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Samsung Smart TV at CES 2012
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In the kind of dystopian insanity that would have George Orwell banging his head on his keyboard, Samsung’s newest Smart TVs watch you. In this video from the CES 2012 tech show, we see how the Korean manufacturer’s latest tellies recognise your voice and gestures with a built-in camera and mic.
The camera can interpret simple gestures — move your hand around to control a cursor and clench your fist to ‘click’ — and even the different faces of your family members. You can associate permissions with various faces, so if your wee one turns on the telly they’ll only be able to watch CBeebies.
Voice recognition means you can tell your TV which channel you want to watch and change volume, among other functions, which sounds like a really useful feature for people with disabilities, those who’ve lost their remote and fans of Montgomery Scott.
Samsung hasn’t confined its TV innovation to the software this year — its 55-inch Super OLED TV was one of the best we saw at CES. The futuristic-looking TV incorporates all the new Smart TV gubbins, and amazingly is less than a centimetre thick.
Impressive, but not quite as impressive as LG’s 55-inch OLED, which is a barely visible 4mm thick and bore away the Best of Show prize at our Best of CES awards.
Hit play for more Samsung Smartness and let us know what you think in the comments below or over on our highly intelligent Facebook page.