How to turn your dumb TV into a smart one

While you are staying at home you might need some more entertainment than what your normal, ‘dumb’, TV might be able to give you. Here’s how you get smart.

You can do a lot more with your dumb TV than just watch local cable. (Pixabay)

Let's be honest, cable and direct-to-home television programming is not as interesting as it once used to be more than half a decade ago. With a huge variety of shows inundating the World Wide Web, online streaming is the best way to access new-age content. Some of the shows you might want to watch could also be exclusive to certain streaming platforms now like Prime Video, Hostar and Netflix.

Long story short, it's best to make your TV smart so as you can get the best of content. Especially now, when you are working from home and not stepping out to socialise (practice social distancing people!) - good content on TV might just save you.

Wondering how to kickstart the streaming revolution with you dumb TV? Here's how you can turn it smart:

Digital media player

These dongles are the easiest way to turn a normal television set into a smart TV. They look like a USB flash drive but sport an HDMI port. However, one needs to have a TV with an HDMI port to connect it to the device and turn it into a Smart TV.

There are a number of devices available in the market including a Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV stick and Roku which could help you. Once installed, it will allow you to view a variety of shows streaming online.

You will also need to sign up for services related to the devices, like for Amazon Fire TV, you need an Amazon Prime account.

HDMI cable

Often overlooked for more swanky options, the good old cable can go a long way in turning your humble television set into a Smart TV. How? Simply connect the HDMI cable to your laptop and mirror the laptop screen on the television.

The best thing about using this means to turn the television into a smarter version is that it is extremely affordable and you get all the advantages of a smart TV.

Android TV boxes

Another cheap alternate way to metamorphose a TV set is by using an Android TV Box. If one does not have a smart TV one can opt for Android TV boxes as they also run Android on big screens. These allow viewers to access Google Play Store on the big screen as well as other Android apps.

Airtel TV

Another set-top-box like apparatus. This allows users to have a one-point solution for both cable TV channels and internet-based services like YouTube, Amazon Prime and Netflix. It also has inbuilt support for Chromecast and allows one to record live television channels as well.

Gaming Consoles

You can use to play games and watch shows. Gaming consoles like PlayStation of Xbox One can be used to turn normal televisions smart. Both consoles offer entertainment sections which allow viewers to stream online content.