Exec TJ Kang tells CNET that certain tablets will be able to use the new
feature that lets users search live TV and various streaming services
through one app.
Samsung America Senior Vice President Joe Stinziano describes new
features for TVs, including a feature that allows users to search all
video services and live TV in one screen.
LAS VEGAS -- Samsung's new video search tool, which the company unveiled yesterday for its TVs, will also be available for certain tablets this spring, a Samsung executive told CNET.
That means users will be able to use one app to navigate all of their different video services, and use their tablets as a remote to control their TVs, TJ Kang, senior vice president of Samsung's media solution center, told CNET in an interview after Samsung's press conference yesterday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In his role, Kang oversees new services and apps made by Samsung for its products.
"You could either stream video to the tablet and start watching on the tablet and take it anywhere with you, or if you want to share that video with other family members, you can send that to the TV," Kang said. "We're giving that seamless, multiscreen, multiuser experience."
One of the biggest criticisms of smart TVs like those from Samsung is that they're too difficult to use. It can be frustrating and time consuming to navigate between all the different video streaming services on a device, as well as including live TV in the mix.
In addition, if someone wants to switch between cable and Internet-based streaming services on a TV, they typically have to switch remote controls and change the HDMI port by hitting the input button on the remote. None of that makes for very quick or seamless video searching.
Samsung's new technology, which right now doesn't have a name but is referred to by the company as a video discovery service, allows users to search all of the different video sources through one single app. When the service launches this spring, it also will be available for certain Samsung mobile devices, Kang said.
Here's how it works: If someone searches for "Modern Family" using Samsung's program, the results would include anything currently on live TV, as well as episodes available from Netflix and other streaming services. So instead of going to Netflix, Blockbuster, and other individual apps, everything would show up in one list.
If the program is currently playing, Kang said, a person would be able to use his tablet as a remote to power the set-top box and immediately watch the video on their TV. The key is the infrared control included in the tablet. That means only a couple current Samsung mobile devices would work after getting a software upgrade -- the Galaxy Note 10.1 and the 10.1 inch Galaxy Tab 2.
LAS VEGAS -- Samsung's new video search tool, which the company unveiled yesterday for its TVs, will also be available for certain tablets this spring, a Samsung executive told CNET.
That means users will be able to use one app to navigate all of their different video services, and use their tablets as a remote to control their TVs, TJ Kang, senior vice president of Samsung's media solution center, told CNET in an interview after Samsung's press conference yesterday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In his role, Kang oversees new services and apps made by Samsung for its products.
"You could either stream video to the tablet and start watching on the tablet and take it anywhere with you, or if you want to share that video with other family members, you can send that to the TV," Kang said. "We're giving that seamless, multiscreen, multiuser experience."
One of the biggest criticisms of smart TVs like those from Samsung is that they're too difficult to use. It can be frustrating and time consuming to navigate between all the different video streaming services on a device, as well as including live TV in the mix.
In addition, if someone wants to switch between cable and Internet-based streaming services on a TV, they typically have to switch remote controls and change the HDMI port by hitting the input button on the remote. None of that makes for very quick or seamless video searching.
Samsung's new technology, which right now doesn't have a name but is referred to by the company as a video discovery service, allows users to search all of the different video sources through one single app. When the service launches this spring, it also will be available for certain Samsung mobile devices, Kang said.
Here's how it works: If someone searches for "Modern Family" using Samsung's program, the results would include anything currently on live TV, as well as episodes available from Netflix and other streaming services. So instead of going to Netflix, Blockbuster, and other individual apps, everything would show up in one list.
If the program is currently playing, Kang said, a person would be able to use his tablet as a remote to power the set-top box and immediately watch the video on their TV. The key is the infrared control included in the tablet. That means only a couple current Samsung mobile devices would work after getting a software upgrade -- the Galaxy Note 10.1 and the 10.1 inch Galaxy Tab 2.
