不太智能的智能電視

More and more people are using their big, flat-panel TVs to watch Internet video, view photos, play music and casual games, and access apps, social media and websites. The trouble is, this is primarily being done via plugged-in PCs, or add-on boxes like Apple TV, Microsoft's Xbox, and Roku players. They use separate remotes and are accessed via separate inputs on the TV.
越來越多的人都在用大尺寸平板電視機來觀看網絡視頻、瀏覽照片、播放音樂、玩休閒遊戲並運用應用程序、登陸社交媒體和網站。問題在於這主要是通過連接PC電腦，或蘋果電視（Apple TV）、微軟(Microsoft)Xbox和Roku播放器等外接盒子來實現的。它們各用各的遙控器，並且通過不同的接口接入電視機。

Lots of people have been counting on Apple to unify standard TV with these apps and Internet content in a simple, elegant device. The company is working on it, but the major TV makers aren't waiting. They are offering Internet-connected 'smart TVs.' Their pitch is that you can switch between, or even combine on one screen, regular TV and Internet content, without adding extra devices and remotes, or switching inputs.
很多人都在指望蘋果公司能把普通電視機和這些應用程序、互聯網內容統一到一部簡單易用的設備當中。蘋果正在努力，但幾家主要的電視機生產商也沒有按兵不動。它們推出了連接互聯網的“智能電視”，其賣點在於，不需要配置多餘的設備和遙控器，也不需要切換接口，你就可以在普通電視節目和互聯網內容之間轉換，甚至把這些內容放在同一個屏幕上。

I decided to check in on the state of the smart TV by living for a few days with the latest version from Samsung. While competitors like LG, Sony and others also offer smart TVs, I chose Samsung for two reasons. First, it's a powerhouse across the world of digital devices that run apps. Second, this year it introduced to its smart TVs a new kind of touch-based remote and a concept called Smart Interaction, which uses a camera and microphones built into the TV to support voice control, gesture control and facial recognition.
我決定用幾天三星(Samsung)的最新款智能電視，來看看智能電視行業的現狀。雖然LG、索尼(Sony)和其他競爭對手也有智能電視出售，但我因爲兩個原因選擇了三星。首先三星是智能數碼產品界的巨頭。其次，今年它爲自己的智能電視推出了一款新型觸摸式遙控器，並引入了“智能互動”(Smart Interaction)的概念，用電視機內置的一個攝像頭和麥克風來支持語音控制、手勢控制和麪部識別。

I installed the smallest top-of-the-line Samsung LED model with these new features, the 46-inch ES8000. It costs about $2,000, after rebates.
我安裝了三星擁有這些新功能的LED電視機當中配置最高、尺寸最小的型號，即46英寸的ES8000。優惠後的價格在2,000美元左右。

My verdict is mixed. The Samsung Smart TV worked well for some functions, like watching standard cable TV, conducting Skype conversations with the camera and mics, and watching streaming television and movies via services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus and . I appreciated not having to switch inputs and remotes. I also liked the companion apps for the TV Samsung makes available for Android devices and for the iPhone and iPad, which act as remotes or can beam content onto the TV without an adapter.
我對它的評價有好有壞。三星這款智能電視的某些功能表現不錯，如觀看普通有線電視，用攝像頭和麥克風進行Skype通話，以及通過Netflix、Hulu Plus和.在線觀看電視電影等。我喜歡它不需要在接口和遙控器之間換來換去。我也喜歡三星爲安卓(Android)終端和iPhone、iPad提供的附帶應用程序，安裝程序之後，這些手機、平板電腦就可以充當遙控器，或在不用適配器的情況下把媒體內容傳輸到電視機上去。

But I found the new Smart Interaction - voice, gesture and facial recognition - unreliable and awkward. Many of the key apps, including Facebook, Twitter and the Web browser, seemed crude and hard to use without a keyboard, which Samsung sells for about $100. The Smart Touch Remote was disappointing. I focused my testing on the Smart Interaction, the new remote and the latest version of the Smart Hub, Samsung's built-in interface for apps and Web content. I wasn't evaluating the ES8000 as a standard TV, though it handled regular TV just fine.
但我發現新的“智能互動”（語音、手勢和麪部識別）不可靠、不好用。包括Facebook、Twitter和網頁瀏覽器在內，很多關鍵應用程序似乎都很粗糙，在不使用鍵盤的情況下不太好用。三星有鍵盤出售，價格在100美元左右。“智能觸摸遙控器”讓人失望。我的測試重點是智能互動、新的遙控器和最新版“智能應用中心”(Smart Hub，即三星提供應用程序和網頁內容的內置界面)。雖然ES8000播放普通電視節目沒什麼問題，但我不是把它當普通電視機來評估的。

Setup was easy. The TV easily hooked up to my cable box and linked to my home Wi-Fi quickly and reliably.
設置過程並不複雜。這部電視機很容易就接上我的機頂盒，並迅速而可靠地連上了我家裏的Wi-Fi網絡。

Smart Interaction
智能互動

The Samsung ES8000 allows you to control many functions, like turning the TV on or off or launching apps, by saying 'Hi, TV' then speaking a command. When you say the trigger phrase, a list of possible voice commands appears at the bottom of the screen.
說一聲“你好電視”(Hi, TV)，然後講出命令，你就可以控制三星ES8000的很多功能，如打開、關閉電視，或啓動應用程序等。當你說出“你好電視”的時候，屏幕底部就會出現你可能會用到的一些語音命令。

