VKontakte is available on TVs with the Smart TV function.

07.08.2019 Televisions (Smart TV)

The protracted and for many geeks long-awaited launch of Chromecast sales in Russia, though, turned out to be very sluggish. Google has not found regional media partners, essentially offering buyers to broadcast content only from local discs, YouTube, Play Music, and Play Movies. However, the scarcity of sources for many will be solved by the possibility broadcast videos from VKontakte.

Interestingly, for this you do not need to engage in shamanism, Chrome for Android, even in the stable version, has been able to broadcast HTML5 video for a long time. The main condition for this method to work is to be on the same network as the TV with the connected and configured Chromecast.

After logging into VKontakte in Chrome, it is enough to find the required video, start playback and expand the video to full screen. The broadcast icon will appear in the upper left part., clicking on which will show all available Chromecast on the local network. After selecting the one you want, the broadcast will be transferred to the corresponding TV.

On an Android smartphone or tablet, a screen will appear that allows you not only to pause playback, but also to set any moment of the video. By the way, you can easily minimize it and continue working with your mobile gadget - after starting the broadcast, a notification with the simplest controls will appear in the notification bar. Clicking on the Chromecast icon will open the above control screen.

This algorithm works on many sites that serve HTML5 videos to mobile devices, but there are those that do not allow relaying videos, sometimes due to the requirements of copyright holders. Among those prohibiting broadcasting on Chromecast, one of the largest Russian thematic resources RuTube... If the video from there is posted on VKontakte, then transferring it to the Chromecast will also fail.

Today we will talk about Smart TV in VKontakte... Everyone is already familiar with this interesting system for TVs, because almost every one of us has a newfangled TV set at home. But for those who are just striving to find out what Smart TV is, we will give a short explanation of this system. And only then we'll talk directly about Smart TV VKontakte.

What is Smart TV?

Let's give it a short, concise and simplified definition. If you need more detailed information, see Wikipedia. As most people already know, this is such a system on TV, with which you can watch videos on YouTube, go to the Internet browser (yes, using a TV set and a remote control), watch your favorite movies without using DVD players, play various games and so on. In general, a real smart TV!

VKontakte Smart TV now also supports!

Just a few days ago, a special VKontakte application for Smart TV appeared. But do not rush to rejoice, because Smart TV in VKontakte so far only available for Samsung TVs. Although very many people have them. Generally, VKontakte Smart TV enjoys good popularity.

So, with regard to the application itself. It is a special platform that will allow you to view videos / photos, as well as listen to music that you have not only on your page, but also on the pages of your VKontakte friends. In addition, Smart TV in Contact is equipped with a global search, with which you can find your favorite song or movie, as well as set all the necessary values. Think, and all this - not including the computer! Perhaps the day will come and you will be able to play applications from VKontakte on your TV. The same.

How to install VKontakte on Smart TV

Just search for it in the list of available Samsung apps and install. Very soon (at least, the developers promise us so), the same application will be ready for TVs from Philips and LG. And besides that, also for the popular Dune HD media player.

Smart TV in VKontakte: community and an interesting survey

As we have already mentioned, VKontakte Smart TV is very popular. A thematic survey was conducted in one of the communities. As he showed, almost 38 percent of the users who voted have a TV with support for the Smart TV function. And 19 percent plan to buy such a device. In total, more than five thousand seven hundred people took part in the survey.

Thus, an ordinary TV is now being transformed into something more. Progress, as you can see, does not stand still. You may not turn on the channels that are broadcast by our state at all, and watch on TV only what you are really interested in. In addition, various interesting applications appear literally every day. The same Smart TV VKontakte, as practice has shown, deserves a lot of attention. And you still do not exclude the fact that both this and all other applications will develop and progress along with the whole Smart TV system, which has already gained immense popularity. Despite the fact that it has existed for a relatively short time.

There are not very many people here yet, nevertheless, already now you can ask any question regarding the VK application and get an answer to it. If an error occurs, post a record about it and the developers will do their best so that it does not repeat itself not only for you, but also for other users.

