Turn TV into Smart TV
In this article we will talk about:
Page Contents:
- Turn TV into Smart TV
- How to turn TV into Smart TV
- How to turn an old TV into Smart TV
- Devices to turn our TV into a Smart TV
- How to turn TV into a smart TV with just a few euros and simple accessories
Do you have an old TV at home that still works perfectly? Are you about to throw away your old TV just because it has no internet connection and is not Smart?
Before making the biggest mistake of your life, read this article and find out how to give new life to your old TV turning it into a Smart TV with 30-40 euros.
I’m not kidding, it’s a procedure that I’ve done myself on the TV of friends, relatives, and acquaintances- buying simple products for less than 50 euros I managed to connect to Internet TV of all kinds making them able to open websites, watching movies and TV series streaming, watching digital TV and satellite streaming for free and watching sports events (football, Formula 1, MotoGP ..) for free.
Do not you believe it? No problem, read the article to the end and find out how I did it!
Devices to turn TV into Smart TV
If you think that turning TV into Smart TV is a complicated and long process, you’re wrong.
All you have to do to give new life to your old TV is buy a device that can make it and connect it to the TV with the appropriate cables contained in the package. Nothing could be simpler.
Maybe you do not know, but there are small and cheap devices that, once connected to the TV via HDMI output, add all the features you’ve always wanted.
NOTE– If your TV does not have HDMI output, you can buy a scart-HDMI adapter with the quality loss, but you’ll still be able to make it Smart TV.
And the expense is reduced: we are talking about products ranging from 30 to 60 euros in general and that allows you to continue to take advantage of your old TV also adding some very interesting features such as WiFi for surfing the internet and Bluetooth to exchange multimedia content with your smartphone.
The choice between devices that make Smart any TV is vast, so vast that it becomes difficult to choose the right one. But I’m here for this, to help you choose the perfect product for your needs to turn your old TV into Smart TV.
So, without wasting too much time, let’s see what the best devices to buy to turn the TV into Smart TV, products that will offer you many new features such as online browsing, streaming content playback and much more are.
From TV to Smart TV- here’s how
Chromecasts
This is an HDMI dongle, that is a sort of key to connecting to the HDMI port of the TV that allows you to receive streaming content from the Internet (e.g. YouTube, Spotify, Netflix) and mirror the screen from smartphones, tablets, and computers. It offers an unbeatable quality/price ratio.
Chromecast is one of the best solutions to bring your Internet connection to non-Smart TVs– it’s cheap, easy to use and is compatible with a wide range of devices. It exists in 3 different models:
- Chromecast that costs 39 euros and allows you to view videos up to a resolution of 1080p (it’s more than good for most users)
- Chromecast Ultra which costs 79 euros and supports both 4K resolution and HDR
- Chromecast audio that is only dedicated to audio systems, so I do not take it into account since we are especially interested in the video
Using Chromecast on TV is easy:
- connect the device to an HDMI port on your TV and to the power outlet (or even to a USB port on your TV)
- download the Google Home application on your smartphone or tablet, which allows you to configure the device and connect it to your home WiFi network
- within a few seconds, the device will be ready to receive streaming content from the Internet, from the local network or from devices connected to its own WiFi network (such as the smartphone for example).
The only “new” Chromecast is that it depends almost completely on the smartphone/tablet: you can not install apps and programs on the Google stick, so you always have to have another product from which to send streaming content to Chromecast.
Chromecast is compatible with all tablets and smartphones equipped with Android 4.1 or higher, with iPhone, iPad, Windows Phone (limited) and with all computers capable of running the Chrome browser.
Fortunately, there are many applications compatible with this system: YouTube, Netflix, Infinity, Spotify, Google Music, Plex, and many others.
One of the strengths of the Chromecast is certainly represented by the fact that it can also be used to transmit in real time what happens on the computer screen (through a special free extension) and Android devices (activating the mirroring function). Really very comfortable- start streaming a movie or TV series on your computer, smartphone or tablet, and as if by magic you can see everything wirelessly on the big screen of the home TV.
