LG has reinvented its Smart TV experience for 2013 into ‘cards’ – groups of apps you can choose to place where you think they’ll be most useful.
This week, LG’s Darren Peterson gave Recombu Digital an insight into using the 2013 Smart TV look, and searching for content.
Alongside the Cards interface is an improved Magic Remote – an wand to move and onscreen cursor for selecting and controlling apps and scrolling across screens.
The Magic Remote comes in different flavours. There’s a slender, shiny version on the high-end OLED and 4K Ultra HD TV models, and a fatter model on the more affordable LCD TVs.
Fortunately, they all work the same, and you can also use your smartphone as an alternative remote.
The default Smart TV cards are Premium, 3D World, Games, Smart Zone and SmartShare, but you can create your own to mix elements from each.
Premium hosts free and pay-TV video services like the BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Lovefilm Instant, Blinkbox, Skype, YouTube and more.
With 3D featuring on all but the lowest-end of the 2013 range, LG 3D World has a unique 3D interface and holds free 3D shorts, games, and a range of Disney 3D films released on the same day as their DVD launch.
Games Zone is being enhanced with high profile titles such as The Sims and Where’s My Water, as well as dozens of other games, all controllable with the Magic Remote.
Smart Zone is LG’s app store for smart TV, with both free and paid-for apps, while SmartShare shows videos, pictures and music available through DLNA servers on your local network.
Voice search – using the Magic Remote – was a feature of LG’s 2012 TVs, but it’s now being extended to include the TV guide and content available through apps. YouTube is already included, with BBC iPlayer next in line for May, and Netflix and Lovefilm later on.
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