Living room TV from the Web.

The TV is at the center of the digital lifestyle back - hope its manufacturer. This is why TV sets are now webtauglich. The electronics group Philips, the technology soon in many devices installed. The whole internet to get to but can not see.

 

Philips wants to create what TV manufacturers have long been dreaming, the Internet, bring into your living room. Net TV is called the Dutch electronics group, and the promises the launch of a new generation of multimedia-screen televisions. " The aim of your couch from "a simple and quick access to a variety of entertainment and information offerings of the Internet" offer. And they also - but not much more.

So far, attempts to make Internet-TV, usually failed. Various problems plagued the manufacturer. It was at the time of the CRT TVs, the resolution of the devices too low to display Web pages easy to read them. This has resulted in periods of HD-TVs are changed, but remained an operator problem. By remote control can be difficult to control normal web browser, a keyboard, even if it is wireless, though not everyone on the sofa table and have a good replacement for mouse sofa surfers, there are not yet.

Is apparently aware of these problems, Philips engineers have not even tried the Internet, just as you would know from the PC to the TV to transfer. Instead, it runs on the Net-TV-sets of TV habits adapted version of the WWW. This is apparently by a modified version of an Opera browser and it works really well and easy.

The Web from the perspective of a TV

On the remote control of the device has only a Net-TV Key pointed out that there is an Internet-TV is at work. Pressing this button launches the browser and displays several rows of large icons that symbolize the various web sites - these are the bookmarks. By operating on the remote junction can be viewed by hangeln this list, pressing the OK button loads the current page.

So easy does the TV-Internet but only with websites that are sent to the Philips system were adjusted. That means, first, that these websites in the Internet-dialect CE must be HTML formatted. On the other hand, that images and text for display on TV should be optimized. About 200 partners who provide their content on this way of presenting the Dutch have so far found. Below Tageschau.de, eBay, kickers and Tomtom.

YouTube killer app

Some nice deals are in the process of the Internet but is still something larger. Conceptually, this is reminiscent of the mobile portals, which network providers and long tried in vain to make their mobile phone customers to mobile internet usage to make palatable. Popular Internet was on the phone but only when devices like the iPhone a mobile access to normal web pages allowed.

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And there is also on the Web TVs from Philips. Web addresses to enter with the remote a bit awkward, but reasonably well. The result is however not always as expected. Philips used the Opera browser is optimized CE-HTML, which is the navigation of a website only via remote control possible. Correctly displayed on the Philips equipment only a question of pages that the server is already a CE-HTML version offer. Otherwise - an obvious compromise - often the mobile version of a web page delivery, reflecting the wide-screen LCD but at best, strange effect.

So far there are but very few web site operator, a version in the CE-HTML offer: It hides a chicken-egg problem. Philips is the first manufacturer ever, especially for the consumer electronics devices (hence CE) optimized HTML version uses. Whether it will develop a standard, wait, most website operators, but only once: There is evidence, because as the Open IPTV Forum so decides. However the big advantage of Philips' competitors Samsung, Sony, Sharp and Panasonic CE-HTML for their Internet TV, although some of them of the Digital Living Network Alliance, who here living standards for web development and wants also supports CE-HTML . Everything seems to be still open.

What with the device really works well, is the retrieval of online video. That, however, only if they are streamed. The built-in TV cache is quite small, more movies can not accommodate. Youtube videos and movie trailers but can enjoy fine as long as the internet connection is fast enough. Here, the killer application of network TV are: In addition to the Häppchenkram of YouTube, there are finally more and more legal, streamed video-on-demand offerings.

Net TV is standard, but not cheap

But Philips has chosen the non-exclusive basis for wisdom. Panasonic, for example, has been in early 2008 at the CES Consumer Electronics trade show a similar concept. It is now called Viera Cast, in the U.S. may already be used. In Europe, the system in spring 2009 at the starting line.

Samsung, however, is moving hintenan content, instead, wants information primarily in text form on the screen magic. Info Live is the appropriate system for retrieving RSS feeds with the TV and is in the top models of the manufacturer's. Similarly, also for Sony, whose new Bravia models on the AppliCast Service "news or weather information [...], Lifestyle News" can be consulted.

Like its competitors, the Internet TV at Philips also not extra charge, at least not directly. Starting in April, many new Philips TV set by default with the web technology. But not all. Only those models, even with Ambilight (light bars on the chassis to fit the television screen lights) are fitted, you can also go online. The starting price here is around 1400 euros for a TV set in 32-inch format.

The Web service itself is financed by advertising, is for the customer that is almost free. Almost, because of course still an Internet connection is required on the TV with the Web can connect. But do we need anyway to get the rest of the World Wide Web to look - with a computer.