Telly is a 55 - column inch liquid crystal display television with a build - in soundbar and secondary Smart Display . And it ’s spare . Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends
In hindsight , theskepticism over Telly — a 55 - column inch LCD TV that the party is pass on away for “ free ” — was understandable . Warranted , even . After all , there ’s a reason I put “ innocent ” in quotes like that . tv set is n’t just any erstwhile 55 - incher that you could find out in any store . It ’s a 55 - incher with a built in soundbar , webcam , far - field microphone array — and a 10 - inch - marvellous “ Smart Screen ” that lives under the master panel and show ( among many other thing ) advertising .
And it ’s “ free , ” as in you do n’t really pay Johnny Cash . You’llsign up for one on Telly ’s website , and pay with your orb and attention .
When Telly go forth from a two - year stealth musical mode in May 2023 , it ab initio place to have a half - million of these affair in homes by the oddment of the year . That scheme has changed , the company told me at a demo at CES 2024 in Las Vegas . It ’s ship “ thousands ” — nobody would get more specific than that , no matter how severely I tried . And out of those “ yard ” ( I ’m go to stick with the air quotes theme here ) , Telly said only four had been returned , and that was just because the abnormally form television set did n’t fit in the home . Understandable given the secondary screen and soundbar being progress in .
That all brings us to now . Inside a suite at the Aria Hotel , I got my first look at idiot box in action . I ’m still a petty skeptical . I ’m not 100 % sure I ’d want one in my base . But I get it now . It ’s a trade - off , sure . You get a “ free ” TV in exchange for seeing ads and pass Telly all sorts of data point on what you follow and how you watch it .
And it ’s done really well .
I recognized a couplet things as I stepped into the living way of the Aria retinue . One was the Telly television itself . It front normal enough in soul . Not that there are a lot of two - screened televisions out there , with displays sandwiching a soundbar . But if you ’ve understand the press pictures already , so you know what to expect .
The other affair I recognise was n’t a thing at all . It was a soul — specifically , Sascha Prueter , who was the product head for Android television set back in the days when I was running an Android - free-base blog . That ’s of import not just for the niche whiz factor here , but because it intend Telly is n’t just some Proto-Indo European - in - the - sky mind , hacked together in terms of hardware and software — and with the ethical concerns that issue forth with an advertising- and data - found product like this .
And the more we got into the demo , the more that bore out . That starts from the moment the Telly TV is turned on . Anything you ’re used to seeing on - screen that is n’t content ( i.e. , the show or movie or plot you actually want to watch ) is shunted over onto the Smart Screen , leave the Theater Display unsullied . Want to change apps ? It ’s done down there . Want to change inputs ? Down there . Volume indicator ? Down there . depiction stage setting ? Down there . ( OK , not everything lives down there , but still . You get the point . )
So the top part of television — the Theater Display — is pretty typical . It ’s a 4 K LCD panel that expect good enough consider the price . ( By the path , the smuggled streak you ’ll see at the top of some of our picture was the hotel television receiver sitting unused behind the Telly . )
Between the Theater Display and Smart Screen is the soundbar , which hold a half - dozen speakers . It ’s tough to get a great read on it in a noisy hotel suite , but it had some decent volume and more heft to the audio than you get from traditional TV speakers . It probably could use some extra bass , though , and to that destruction , there is an output for a subwoofer . total that definitely improved the dynamic , though it ’s surely not required .
Where things get really interesting is with interactivity . The Pizza Hut example was a fairly obvious one . You see an ad in the street corner and tap it , which launch a internet web browser app . From there , you arrange your pizza . ( If this really takes off , let ’s hope Telly gets paid per Proto-Indo European , and not just for the display advertizement . )
That ’s all simple clobber , though . Basic Web 101 , veracious ? But Telly has another trick up its sleeve in ACR . That stands for Automatic Content Recognition , and it ’s precisely what it fathom like . Telly can recognize anything you ’re watch — from any source input because it ’s literally just looking at what ’s on the screen door and does n’t manage where it ’s coming from — and adjust matter accordingly . In our model , we were watching an NBA game and were chip in the opportunity to search and leverage shoe from one of the star players . And also shoe like those place . There are almost limitless possibilities there . ( And presumptively there will be some guardrails in place to prevent advertising suggestions from appear alongside less wholesome content like an NBA game . )
The Smart Screen is n’t only for ads , though . Telly also is using it for features within apps . It just herald aboriginal support for video calls over Zoom , and it ’s sprucely done , with the Smart Screen able to show multiple caller ’ video flow . And that ’s where matter really get fun , because you could use that to hold a Zoom watch company , whereeveryone is watching the same thing , with their video feeds tuck down on the Smart Screen . There ’s also some smart handling of audio in that case , with a fader made available so you could have more vehemence on the show or pic — or what your friends are saying about it .
Telly also has a smattering of workouts built into a fitness app , which uses the same onboard camera to really track what you ’re doing . If it gives three mo for push - ups , it can number how many you ’ve in reality done . That sort of matter .
And a quick word on that camera : It endure in the middle of the soundbar . But it ’s also kept veil behind a forcible shutter when the TV is n’t actively using it , which is voguish .
At this point , impart that you ’ve actively take a free television know it ’s go to issue forth with consecrated exhibit advertising , you ’re probably OK with other monetization try . And before you get too upset about the melodic theme of ACR , it ’s worth remembering that it ’s scarce unequaled to Telly , and that Amazon and Roku use it as well . That ’s actually a somewhat good tilt for just using the Android television joystick that comes with Telly — no reason to give more than one company all that datum , correct ? But if you do need to use Roku or Fire TV or Apple TV or anything else with Telly , you may do so , just like on any other goggle box . The Telly TV itself has its own operating system based on the Android Open Source Project that handle the actual TV side of things , and there ’s an ATSC 1.0 tuner on control board if you want to ascertain anything over - the - melodic phrase .
tv is n’t get going to be for everyone . It ’s not locomote to be the best showing or strait experience you may get , though it ’s sure as shooting not awful on either front . There are some real thing to think about when it come to having advertizing in front of you all the time . Though Telly says it ’s more than glad with the amount of fourth dimension sept are spending in front of both screens , and that it ’s found user have actually been entrust the Smart Screen on while turn the Theater Display off . ( If you ’re front for a use case for a transparent video display , there you go , because otherwise it ’s just a black , idle mass . )
But even after just a brief look at Telly , this much is clear : A little skepticism is fine . Caution with your data is important . But do n’t dismiss what Telly is trying to do here — get a unspoiled TV with a great experience into your place .
And that great experience extends to one more property — at the rear of TV . It ’s not rare to find a strip of light-emitting diode lights affixed to the back of a TV , with varying degree of integration . perchance you have to wrench them off and on automatically . mayhap you have some other piece of hardware to await at the screen and control the color and brightness . The Telly TV has LEDs work up in . Currently , you may manually change color , and at some point it might be potential for Telly to adjust thing on its own , reckon on what ’s on the screen .
So , yeah . That ’s a lot . And it ’s put together really well , even in this comparatively other genus Beta - examination form . A near video . A adept soundbar . An intriguing lowly Smart Display that , yes , shows advertizing , but also tolerate for a number of other use .
All for complimentary .
