Smart TV with flash player - is that possible?
Smart TVs with an Internet browser open up all of the contents of the WWW - at least at first glance. Because without an integrated flash player, this promise cannot always be kept, since many sites - especially video stream services - rely on this standard.
Smart TVs with a flash-capable browser
Manufacturers of smart TV devices provide little or no information about the integrated browser. It is therefore very difficult to get information on whether Flash i is supported sufficiently.
- Samsung: The new devices in the Smart TV series offer a browser with the current Flash standard. The playback of video content on Flash-based websites usually works without any problems. However, outdated firmware can cause problems. In another practical tip, we will show you how to get Flash on your Samsung TV.
- LG: The Koreans only give their Smart TVs an outdated version of the Flash player despite the free Internet browser. This is no longer sufficient for most modern flash sites such as the RTL Group's media library.
- Sony: Sony Smart TVs also have outdated versions of the flash player. For some models, the product description even indicates that the display of embedded videos in the web browser is not supported. The newer models are equipped with Opera software. This web browser supports the new HTML5 standard.
- Other manufacturers, such as Panasonic, do not seem to support Flash sites at all.
- In order to be really sure whether the smart TV device of your desire has a flash-capable browser, you should definitely test the devices yourself in specialist shops and get advice.
Alternatives to flash-enabled smart TV
If you cannot find a TV that meets your requirements and has a Flash player integrated in the browser, you can simply expand your TV.
- The easiest way: You connect your laptop or PC to the television. Either you connect the computer to the TV with an HDMI cable, for example; Thanks to WiDi, modern notebooks (such as the Ultrabooks of the Samsung 9 series) even allow the browser content to be transmitted wirelessly to the TV screen.
- Another option would be to bring the flash player onto the TV with a TV stick. With the Chromecast, Google offers a very inexpensive solution. An alternative would be the Amazon Fire TV Stick.