Samsung “Smart” TVs To Offer Gesture-Based Technology

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When the International Consumer Electronics Show descends on Las Vegas beginning January 7, expect Samsung to pull out all the stops when it comes to making its “smart” TVs even smarter. The CES has been in existence since 1967 and has seen the debut of the VCR, Laserdisc, Camcorder, Xbox, HDTV, and nearly every new technology since its inception. While the show is not open to the public, it repeatedly sees attendance reach over 130,000 and is one of the largest conferences in the world with a set-up that takes over two weeks.

Rumors swirling on new Samsung devices

Samsung is notoriously tight-lipped regarding its new products, and while its new line of “smart” TVs won’t be formally unveiled until a press conference on January 6 there are a number of consistent rumors swirling about that allow for a fair preview of what to expect from Samsung.

Presently, in order to change the channel by simply using your voice, one needs to use the command “change channel” before you are allowed to speak the channel number or name. This will become more simplified and will allow users to skip the first step. Presumably, Samsung has figured out a way to avoid unwanted channel changes that could come from a simple conversation between those in the room that include numbers in sentences. It would, however, certainly provide some comic relief if people found themselves spelling numbers like a parent or dog owner spells S-A-N-T-A or W-A-L-K.

Additional voice commands will bring pop-up windows as well. These will allow users to check their stocks, weather, news, etc. while they are watching television. These windows may also be expanded if desired to provide full-screen viewing.

Details of gesture tech

Lastly, at least as far as the rumor mill goes, Samsung’s new line will also feature a number of new “finger gestures” made possible by the inclusion of a front-facing camera in each TV. Users will be able to scroll through channels by swiping as well as search through programming with a combination of gestures. A counterclockwise looping gesture will also allow for both the pausing of live TV and streamed content.

Samsung is generally full of surprises at this time of the year and we fully expect to report on a number of additional features when the smart TVs are ultimately unveiled in just over two weeks’ time.

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