What Features Do You Want In Next Generation TVs?

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Why has watching TV turned into an Olympic sport of remote hand-offs, app juggling and extension cord jumping? By the time I figure out the correct remote, toggle to the appropriate source and figure out which device and platform I need to be on, the precious time I took to veg out has escaped. No longer is watching TV as simple as clicking power on the remote. Just finding the right remote is a challenge in itself. We need a simpler next-generation TV experience.

Home TV Tech

My husband is the biggest tech geek I know (one of the many reasons I love him). However, a frequent “subject of discussion” — is the complexity of our home TV viewing experience. We still have the traditional cable box, which hubby begs we cancel. But there’s also an Apple TV, Roku, Boxee, PS3 and even a Mac Mini connected to our Samsung TV. Once you figure out what remote and device you want to use, then there are the OTT apps… Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, iTunes, Amazon — you get the idea. What’s the right combination of remote, app and device I need to watch the upcoming mid-season of The Walking Dead or the Oscar-predicted film Lincoln? Seriously, I want to know.

Tech Clutter

And with all these devices comes the cords. Each device has a power, Ethernet, and video cable. It’s a mess. Our home media center is bursting at the seams and the surrounding power outlets resemble an octopus on extension cord-enhancing steroids (a good argument for the banning of steroids). Can’t developers, engineers, and designers get together and make a “smart TV” that doesn’t need all this app, remote and wire clutter?

Next Generation TV Poll

I was really hoping to see the “smart TV” of my dreams at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas but it didn’t happen. CES 2013 was really just about bigger TVs, not smarter. So now, let’s look to CES 2014. Please fill out the MethodShop.com poll below and tell us what features you’d like to see in the “Smart TV” of your dreams. Who knows, maybe a TV manufacturer will read this and make your dreams come true next year.