Do You Still Need a TV? Maybe Not as Much as You Think
By Space Coast Daily // March 12, 2020
For nearly a century now, televisions have been a staple in our homes. For news, entertainment, commercials, and emergency broadcasts, these little boxes have become indispensable.
That is, until the last few years. With recent developments in modern technology, televisions are becoming increasingly unnecessary additions, and we want to look at why.
The Mobile Solution
The biggest challenger to modern television is undoubtedly the mobile phone. These devices have become ubiquitous in our daily lives, offering a wide range of uses against which televisions simply cannot compare. Even the most modern smart televisions, while advanced, operate with architecture limitations which severely hamper their overall potential.
The most obvious problem point of poor comparison is mobility. No matter what you can do with a smart TV, you’re going to have to do it from a set location.
While mobiles do have some mobility limitations in terms of internet connection availability, this is a problem which lessons which each passing year.
Other problems are illustrated by the closed firmware and operating systems that smart TVs employ. To protect the user from harm, these systems are very strict in what they allow and what they don’t.
There are advantages here in terms of overall safety, but this safety comes at the cost of flexibility.
Mobile phones, especially Android devices, have a much more open system with which to work. In terms of entertainment, this means not just television and movies selection, but also a great variety of games.
For example, live blackjack in its many forms, such as double exposure and multi-hand, can easily be played anywhere with a mobile internet connection, but games like this on television are simply an impossibility.
Of course, there is no question that when it comes to engagement with media, there are some areas where television reigns supreme.
Screen size and audio quality are the standouts here, and these are undeniably elements that mobiles simply cannot ever match.
This plays into hangouts with family and friends as well, as grouping around a comparatively tiny mobile screen is not exactly the most appealing of experiences.
What we need to factor in here, however, is that there are many among us who live alone and, in such cases, the advantages of larger screens and bigger speakers are mitigated.
This is doubly so when moving into a first apartment where money and space are at a premium.
Even traditional methods of watching shows, like cable, are falling by the wayside.
Today, almost all cable channels are available through online streaming, and other systems, like Netflix, are considered by many to be preferable alternatives.
With all of these factors in mind, it makes sense to view TVs as not the near necessities they once were. True, there are occasions where these can be the only real choice but, for many other uses, a simple mobile can deliver users all they need.
When considering the other bases which can be covered by laptop and desktop computers, the benefits of television over other methods can be diminished even further.
If you’re reading this, then chances are you already own a television set, and you’re not planning on giving it up anytime soon.
That said if you ever find yourself in a situation where you have to make some difficult choices about going without a TV for a while, remember that as long as you own a mobile, you won’t necessarily be missing out on much.
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