LG Smart+ TV; is the latest name LG is giving to its new webOS-derived smart TV interface.
Press the Smart button on LG’s remote controls and the picture dims and has the Smart+ TV home screen super-imposed on it.
This shows along the top of the screen the input currently being viewed on the left with the date and time to the right.
Also on the right are icons providing quick access to the TV’s settings menus and a list of key inputs – live TV, and available HDMIs.
All available inputs can be accessed from here via a dedicated button on the remote.
At the bottom of the screen are an array of content ‘tiles’.
Then there’s the way different sources are all given equal weight by the tiling system. No content type – broadcast, streamed, AV input, multimedia – is given visual weight over any other. Which of course accurately reflects the way more and more of us are now using our TVs as portals for an increasingly diverse array of source types.
Unlike other Smart TVs, LG’s are not covered in apps and icons with a cleaner, simpler interface, and the ability to run multiple apps simultaneously.
LG has also made good use of webOS’s multi-tasking capabilities. The platform significantly reduces the number of steps required to switch between available content.
LG webOS 2.0
LG has announced a new version of its webOS operating system – called webOS 2.0, the platform was originally used by Palm for its smartphone range but was sold to LG, and the first webOS-powered smart TVs from LG debuted in 2014.
User interface
It turns out people who are already using webOS really like how it is laid out. Because of that, LG hasn’t changed the user interface at all. It merely added new features and made webOS a lot quicker to turn on (60 per cent quicker, in fact).
So, from the moment LG’s smart TV boots up, you’ll see a Launcher at the bottom of your screen. It’s a dock filled with your recent apps, services, channels, and inputs.
A new feature for Launcher is called My Channels. It allows you to essentially bookmark favourite channels.
Using LG’s remote, which also supports gestures and acts as a pointer, you can bookmark a variety of things includes channels pulled from your built-in tuner or a connected set-top box.
When you select the My Channels icon, it expands to reveals all your bookmarked channels.
LG has also added a Quick Settings feature, so if you move away from the Launcher, you can watch television and simultaneously control settings like picture, sleep timer, and inputs. Just use LG’s remote to select Settings, and all the options will appear superimposed on the right.
Content
To find content, you will need to select the LG store from the Launcher. It’s been renamed the “LG Content Store” and is more stylised to look like the content you are browsing.
You will no longer see a Live TV feed any more, rather just on-demand services and content.
The store is clear and simple to use with plenty of details added about the films or TV shows listed. If you go too deep in the LG Content Store and do not want to press your LG remote a thousand times to exit, you can use a new feature called Quick Access menu.
It’s a new drop-down menu that appears from the top of the screen, and it provides access to key pages like LG Content Store homepage, the Movies section, Games section, etc.
There is even a Top Picks section that LG demoed, though it won’t be available at launch.
Top Picks will suggest content from all the subscription services you have signed up for (whether that’s Amazon Instant Prime Video or Netflix).
LG Links
Explore More About The LG WebOS
LG smart TVs come with a built-in operating system called LG webOS. The interface of this operating system looks decent giving you access to all its features.
PHP-LG-SmartTV by Steve Winfield
A PHP API for the LG SmartTV (2012+) which makes it easy for you to remote control your TV with code. You’re able to execute simple/special commands and queries (change the channel, get the current channel, get channel list, set volume up, set volume down, save screenshot – save gif animation.