"VKontakte" on TV is the newest application for all existing users of the social network, which appeared on Smart TV TVs. People with such devices can now install widgets for this popular social network. A similar statement was presented in a VKontakte press release, which entered TJournal. Appendix "VKontakte" for Smart TV was developed by one firm from St. Petersburg - SPb TV. The work was carried out in conjunction with the popular network "Contact". The new application has not yet implemented all the allowed functions, so far it is focused only on certain media files.

Users of "Contact" can view various photos and videos through the TV. At the same time, both the user's personal files and those published on the Internet pages of friends are open for viewing. In addition, with the help of this application, it became possible to listen to music from "Contact" on Smart TV. VKontakte widget will allow all users of the social network to receive licensed content in an ordinary, familiar way, that is, through a large television screen. This is reported in the press release of "Contact".

At the same time, RBC notes that in addition to the videos that the user himself uploads, the application does not offer its viewers virtually any unusual options. Numerous popular video sites have also added their video players to the current infrastructure of the VKontakte widget so that you can view them video "VKontakte" on TV... However, almost all of them already have similar clients for their Smart TVs. These resources include:

RuTube;
Vimeo;
You Tube;
Tvigle;
Now ru;
as well as Channel One.

However, RBC adds that the social network has agreements with some copyright holders, including the Star Media group, which shoots television series for various Russian channels. As stated in the official group of developers of this widget, platforms such as LG SmartTV, Samsung Smart TV, and Dune HD are already supported. A version of the application customized for Samsung can already be downloaded from the corresponding widget store.

The general director of Twigle's video service, Yegor Yakovlev, said that LG is waging a fierce fight against films that contain bed scenes, and this is not taking into account those in which explicit pornography is present. The spokesman for the "Contact" network, Georgy Lobushkin, also noted that the "safe search" function is activated by default in the new application, but you can turn it off if you go to the appropriate settings.

The social network VKontakte is launching its application for Smart TV. The app is already available in the LG Smart TV Store. This information was confirmed to Gazeta.Ru by the press secretary of the social network Evgeny Krasnikov, who shared details about the launch of a new platform for the service.

Now Smart TV owners have the opportunity to watch VKontakte videos of interest to them on their large screens, connecting to the Internet directly, without using a computer.

Watch me everywhere

A spokesman for VKontakte noted that now social network users can choose the most convenient way to consume content.

VKontakte has become available on all platforms and any gadgets - from miniature smart watches to widescreen TVs, ”Krasnikov emphasized.

At the moment, users of the VK application for Smart TV can access video content, which is completely legal and includes cartoons, entertainment videos, movie trailers, videos from video bloggers and much more.

VKontakte continues to follow the path of correcting and combating pirated content. The Russian social network this year entered into licensing agreements with many music majors, took action against third-party applications that allow downloading audio from its website, and also experimented with automatic content recognition technology.

In addition, in 2016, the company completed all lawsuits with major music labels, which complained about illegal placement of their tracks in the corresponding section.

A spokesman for VKontakte told Gazeta.Ru that

Considering that about 80% of Russian Internet users are registered on VKontakte, the new Smart TV application already has a large potential audience.

The current version of the Smart TV app is currently in beta testing. VKontakte confirmed that it will continue to work on new functions, will introduce video search and listening to music. In addition, the company plans to replenish the catalog of legal content, including serials.

Krasnikov also said that he will soon appear on devices manufactured by Samsung.

Fashionable to be smart

The desire of VKontakte to develop in the direction of Smart TV is quite justified. Director of the Russian Association for Electronic Communications (RAEC) Sergey Plugotarenko at conferences All Leaders Conference in October 2016 stated that the share of content consumption on Smart TVs has increased, despite the widespread belief that viewing photos and videos on a wide screen is a thing of the past.

According to statistics GfK, 16% of the adult population of Russia have a TV with the Smart TV function at home.

At the same time, 49% of owners of "smart" TV use this function regularly or from time to time.

