Mechanically, it is the same TV as a “not-so-smart TV,” but a Smart TV connects to the programming source by wired Ethernet or Wi-Fi, which connects to your home network, allowing consumers to stream movies, TV shows, surf the Internet, etc. Every Smart TV manufacturer makes their TV’s with different software so they all offer different things, yet most support the most popular apps like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video and Pandora; the higher-end models may offer more TV apps then the lower-end models.

Some TVs even allow you to add the camera accessory to use Skype and video services, for an additional cost. Others allow you to purchase apps that have different gaming options. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter can be accessed using your Smart TV, and some really advanced TV’s have pens that allow you to write on the TV, leaving notes for your family – who won’t eventually find that note?

What You Need To Know

Since most consumers access the Internet on their Smart TVs via Wi-Fi, a strong signal is required for reliability, and consumers who have a large home or the TV is positioned far away from the wireless router, may need a signal extender. Fix this, or you might be watching your favorite movie and have it buffer just at the best part.

But, even if you have a great Internet connection, your operating system may freeze or crash from time to time, but usually just shutting the TV off and turning it back on will fix this issue. Security risks can be perceived as high, as these TV’s can be hacked and get viruses just like your computer, so consumers are warned to be very careful with personal information.

In fact, many recommended not shopping on a Smart TV, as they are less secure than your computer. A concern of the people using the camera attachment is that someone can hack your TV and spy on you while in your living room, so you might want to make sure you disconnect when not in use. The only additional cost with the Smart TV is the Internet service and a small upfront-cost of about $100 for most models.

What Smart TVs Mean for Advertising

Samsung and LG are the first of the Smart TV manufacturers to put advertisements in their TV Software. This type of advertising is still pretty rare in the TV market but you will see this more and more. Some TV’s allows consumers to select the ad banner and decide if you would like to see the ads or turn it off if you don’t.

Advertising companies are creating software for Smart TVs to track consumers purchasing habits after seeing an ad, with smart TVs attached to home IP addresses, we can provide multi-touch attribution to connect first-party data and track actions users take on advertisers’ sites” after viewing TV ads. This information will help advertisers track how effective their ads are, which will allow them to use their dollars where they can generate the most revenue.

The newest Smart technology is called “addressable TV,” and will change TV advertising forever. Data can be obtained from IP addresses to capture interests from searches on computers, smart phones and tablets. If a consumer is searching for a blouse on their computer and then later in the day they get an ad reminding them of that new blouse on their phone, they might think they must really need that blouse and it is destined to be theirs.

This is how marketers are targeting their ads to people that have an interest in a certain product and we know this based on their search history. This is similar to the concept of the addressable TV, where advertisers can show different people different ads while watching the same show.

They can target their advertising to the people most likely interested in their products or services. The advertisers get a larger impact from their ads and the consumer gets more relevant ads, people may even enjoy watching the commercials with this technology. It might be a while before we see this in our homes, as audience measurement will need to integrate traditional, panel-based gross rating points and internet-enabled, census-based measurement before the potential of addressable advertising can be fully realized.

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