Philips Net TV provides optimized YouTube watching from your sofa

Everyone is getting involved in net/TV combos nowadays, and it seems Philips are next up to the stand. After the proliferation of web enabled TV’s we saw at CES 2009, Philips better have something good up their sleeve. They’re competing with Sharp’s enabled range and Samsung’s collaboration with Yahoo, so what tricks are Philips planning for us?

Net TV is their new Internet entertainment system that will be featured on their 8000, 9000 and Cinema 21:9 Series TV’s. This feature allows users to tailor web content according to their needs, and they can do it all through their TV remote control as the service is full integrated. Yes, that’s right- no wires, keyboards or additional set top boxes neccessary!

It’s not a new idea, so the key to succeeding will be based around be how easy the interface is to use, as they have a lot of other brands to compete with. The fact that they have Tom Tom, YouTube and eBay on board (and many more) is quite impressive as you can imagine it will be simple to access these beloved sites. With YouTube on board it should make for pretty seamless streaming of videos, and all they need is a 1.5mbps connection to work.

Setting up the devices should be pretty easy as the 9000 Series and the Cinema 21:9 have built in Wi-Fi, whilst the 8000 works on an Ethernet connection. Turn it on and you’ll bring up an area-targeted homepage that will show you local news and info, which can then be customized.

Once connected, you’ll be able to view a variety of websites that are optimized for the TV screen, based on the open IP-TV form, which means a 3-4 metre range is ideal.

This service will roll out later this year.

Philips