This week my daughter has to do a family tree. More than that, she has to interview someone in our family and ask questions about their lives growing up. She has chosen to talk to my husbands mom, her Gram, about Grams life as a child and how things are different from then till now. When we asked Charlotte to come up with questions to ask Gram, her first one was
“Were TVs black and white growing up?”
Now it’s hard to imagine that it was only in 1966 that NBC became the first all color broadcasting network.
Fast forward even from then.
It’s the year 1996 and I am off to the University of South Florida. I am 18 years old and I have my first computer. And it’s a beast. Black screen, green text, and makes a god awful noise when it tries to connect to AOL. But who knew? Who knew that by the time I would graduate college that pagers would be out for cell phones, people would go from green screens to color screens, and everyone you meet would have a website instead of sitting in a chat room.
Looking around my office I have a drawer of cameras (literally), DSLR and pocket ones, several HD video cameras, more memory cards than I can count, a PC, an iMac, 4 iPhones, MP3 players and 3 Samsung Flat screen TVs.
Technology is changing by the minute and there is no doubt that my family is a Family in Motion.
For the next 8 weeks I have been invited by Samsung, an absolute favorite of ours (after all, all the TVs in my home are Samsungs) and a leader in televisions, to showcase some amazing technology on a brand new Smart TV ES8000.
Setting up the TV
Thank goodness for being married.
One thing that I do not love to do is set up technology. The pool of wires that involves the Xbox, BluRay, DVR, and TV freeze me in horror every time. My spouse was quick to take over and wanted me to pass on ea few things about set up.
1) Do not be afraid. The TV has flawless execution for set up. And while 55 inches is nothing to shake a stick at, its thin and light that he was able to lift it himself. This is a far cry from past 250 pound monster TV that needed a whole wall unit to support it! No need to ask the neighbors to come over and help you lug a TV around.
Just look at this…it’s thinner than my iMac.
2) Manual set up with cords was under 5 minutes. Time from TV plugin to going through the settings took no more than 10. He set up motion controls as well. A tip on the motion controls is that it needs to be silent in your home. At the time of set up we had every neighborhood girl in our house hanging out and a baby eating dinner, so we did have to redo the controls a few times. Quiet is the key here!
Hi, TV. Power On!
A family in motion loves motion controls! With voice activated system, we don’t even have to get up from the couch to turn the TV on and off. While that may sound silly or lazy, imagine being sick, tired, elderly or disabled. The Samsung Smart TV ES8000 has combined intelligence with every day usage to make luxuries like a television even more useful.
Games. OH THE GAMES! Angry Birds with your hands as a control? I could barely get my husband off of it to get my daughter through a turn so I could finally have a turn.
The Blogger In Me
This was my first Skype experience. Lynsey and I met up to have a cat date today…this is Stella. Lynsey and I rescued her and her two siblings when they were just over a week old. I haven’t seen her since she was about 5 weeks old.
And I can read my Facebook stream while watching all those darn kid shows.
Or full screen if I am relaxing on the couch…
Let’s not forget a dance party courtesy of a Youtube app!
Which happens every day.
Listen, it would take me all day to write about the amazing aspects of this Smart TV, so every week for the next 8 weeks I am going to be sharing a little bit at a time and how this TV incorporates into our family with some of the amazing things it can do. I still have yet to share the work out program, kids area, and family connections.
But trust me, it is far far from the green screens of the past.
I am no fool. I cannot run from technology, from gaming, from social surfing, from teaching my kids to be responsible with it. So finding a way to bring it all smartly and actively into our lives while still working as a family is imperative. I hope to give you some ideas how we are doing it the next few months so you can do it too!
How has technology advanced for you since you were younger?
~trisha
Sponsored by Samsung Smart TV, with Motion Control
That looks like an awesome tv. We need a new tv badly!
I didn’t realize my face ended up in your post
I’m only 29, but I remember having a rotary phone when I was very young and a “wall phone” only in our house…you know, a phone actually ON the wall, with a cord and everything! Nowadays, I don’t know anybody who even has a home-phone line!
I remember playing Atari then regular old school Nintendo now we have the Wii and no wired remotes required. I remember the first time playing on it (well working out on it) I felt so odd. It is fun though. TV’s? I am still running old school tube TV’s so some day maybe I will have a chance to test the new TV technology because this sounds really cool!
I love Charlotte’s assignment first and even if she doesn’t realize it now (or come up with those earth shattering questions at 8 lol) she’ll love it. I wish I had did this with my grandma. Also that T.V … SO jealous. I think this is on our to buy list lol.
Rob and I were just talking about how Shaun and Shae have no idea what cassette tapes, VHS tapes, home telephones and roll up windows are. Remember bag phones LOL
This tv look awesome! I would love to have one for myself.
Technology has absolutely advanced since I was younger (and I am not even that OLD!). Your TV sounds AMAZING!! My husband loves to set up technology – what he doesn’t love is teaching me how to use it.
