For anyone still wondering what “smart TV” is: it’s what you get when a television set is programmed with internet and streaming capacities. Today, to celebrate September as the start of a new TV season, BridgingApps team members share their favorite smart-TV apps and features. If you’re wondering what services are best for your family’s needs, hope this helps!
Cristen Reat, Co-Founder/Program Director:
Our current favorite app is YouTube. It’s been a lifesaver, full of entertainment possibilities for our family to enjoy together. We’ve discovered concert recordings of all kinds, from musical theatre to worldwide classical music, from Roy Orbison to Fiddler on the Roof. Not to mention Scholastic StoryBooks, and older TV shows such as VeggieTales.
We particularly appreciate the captioning feature, since our son Vincent is hyperlexic and prefers to see the text, even for concerts. Vincent is also very sensitive to stimulation, so we use YouTube for a mood change and for calming music and visuals. Among our favorite “calming” subjects are falling leaves in autumn; snowy or festive scenes in winter; and, year round, “aquarium” items or rain and ocean sounds.
Another benefit of YouTube: we get all this for free.
Tara Rocha, Digital Learning Specialist:
A couple members of our household just spend time on free YouTube. Another loves old movies and has found a lot of viewing options on Tubi and Crackle. And we love Netflix and Amazon Prime.
However, we have a large family and more than the average number of TV sets, so we’ve tested quite a few options. We even took a poll to determine how the TVs were actually used, and one thing we decided was that cable wasn’t worth paying for. The same went for most streaming services—it’s ridiculous the way they just continue to increase their prices. For local channels, we attached ordinary antennas to three of our TV sets. And with smart TVs, there are so many channels already preloaded, plus all of the on-demand movies.
A favorite smart-TV feature is apps that remember what you’ve been watching so you can come back and continue where you left off. When there’s not time to watch a whole movie, you can just start it and then save it in your queue.
Christopher Wright, Reviewer:
I use a 24-inch Insignia Fire TV, primarily as a monitor for desktop computers, though it’s also useful to play Netflix, YouTube, and [Amazon] Prime Video. I’m also blind, so accessibility is very important—and I will never use a Roku device again, so long as they insist on putting in the bare minimum just to say they’re complying with accessibility laws. Their screen reader is very basic, and the voice they’re using is an extremely robotic open-source TTS [text-to-speech] engine. The only use I’ve found for a Roku TV is reading the input options you’re selecting—but the Fire TV also does that.
For me, the ability to know what input the TV is using is priceless. I’ve always wanted a fully accessible monitor experience, and now I have that.
Ale Gonzalez, Digital Navigator:
We used to have a Firestick, but it kept lagging. We now have Roku TVs throughout the house, which we use for various streaming apps. Our favorites include Netflix, Peacock, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Hulu, Disney+, and ViX.
We love having the app for onscreen controls: much easier and more convenient than a remote, which always seems to be missing anyway. I also love the Continue Watching feature, which immediately switches from whatever the TV is on to resume what you were watching. And through the app, I can check my purchased subscriptions.
Also, most smart TVs are compatible with Alexa and Google devices, so you can control the TV using your voice. You can turn the TV on and off, lower or increase the volume, and even open specific streaming apps.
Amy Fuchs, Program Manager:
For disability-friendly features in smart TVs, captioning stands out. We can turn it on not only in the main TV/streaming device, but for individual streaming services so each viewer can match what they see to what they need. That is important with four household members of varying ages and abilities.
Marjorie Reichard, Project Manager:
We use an LG TV for streaming—haven’t really figured out how to do anything else. Maybe someday I’ll learn to record broadcast TV, but for now streaming is enough. We got rid of our satellite two years ago and never looked back.
The apps we use are Disney +, Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Max, and LG Live.