It was disappointing. In many cases, my commands were ignored, interpreted inaccurately, or had to be repeated several times - even in a quiet room and within the recommended distance. I could only get the TV to turn on via voice once in a dozen tries.
這個功能讓人失望。在很多時候，我的口令都被忽略、被誤解，或者是不得不重複數遍。而且在安靜的房間裏、在建議的距離之內都是這樣。測試通過語音打開電視的時候，我試了十幾次纔能有一次成功。

Gestures were similarly frustrating. You're supposed to enable them by just waving your hand toward the camera, but this often failed. When it didn't, I found using gestures to navigate among apps on the Smart Hub screen to be cumbersome. The exception was 'Angry Birds.' It worked well with gestures.
手勢功能同樣讓人絕望。本來只要朝着攝像頭揮手，你就應該能夠啓動手勢功能，然而這一功能常常失靈。沒有失靈的時候，我發現用手勢在“智能應用中心”屏幕上瀏覽應用程序非常不方便。《憤怒的小鳥》(Angry Birds)是一個例外，手勢功能用起來很順暢。

Face recognition - mostly used as an alternate to a password for logging into Samsung's Internet services - failed for me utterly, even when I left my chair and squatted with my face lined perfectly up to the camera just a few feet away.
面部識別主要被用來取代密碼登陸三星的互聯網服務。我使用這一功能一次也沒有成功，哪怕是我從椅子上起身蹲下去，讓臉部完全對準攝像頭、中間只隔幾英尺也無濟於事。

Even the guy conducting Samsung's online tutorials for Smart Interaction suffered some embarrassing failures in a video series called, ironically, 'Keep It Simple.'
就連有個人在網上演示三星“智能互動”功能的那部分內容也出現了一些令人難堪的故障。諷刺的是，該系列演示視頻的名字就叫“Keep It Simple”（別搞複雜了）。Smart Touch Remote
智能觸摸遙控器

I had better luck with the Smart Remote, which attempts to get rid of the typical plethora of buttons by using a touch pad. But I found this touch pad to be much less responsive than the best laptop touch pads. I sometimes grabbed for the standard remote that comes with the TV and preferred using Samsung's Smart Remote app on my iPhone. It was responsive and performed the same functions.
“智能遙控器”試圖通過一個觸摸板來擺脫普通遙控器上的多餘按鈕，用它的時候我的運氣要好一些。但我發現這隻觸摸板的靈敏度遠遠比不上最好的筆記本電腦觸摸板。我有時候會去找與電視機搭配的普通遙控器來用，並且更願意使用iPhone上的三星“智能遙控器”程序。這個程序反應靈敏，功能是一樣的。

Also, typing in things like passwords, search terms, tweets and Web addresses, was clumsy with either remote, and inconsistent, as it is on many TV-based apps. You have to peck out letters on an on-screen keyboard. The iPhone (and Android) remote app often was better.
另外，和很多電視機上的應用程序一樣，不管是用哪種遙控器，輸入密碼、搜索關鍵詞、Twitter信息和網址都不方便、不連貫。你只能是在屏幕軟鍵盤上費力地打出字母。iPhone（以及安卓手機）上的遙控器應用程序常常要好一些。

Smart Hub
智能應用中心

This screen, separate from the main TV display, contains the ES8000 apps and Internet functions. It isn't new, but has been improved. It contains some Samsung-based apps, like a family-photo and chat program, a kids' game and learning app, and a fitness app for exercise videos and charts of results. You also can download third-party apps from a built-in store containing 784 choices, of which about 70% are free.
這個屏幕與顯示電視節目的主屏幕獨立，含有ES8000的應用程序和互聯網功能。它不是新推產品，但較老版有所改進。其中包括一些三星的應用程序，如一款家庭照片和聊天程序，一款兒童遊戲與學習程序，一款播放健身視頻和成績表的健身程序。你也可以從一個含有784種選擇的內置商店中下載第三方應用程序，其中70%的程序是免費的。

The Smart Hub screen features a small window that shows the TV program you were watching. But if it gets annoying, it can't be turned off. There also is a feature called Social TV, which wraps a large TV window with a small display of your social network feeds.
智能應用中心的屏幕上有一個小窗口，顯示你正在觀看的電視節目。但如果覺得吵人，你是關不掉它的。還有一個功能叫“社交電視”(Social TV)，可以把一個顯示電視節目的大窗口和一個顯示社交網站新內容的小窗口放在一起。

There are Facebook and Twitter apps, but they seemed stripped down. As noted, the best-performing apps were those that mimicked TV, such as Netflix. I also liked a Samsung app called SwipeIt, which lets you take a picture or video from a phone or tablet and with a swiping gesture, make it appear on the TV. It worked perfectly on a Samsung tablet and an iPhone.
裏面有Facebook和Twitter應用，但這些程序似乎只具備最簡單的功能。如前所述，運行最佳的是Netflix等模擬電視的程序。我也喜歡三星一個名叫“SwipeIt”的程序，你用手機、平板電腦拍一張照片或一段視頻，然後通過一個划動手勢就可以讓它顯示在電視機上。這個程序在三星平板電腦和iPhone上表現完美。

There are flashes of a great future merging regular TV and the Web on the Samsung Smart TV. But it needs work.
我的結論是：三星智能電視將普通電視和網絡融合在一起會有很好的前途，但它還需要進一步的改進。