I’m sitting here with my mouth hanging open in shock. I had NO IDEA a TV could do all that. Voice activated? (I think I need to see that to believe it). We’re a house overloaded in technology but I can’t even get my stupid Sony DVD player to stream Netflix … it sounds like that’s the type of tv that can replace a few devices.
I can’t believe what technology could do. This is one awesome TV!!! I am going to put it on my holiday list. Great review!
I NEED it! So when the 8 weeks is up you can send the TV on to me
It is amazing how technolgy changed. I am right there with you. I had the same computer same connection to get to the internet! Even now I have a regular tube TV and a 5 year old computer. Once I catch up I think I will be blown away LOL! I love it
It is amazing to think we can now have TV’s that turn on just by us telling them to. It is a long way off from the 13 channel, no remote, TV’s of my childhood.
Crazy to think my son has no idea what 13 channels and no remotes is even like.
Holy cow this looks amazing! Sorry I can’t share this post with my hubby…he will want one for Halloween
I love the motion games for me and my girls. Dance Party 3 is getting kinda old.:)
Okay that t.v. rocks! I would never feed my kids playing Angry Birds on it. lol Who would think we would have come this far? When I was high school we were still using DOS commands in computer class. Ha!
Oh wow I need that TV. I have one samsung flat screen and Samsung smartphone however this TV looks like the BOMB haha I haven’t used that in ages:) Anyways, yes there were no computers growing up. We had a huge console TV, then finally upgraded to tube TV or whatever they call them, and then we got that Comodore 64 woohoo. Things were looking up when we got our first desktop computer, now if it would have connected faster:)
Technology amazes me daily!
That is one awesome TV
Wow.. If I had this TV I wouldn’t need to leave the couch, ever! I think my first cellphone was thicker than it.. Whoa! We have an LCD TV, I feel outdated now haha
I totally remember helping my dad lift TV’s. They used to weigh a ton!
It is amazing how far technology has come. We but a new flat screen but were not able to splurge on the Smart TV. It looks thin and very clear.
The advances in technology since I was young are amazing, from the TV’s, Blu-Ray, Computers, Smartphones, you name it!
Congrats on your new TV.
It’s amazing how far technology has come! Would love a thin TV like that to hang on the wall in order to save space. Ours is thin, but still probably twice as thick as yours.
Voice activation would be awesome! No more looking for that damn remote every morning. My kids can never seem to put it where it belongs.
We have a 47-in 3D smart TV (not nearly as nice as yours)) but we love it. We don’t use all of the features but we loved it so much we bought a 32″ 3D Smart TV for our bedroom. I’m usually not a fan of huge TVs but I’ll admit, I love watching the movies in 3D and it’s hard to find one smaller than 32″.
Enjoy your new toy!
That TV is awesome!!!! It really is amazing how far technology has come in recent years. And now I am feeling all nostalgic towards my old beeper. I thought I was the shit with that thing. lol.
I had a beeper too and if my dad beeped me and i didnt find a phone and call back..it was not a good thing. HAHHA
I got to play with that TV at the BlogHer conference this year. I’m happy that the experience is just as amazing in a home as it was when I watched the full demo. I can’t believe all the features on it!
Also, Lynsey looks absolutely AMAZING in that Skype photo! seriously gorgeous.
Now that is a SWEET TV! The picture is so clear that it looks like like the Angry Birds are going to fly right off the screen and into your living room. Love all the neato features too!
Oh and by the way…you can tell your daughter that I watched a black and white TV for a while growing up, and this was in the 1990′s. LOL!
Ever since BlogHer I have been wanting a fancy TV. I was with a fellow blogger that played the angry birds game on the TV and it looked like so much fun. I know the TV has more features than just this game and I want one.
Now I just have to talk the hubby into wanting such a fancy TV.
Wait..Facebook WHILE YOU WATCH TV?! Sold! Sold sold sold! I want to hear more about the games though, that sounds really neat!
I know, right?
FB stream while watching cartoons … that alone sold me I think!
Skype too … that would be great to not be stuck in front of the laptop for that! I can’t wait to read more about the tv!
This is amazing! Like you, I am just in awe of how far we have come over the past few years in technology. I remember being in school and playing Oregon Trail on a big old Apple monitor. The game was basically a black screen with silhouettes of wagons & people with white text on a black background. We thought it was awesome! lol! I need this TV!
It turns on by voice controls?! How cool!!
Yep…the downside as soon as P starts talking, he can turn off the programs without me. HA!
I cant WAIT to check this thing out next time I am over. And finally something got you FINALLY Skyping! LOL
It amazes me that technology has progressed so far. I love your new TV, it’s so slim! Before you know it we won’t have to get up for anything. We’ll be like the people in Wall-E, LOL!
Ack, that wouldn’t work! I think what is great about this type of TV is that although you can do a lot from it, its also a lot of motion games, etc. I think all the smart TV and technology is really revolutionizing that we are NOT just sitting, you know?