV platform uses the Tizen operating system and has clearly been inspired by LG’s WebOS. The two smart TV systems use a similar launcher bar that provides quick and easy access to all your favourite content. Samsung’s system is just as fast, responsive and stable as LG’s, and also includes voice control, allowing you to find and access content quicker.

Despite its similarities with WebOS, Samsung has made a few clever improvements. When you select various apps on the launcher bar, it provides a second tier with further options for direct access to content. So for example, if you select Netflix, you can then immediately select whichever programming you were last watching, without having to fully open up the Netflix app.

In terms of available apps, Samsung has you covered with just about every video streaming service you can think of, including all the UK catch-up services, Netflix, Amazon, Now TV and YouTube. In the case of the BBC iPlayer there is support for 4K and HLG, while Netflix, Amazon and YouTube support 4K and HDR, with Amazon also supporting HDR10+.

Samsung’s new TV Plus option combines the streaming services with the TV broadcasters, putting all your TV content in a single location. There are also more TV recommendations available now, and they’re given greater prominence when browsing for content. Naturally age system also includes an effective EPG and the option to add additional storage and convert the TV into a PVR.

Samsung has integrated its smart platform with SmartThings, an onscreen hub that monitors and controls other smart devices in your home. You can use the SmartThings app on your smartphone (iOS or Android) to setup your TV and this works really well, setting up the internet connection, adding all your relevant passwords and even tuning the TV channels.

Sony Android

Sony’s smart platform also uses Android as its operating system and user interface. Just like Philips, Sony has had some issues with speed and reliability when it comes to implementing Android on its TVs. However, Sony has also managed to improve the performance over the last few years, although at times the platform can still suffer from slow response times and crashes.

The platform itself uses selectable cards that are grouped into six sections – Recommendations, Featured Apps, Inputs, Apps, Games and Settings. You can scroll down through these sections and then scroll across to access something that interests you. As with Philips’s implementation, there are legacy features left over from Sony’s own in-house smart platform, that sometimes makes the Android system feel slightly fragmented.

The Recommendations section monitors your viewing habits using an algorithm, and then suggests content based on the results. The Featured Apps contains a selection of apps provided specifically by Philips themselves, and Inputs provides access to any connected devices.

The Apps section includes Google Play Store, Google Play Movies & TV, Google Play Music and Google Play Games. There is a good selection of video streaming apps including Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, all of which support 4K and HDR, and the BBC iPlayer which supports 4K and HLG.

The Games section provides access to gaming providers like Gamefly, whilst the final section provides access to the settings menu. Finally there is a well designed EPG, combined with the option of adding an HDD to turn your Philips TV into a PVR.

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