Guide to Operating WebOS on LG Smart TVs

Due to recent significant changes in the TV platform last year with the initial release of WebOS, LG didn't introduce many feature upgrades with WebOS 2.0. Instead, they focused on fine-tuning for smoother user experience and significantly boosting processing speed compared to the previous version.

1. Guide to Operating WebOS on LG Smart TVs

Due to recent significant changes in the TV platform last year with the initial release of WebOS, LG didn't introduce many feature upgrades with WebOS 2.0. Instead, they concentrated on fine-tuning for smoother user experience and significantly boosting processing speed compared to the previous version. Additionally, LG has also equipped a new remote with more conveniently placed number buttons for TV viewers.

Guide to Operating WebOS 2.0

There are three key points to remember when discussing WebOS 2.0 on LG TVs from 2015:

The new remote is larger, with more buttons, and still features a microphone for Vietnamese voice recognition.

60-80% faster operation.

Optimized minor adjustments and more convenient new interfaces for usage.

The addition of a numeric keypad is the most noticeable feature on this TV.

The selection button is placed below, along with navigation buttons.

Home button in the middle of the remote.

Settings button and microphone activation

Firstly, LG's new remote still utilizes HillCrest's FreeSpace technology, an American company. However, this time it's made larger with many more numeric buttons on top and additional auxiliary buttons below. In the 2015 product lineup, we can clearly see LG and rival Samsung taking two contrasting paths: Samsung also transitions to using a motion-sensing remote like LG, but they simplify it and improve it through on-screen operations. LG, on the other hand, expands the remote to enable more usage scenarios. In terms of operation, I prefer Samsung's approach because it's entirely new, but LG's method is more suitable and user-friendly for everyone, familiar and easy to use, requiring fewer steps in most cases.

Real-world testing demonstrates significantly faster operation speeds on WebOS 2.0 TVs compared to previous generations. While you may not notice this on the external interface, the difference is truly noteworthy when turning the TV on/off or running applications.

The new settings bar is on the right side. When you press the Settings button on the remote, a row of small icons will appear on the right side, without affecting the content screen being displayed. Here, you can quickly change screen ratios, display modes, colors, sound, or set timers, parental locks... These are the settings we often use. In case you need to make larger changes, you can press the Advanced button below, at which point the screen will display a larger settings panel.

My Channels is also a new feature. While watching any channel, if you like it, you can add it to your favorites list. This list is accessed directly on the My Channels screen on the TV's Home interface, so you can easily access it just by selecting it without needing to remember channels like VTV1 number 2, NatGeo number 10...

The LG app store has also been improved, with a more visually appealing and user-friendly display for new users. All actions and speeds in the app store are optimized to the fullest. However, the weakness of this app store still lies in the fact that there aren't many apps for Vietnamese users. You still have FPT Play, Zing TV, Zing MP3, Soha Film... but there's no HDViet or other advanced content. Nevertheless, since the age of WebOS for TVs is still relatively young, we still have to wait for the future.

Support for Vietnamese voice recognition is also a new feature. If I remember correctly, in WebOS 1.0, LG didn't support Vietnamese for this TV, and now when I press the microphone button on the TV, I can speak in Vietnamese to recognize search results. For example, I press the mic button and say 'let's fight', the TV will display related results on YouTube. Testing shows that this recognition capability is quite accurate; you can watch more videos to understand better.

The TV Guide interface allows you to view upcoming schedules on supported channels (digital channels).

Schedule appointments to record programs automatically.

The new interface quickly calls up control actions if you don't want to press numbers.

Pressing numbers will display channels; for example, pressing 8 will show Star Movies HD channel, and suggest 80 for TV5, 81 for Revolutionary Music...