A review of smart TV: Past, present, and future

Smart TV has changed the legacy TV system by providing capabilities of processing and internet connectivity. The amalgamation of TV with processing and internet connectivity has not only attracted the viewers but opened new avenues for researchers as well. In contrast to legacy TV system, smart TV provides better environment for watching TV contents along with online clips, movies, games, browsing, and full support for web 2.0 features. However, connectivity with a public network (internet) brings further challenges and research opportunities, discussed herein. Smart TV is more interactive; however, maintaining smart TV as a lean back device is an issue that needs further research in the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI). The hybrid nature of smart TV provides more contents for watching; however, this creates the problems of content and cognitive overload. The large Ultra High Definition (UHD) screen, full support for internal and external sensors, and growing operating systems make this device a central hub for smart homes. However, these capabilities make a smart TV more capable of capturing private data. In this paper, we have analyzed the smart TVs from both hardware and software perspectives. Moreover, this paper presents a study of issues and challenges faced by smart TV viewers, which includes the issues related to interactivity, content overloading, privacy, and security.