Android TV: The future of the idiot box is online!

Last week, digital security specialist Irdeto and technology analyst Ovum, shared results of a global study on trends of TV distribution. Their conclusion: the future of the television set top box ( STB) lies in the world's dominant mobile phone operating system, Android.

The survey showed that 72 per cent of all STB makers planned to build future boxes fueled by a version of Android. Why? Because customers are so used to downloading Android apps on their phones, they demand the same ease on their Net-connected 'Smart' TVs -- to access Hotstar, Netflix, Voot or YouTube. Android TV has come and is here to stay. India is seeing a flurry of announcements pitched around Android-driven television services.

After Netflix launched an Indian avatar a year ago -- Amazon Prime four months ago -- satellite dish operators , may have felt a bit threatened. Airtel seems to have decided: If you can't fight 'em, join 'em. Last week it launched Internet TV for homes, with a hybrid DTH box powered by Android. It comes preloaded with Netflix, YouTube, Google Play Games, its own movie channel plus easy access to the Google Play Store. The STB has a built-in WiFi receiver, so all you need is to link wirelessly to your home broadband router. In effect, it transforms any TV into a smart TV, ready, for 4K/Ultra HD content. There is also Bluetooth which is handy for connecting the remote and also using Google's voice search feature to speak-and-select the channels of your choice.

However be warned that watching Internet TV is not quite as simple as watching dish TV channels: Your home WiFi must provide a data speed of 4-5 MBPS at the least -- otherwise you will be plagued with frozen screens. Videocon already has a WiFi-driven STB. Other DTH operators may go the Android route in 2017.

Lean back, lean forward

Ten years ago, there were two distinct ways to watch video: lean back on the sofa and watch it on a TV screen, or lean forward in an office chair and watch it on a PC. That distinction has vanished: And one of the innovations that drove the change flows from Indian brains.

Carlos Fernandes, is a Bombay University Electrical Engineering graduate, and an MBA from Chicago University. In 2006, he invented and patented the world's first Internet-based Digital Video Recorder and started a company in Singapore -- Record TV. With his InstantTV app, you could record broadcast content from 100s of TV channels around the world for free and play back at your convenience on your Android phone or tablet. There is a subscription version without ads.

Carlos was in India last month to promote the next evolution of InstantTV: Blaze Bot. Instead of making you search, it will deliver curated and trending content from around the world -- news, videos or just buzz. Expect a leading content provider to roll out BlazeBot in India very soon.

Affordable 4K Android TV

Search with the term "4K video" on YouTube and you get 3.5 million results. This is my answer to those who advise against paying extra for a 4K smart TV when there is so little 4K content on your dish. Instead enjoy the huge content on YouTube or paid services like Netflix or Amazon Prime. Some Chinese companies have crashed cost but not quality, to unbelievable levels so 4K TVs are no longer out of reach for many of us. LeEco has just launched the Super4 ecoTV series of three 4K models: X40 Pro, X43 Pro and X50 Pro in India. The numbers refer to the screen size in inches.

 

I have been using a review unit of the X43Pro for a month. Except for the size of the TV, other specifications are the same, give or take a USB/HDMI port or two. The LED TV is so thin and light -- 9.2 mm in most areas -- that I could easily unpack it and have it working in 10 minutes. There are 2 HDMI ports, a USB 3.0 port, AV and audio ports, RF and Ethernet ports on the back panel, but one USB port is usefully placed on the top of the body, so you don't have to go crawling to the rear panel to connect a device.

This is an Android (Marshmallow) TV, with 3GB DDR3 RAM, 16 GB of flash memory, a quad core m 1.7 GHz processor and a Wi-Fi network adapter to access all Internet sites and Android apps. I could also connect my existing dish TV set top box and my DVD player. The screen is full UHD/4K ie 3840 by 2160 pixels, enhanced by HDR or High Dynamic Range to increase the range of colours from full black to full white. The sound is theatre -quality Dolby-DTS.

The clincher may be the price -- currently Rs 57,490 for X43Pro at the LeMall. The smaller 40 inch X40 Pro costs Rs 42,490 and the larger 50 inch X50 Pro can be had for Rs 78490. 4K-HDR TVs of comparable screen size, from most other vendors cost 50 - 70 per cent more.

—IndiaTechOnline