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CES: Samsung Smart TV to get live, on-demand programming

Samsung Smart TV users to be able to get live programs, on-demand content, and Web surf on their TVs while using the smartphone or tablet as a program guide and remote control.

Elinor Mills Former Staff Writer
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service and the Associated Press.
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Elinor Mills
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Brian Roberts, Comcast chairman and chief executive, says the company is bringing its Xfinity service to Samsung Smart TV and Galaxy Tab devices.
Brian Roberts, Comcast chairman and chief executive, says the company is bringing its Xfinity service to Samsung Smart TV and Galaxy Tab devices. James Martin/CNET

Following up on a host of smartphone, tablet, and TV announcements yesterday, Samsung said in a keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show today it is revitalizing the TV by adding live and on-demand content to its Smart TV and turning mobile phones and tablets into remote controls and guides.

People are looking for bigger and smarter devices, according to Boo-Keun Yoon, president of Samsung's Visual Display Business.

"That's why TV will once again become the dominant and central piece of technology" in people's lives, he said. "I am confident that Samsung's Smart TV will become the leader" in content.

In this new "Smart TV era" people will be able to search for any kind of Web content, as well as broadcast TV and movies, from any Samsung device connected to the cloud and view it on a high-definition or even 3D screen, he said.

He brought several content partners on stage whose companies are helping to make that vision reality, including Glenn Britt, chairman and chief executive of Time Warner Cable, who announced that a "live subscription TV feature" is coming this year.

"We're radically changing how consumers interact with their televisions," said Brian Roberts, chairman and chief executive of Comcast.

The announcements were:

  • Live TV from Comcast and Time Warner. Comcast's new Xfinity TV service, to be launched this year on Samsung Smart TVs and tablets, will offer a Web-like interface and the ability to search across TV, DVR recordings and video on demand. The service will allow people to change channels on Smart TV devices and on the Android-based Samsung Galaxy Tab device, and to select content from any Time Warner DVR in the house.
  • Hulu Plus subscription service on Samsung's Android phones. No exact date given but "in coming months." (A sneak peek was shown on the Samsung Galaxy S during the keynote.)
  • Adobe AIR on Samsung TVs and Smart Blu-ray players. Adobe Flash Player will also be available on the Smart TV browser for use on Samsung smartphones and tablets.
  • Wireless charging cradle for 3D glasses.
  • 3D audio in Samsung TVs.