Chromecast is available in various colors, it can be purchased directly on the official Google store or in the most famous electronic stores.
ABOUT THIS PRODUCT?
In general, I recommend it to less demanding users, to those who do not want to waste time to configure anything, who want “everything ready” and are already sure to want to support smartphone/tablet (better if Android) to send content to a TV.
Android TV Box
These are very small “computers” equipped with an Android operating system that are connected to the TV via HDMI and power.
They can be in the form of a small box or even a key to be connected directly to the television and can be controlled by remote control or mouse and keyboard (better).
The Android TV Boxes are really a lot; it’s almost impossible to choose the best one because they are all very similar to each other.
When you buy an Android TV Box, you should be careful not to buy poor quality products: in general, you need to buy those with at least 3-4 GB RAM, 32-64 GB of internal memory and updated at least to Android 8).
Among the best Android TV Boxes, however, I recommend:
The advantage offered by an Android TV Box is represented by the fact that:
- you can install apps, games, and programs on the TV Box
- you can connect USB sticks, MicroSD and more to the Android TV Box
- they manage Kodi very well (to watch movies, TV series, anime, documentaries, and many other free streaming contents)
- often they can be connected, as well as with WiFi, with Ethernet cable
- they can have support for wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and DLNA
- they generally support both FullHD and 4K content
ABOUT THIS PRODUCT?
These products, in general, recommend them to the most demanding users and more “geeks”: they are not difficult to configure and use, but certainly, it takes a bit more practice than that required on alternative devices in this article. At the same time, they are the ones that offer the most complete features and personalization options.
Amazon Fire TV Stick (RECOMMENDED)
Basically, it is the Amazon version of the Chromecast (which is made by Google instead)- connects to the TV via HDMI port and configures in a second thanks to the app for smartphones and tablets.
Included in the package is a remote control to better control the device, but I always recommend using an external keyboard for better interaction.
From my point of view, the Fire TV Stick is better than the Chromecast because it allows you to install APK files inside it and is, therefore, more independent of the smartphone/tablet.
Basically, on the Fire TV Stick, you can manually install all the apps that are normally available for Android and then you have the ability to install in a few clicks all the apps to watch digital TV streaming, satellite TV streaming, free streaming sports, movies and tv series streaming for free and much more.
In addition, the Fire TV Stick is equipped with its own App Store- in addition to the ability to manually install all the Android app in a few steps, you can download many free apps directly from the dedicated Store even faster and easier.
Plus, if you have an Amazon Prime subscription, you can stream all the exclusive movies and TV series.
ABOUT THIS PRODUCT?
I recommend the Fire TV Stick to everyone. It is less “flexible” and customizable than a TV Box, but it is much easier to use and manage, takes up less space, costs less and is very easy to use.
I bought 2 for my house, and many for friends and relatives- with the right apps I can watch everything in streaming for free and even I can watch digital TV and satellite through the internet on screens that used to be used only for the PC and that are equipped HDMI output only, but not for the antenna cable.
How to make the most of these Smart TV devices?
After purchasing these devices, you can make the most of them by following our guides that will allow you to watch everything in streaming for free.
All guides work on all devices but, as anticipated, if you buy Chromecast you always have to rely on an Android smartphone or tablet on which to install the app and send the signal to the flash drive.
That said, here are the most interesting guides to follow to make the most of your “new” Smart TV:
- How to Install TVTAP On Firestick
- How to Connect Phone to TV with and without Cable- Stream Phone or Tablet to TV
- How To Switch from Dstv to Netflix
- How to Download and Watch Netflix Offline on Android
Conclusions
We have concluded with this guide and with the best advice for your Smart TV. I hope I helped you understand how to turn your TV into Smart TV.
In reality, the devices to do this “transformation” are many, but in this article, I have to select only the best, the most interesting, those that really deserve to be purchased.
In case of doubts, questions or advice, use the comments form below.
Good vision!
