Why are TV interfaces so clunky and difficult to operate? Why did we just copy the UI from Android smartphones directly onto televisions?<p>I have older parents, and they struggle to navigate around. Forget typing—smart TVs definitely need a UX overhaul.
A lot of the problem is that a smart TV UI's primary purpose is to show advertisements. TV mfgers these days get a large chunk of their revenue from advertising tie-ins, making the hardware a loss-leader of sorts. The UI is designed for 'in your face' sponsored content, not to make it easy to access content <i>you</i> choose.
TV went from a "lean back and watch" grid of "what's on" 4 to 10 channels to a maddening "lean forward" task of sorting through everything everywhere all at once.<p>I'd like to see streaming services reconfigured around customizable queue, kind of a "TV Schedule 2.0" where you line up what you want to watch on Mondays, Tuesday, Wednesdays, etc. So, instead of hunting through 1000s of choices on 10 streaming services every time you sit to watch TV, you'd just turn it on and get Tuesday's lineup. Sure, if you wanted to jump out of this schedule and do on demand, you could. But, this would bring back "vegging in front of the TV" versus the 15-minute "What should we watch? Dunno. You decide. No you." ordeal.<p>As a side benefit, this would make setting streaming up for your elderly loved ones a breeze. "Here you go, Mom. Here are all your shows. No need to hunt for them. You're all set to watch Blue Bloods on Mondays."
The only _must have_ streaming app I recommend is: Stremio (<a href="https://www.stremio.com" rel="nofollow">https://www.stremio.com</a>)<p>Configure it with real-debrid.com & trakt.tv, then you're good to go. (takes 5 mins tops)<p>With this you get: Simple UI, Auto Subtitles, Good Quality, No Ads and of course All films/series.<p>For your all - PCs, Macs, Mobiles, TVs (almost all)