The head of the Internet Video Association Alexey Byrdin said in an interview with Gazeta.Ru that Smart TV is the optimal platform for distributing legal content thanks to its large screen, high-quality sound and built-in payment system. All this makes the technology attractive for online cinemas.

“The Smart TV ecosystem is perfectly suited for gaming and other applications, including social networks,” said the expert.

For example, it becomes possible to share your favorite programs and videos with your friends on social networks, as well as organize joint views and implement other interactive functions.

In addition, this technology is suitable for broadcasting high quality video (HD and UltraHD), since the resolution on a TV is much higher than on a PC and even more so than on tablets and smartphones.

Viktor Chekanov, General Director of MEGOGO in Russia, explained in an interview with Gazeta.Ru that

Smart TV is one of the most technologically secure systems. To add your application to the platform, you have to be certified at the vendor's headquarters.

“A large TV screen is a familiar viewing format for many users,” says the head of the Russian branch of the online cinema. Chekanov also noted the wide functionality of Smart TV.

“Users are willing to pay for this convenience. Realizing that the paying audience is in Smart TV, now everyone is trying to grab this piece of the pie, ”the source said.

Smart TV good in that the capabilities of the TV can be expanded with widgets. Usually they are installed from built-in stores, but sometimes you want to add applications from third-party developers.

To make Smart TV even smarter, install third-party widgets using a USB flash drive, or IP -addresses of applications.

Samsung

Standard widgets are installed through the built-in Samsung Apps store. With third-party applications, the situation is a little more complicated. Samsung has limited the ability to install them, but this prohibition can be circumvented. To install third-party widgets, you need a USB flash drive. Format it to FAT32. For this:

Connect your flash drive to your computer.

Open up "Computer" and right-click on the drive.

Select item "Format".

Select a file system FAT32.

Click on "To begin".

Formatting will erase all data from the drive. It remains to prepare it for installing widgets on Samsung Smart TV.

Installing widgets from a USB flash drive will start automatically and end with the message “Package is done”. After that, a new widget will appear in the Smart TV menu.

Besides, widgets on Samsung can be downloaded by IP-address. To do this, press the "Smart Hub" and "A" buttons. Enter the username "develop". The password will be substituted automatically on all series, except for F - on TVs of this series, you need to use the key "sso1029dev!".

Then you need to click the "Tools" button to get into the settings, go to the "Development" section, mark the "IP settings" line and enter the address of the application that you want to install.

Lg

Standard widgets are available on LG Apps TV service. But if you don't find what you want among them, you can download and install applications from third-party developers. This is done using a flash drive:

Download an archive with a widget to your computer. LG. Download applications from trusted sources so as not to harm the system.
Check the file system of the flash drive. It should be formatted inFAT32.

Unpack the contents of the archive to the root of your flash drive.

Plug the USB stick into the top connector USB on TV.
Run the appMy Apps, select the USB icon and open the widget installation file from the USB stick.

On LG TVs there are several restrictions. Widgets are launched only if there is a USB flash drive connected. Some USB - drives may not be suitable for installing applications, and TVs with one USB -connector may not support launching widgets.

Philips

The installation of standard widgets can be done through the App Gallery application, which is located on the main page of Smart TV. If you want to install a third-party widget, you need a USB stick.

Format the flash drive to the file systemFAT32.

Create a folder in the root of the flash drive "Userwidget".

Transfer the archives of the widgets with the installation files inside to the created folder.

Launch Smart TV and connect the USB flash drive to the TV.

The installation of widgets, the files of which are uploaded to the root of the drive, will start automatically. After the installation is complete, you will find the applications in the SmartTV menu.

Instead of a flash drive, you can use ForkPlayer to install third-party widgets. How to install this app on Samsung and LG Philips instructions:

Open the network connection settings on the TV.

Change DNS to 046.036.218.194.

Wait until the connection is established. If there is no connection, restart the TV.

Open the Megogo software. Instead, ForkPlayer will work, through which you can install third-party widgets.

Some Philips TVs run Android OS, so there is no problem installing applications, including third-party ones - widgets are added in the same way as on a phone or tablet.