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Smart TVs aren't just for checking the weather. The newest generation of televisions have a host of movie rental and streaming features baked in. Here's a quick guide to get you up and running in time for movie night.
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===Check Your Connection===
A smart TV practically begs for a fast internet connection. Since high-def movie streaming is so bandwidth-intensive, it's worthwhile to check that your broadband connection is up to snuff. Web-based speed testing sites like Speedtest.net are a good place to start, but don't be timid -- the internet is full of options.
Overall, the goal is to get rough idea of what you're in for quality-wise. For instance, for the best Netflix streaming experience the company suggests a 5 MB/s connection. Figuring out ahead of time that your rural connection can only muster 2 MB/s will let you temper your expectations (or at least upgrade your broadband service) before movie night.
Pro Tip: Ditch the Wi-Fi connection, if possible. Even though ethernet cables are an eyesore in the living room, wired connectivity is much more reliable when it comes to downloading and streaming movies through a smart TV. Check out Ethernet-over-power options if your DSL modem and your TV aren't in the same area.
===Peruse The Home Court Advantage===
The good news? Smart TVs are designed to be movie machines. The bad news is that everyone from Netflix to Amazon VOD has different movies to offer. Before getting started, it's worthwhile to take stock of all the included services and their respective movie libraries. Though many smart TVs support the usual suspects (Netflix, Amazon VOD, VUDU, Blockbuster, and CinemaNow), they're not created equal.
Subscription services like Netflix tend to have richer back-catalogs of older films available to stream, while rental-minded services like Amazon, VUDU and CinemaNow tend to offer a wider selection of new releases for download. Our suggestion is to use a combination of services: rental services for blockbuster 'movie nights' and subscriptions for classics and rainy-day black-and-white movie marathons.
===Queue Up and Fill Your Wish Lists===
Having a smart TV packed full of movie services is awesome, but having to peck through each menu tree to find content is a drag. If you have a computer handy, try to make one grueling, queue-filling pass through your preferred services' content libraries via the web.
At this point, the goal is to use the service's faster, more intuitive web interface to add every flick you're even marginally interested in to a queue/wishlist/shortlist. After all, it's easier to use the remote to surf through a pre-selected list of 60 films rather than wasting precious viewing hours sifting through 10,000 mediocre titles on the couch.
===Gather Your Digital Media===
The newest breed of smart TVs also stream locally stored/ripped content to the big screen. Since each media-sharing service has its own share of quirks, it's best to manage your files as pragmatically as possible.
Our suggestion is to designate one storage device (laptop, desktop, network attached harddrive, etc.) as mission control. It's also worth noting that smart TV manufacturers often use different software to manage their digital media streaming. So, it may take some file converting ('Ironman.Xvid' to 'Ironman.avi') to get your TV to recognize your library. (Cleaning up the file tree by storing your library in one directory named "Local Movies" couldn't hurt either.)
Pro Tip: Does your smart TV have universal search baked in? Good. Then use it. Typing in movie titles from a central search bar and having the TV do the work means less time searching and more time watching.
===Lights! Camera! Testing!===
It takes some tinkering to get all the networked elements of a smart TV setup running smoothly. Before inviting friends over for movie night, it's worthwhile to do a few dry runs of your new setup. Be sure to pay careful attention to audio/video quality, and make sure all the credit card and billing kinks on the back end are sorted. For locally stored media, make sure all your files are properly recognized and playback smoothly.
[[Category:Home Audio/Video]] [[Category:Smart TVs]]
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