Top 10 Best Smart TV Apps
Smart TVs, which themselves connect to the Internet to provide app functionality, have become increasingly popular in tandem with the expansion of apps' reach into our day-to-day lives. You can find smart TVs, which themselves connect to the Internet to provide app functionality, as apps expand their reach into our everyday lives, as reported by PCMag. PCMag reports that 25 million American households have smart TVs, and by 2015, 50 percent of all TVs sold worldwide will be smart TVs.
With such numbers, more useful smart TV apps will follow as smart TVs become available.
While many smart TV owners continue to use cable, others have made the decision to permanently discontinue using cable and instead rely solely on these apps for entertainment. Smart TVs now offer a plethora of content rivaling, if not exceeding, even the best cable subscriptions.
Smart TVs offer a wide range of entertainment options, including streaming media, gaming platforms, and the ability to browse the Internet directly from your big-screen TV—features that few cable providers are currently able to provide. These options are in addition to the numerous traditional television channels.
However, one interesting statistic is that, according to a report by the NPD Group, only 12 million of the nation's smart TVs are connected to the Internet. This indicates that the technology is only being utilized in about half of the households that own them.
READ ALSO » Top 10 Most Popular Music Apps In The World
Using apps to navigate content and expand your home entertainment beyond what traditional cable or local channels have to offer is one way to properly use your Internet-connected TV. The best smart TV apps that make the most of Internet-connected televisions are listed here.
10 Best Smart TV Apps
- AccuWeather
- Pandora
- MLB.tv
- NBA Game Time
- YouTube
- HBO Go
- Amazon Instant
- Hulu Plus
- Netflix
10: AccuWeather
AccuWeather gives you instant access to weather forecasts for more than two million locations, so you don't have to wait anxiously for your local newscaster to start the day's weather segment. The app gives five-day forecasts in 12 languages, severe weather alerts, and more for your home city and travel locations, states PCMag.
When you're making plans for the day or your upcoming vacation, this app comes in handy. You won't have to waste time waiting for cable and local channels to return to the exact weather segment and information you require.
9: Pandora
With the Pandora app, your smart TV can now be a part of your home music experience, something you may not have thought of at first. You can play all of your favorite songs and stations for the entire room (or house) to hear, whether you're entertaining, dancing around the living room, or just lying in bed or on the couch And you can also boost your with some yummy food here.
In addition, the music from Pandora will be played by the sound system connected to your television, which is likely of much higher quality than the sound from your computer or mobile device.
8: MLB.tv
MLB.tv is an essential smart TV app for your home entertainment setup, similar to NBA Game Time, if you are a huge baseball fan. You will not only be able to stream each and every game in HD, regardless of whether it is typically available in your area, but you will also receive an abundance of news updates and real-time scores from all over the league—ideal for a fully immersed game day experience.
MLB.tv, on the other hand, starts at a higher price of $99.95 for a full season's worth of all things baseball, in contrast to some of the other streaming content smart TV apps. Any game played in the previous season costs $24.95 to watch in the offseason.
7: NBA Game Time
READ ALSO » Top 6 Best Ways To Make Money Online
NBA Game Time is a must-have application for NBA fans. You can get live scores updates for all NBA games that are currently being played with this smart TV app. In addition, you can view highlights and recaps from previous games in HD and have access to league news.
At the moment, the app is free. The NBA League Pass is an addition to a Premium subscription that costs $199 per season. It lets you watch most games from the regular season as well as playoff games from the previous season that are archived. $139.99 goes toward the 5-Team Choice Package.
6: YouTube
YouTube You enjoy watching YouTube videos on your computer and mobile devices throughout the day, so why not watch them on your big-screen television in the same way you would on a movie or television show? Many Internet-connected televisions already include this smart TV app, allowing users to watch all of their favorite viral videos.
You can watch YouTube videos on your smart TV without a subscription, just like you can do online.
5: HBO Go
Even though HBO Go recently entered into a deal with Amazon Instant, the company previously only broadcast its programming through the HBO Go app. It was initially only available to Comcast, Verizon FiOS, and AT&T U-Verse TV customers, but thanks to this new Amazon deal, that may soon change.
The smart TV app for HBO Go lets you watch all of your favorite HBO shows and movies on your television.
4: Skype
Skype Do you enjoy video chatting with colleagues, friends, and family all over the world? Imagine being able to see and converse with those same people on a screen that is significantly larger than your computer.
They might even give the impression that they are in the same room as you because they are so much smaller than life. This can truly transform your Skype experience and improve your face-to-face time.
3: Amazon Instant
READ ALSO » Top 10 Best & Popular Nigerian Foods
Amazon Instant has a wide selection of streaming movies and television shows, much like Netflix does. However, Amazon Instant has different contracts with different studios, including a recent exclusive agreement with HBO for its TV shows, so some of the content will be different. Amazon Instant does not accompany its content with advertisements.
Amazon Instant differs in that it requires a subscription. It costs slightly more per month than Netflix and Hulu, but it also comes with access to Amazon Prime, Amazon's two-day shipping service, which is valid for many items listed on its website. Instead of paying monthly, you pay $99 for the entire year (recently raised from $79).
2: Hulu Plus
Hulu Plus is another TV-friendly streaming platform that focuses on shows that have recently aired. Hulu Plus, in contrast to its rivals, not only lets you watch older episodes and seasons of many of your favorite TV shows, but it also lets you watch shows that aired the day or night before, something that only Hulu currently offers. However, unlike Netflix and Amazon Instant, Hulu has advertisements that play before and during each video.
Additionally, a monthly subscription for Hulu Plus costs $7.99. Due to Hulu's ad-based revenue model, this price is probably not going to change soon.
1: Netflix
Netflix is probably one of the easiest smart TV applications to use because it works well not only on computers and mobile devices but also (especially) on TVs that are connected to the Internet. There will be content on this app that you can't even get from cable or other streaming TV and movie apps because it has an enormous movie and TV catalog and exclusive distribution deals with several major and minor studios.
You could buy a second set-top box like Roku or a Chromecast with a USB connection to get Netflix. However, the majority of smart TV app stores usually have the app built in so you can use it right on the TV without adding another device.
Netflix's unlimited streaming platform is available for $7.99 per month, though it is anticipated that this price will rise by $1 or $2 in the future. Netflix does not include advertisements with its content.
