Voice assistants have made it possible for us to control practically our entire house without using conventional methods. For example, you can operate the Smart TV with Google Assistant if it is compatible with the Google Assistant. This will allow us to ask you anything using voice commands and we can tell you to turn on the TV, turn it off, put us a chapter on Netflix or change the subtitles.
TVs compatible with Google Assistant
There are several options in which a TV is compatible with Google Assistant. That it has a button on its remote control that allows us to activate the assistant and request whatever through commands or that it has a Google operating system such as Android TV and that it has this option incorporated so that we can control it from a Echo, for example. Both options are compatible but the steps to follow would be different.
One of the ways to find which device is compatible with Google Assistant is to look at the specifications of your TV to see whether or not it is an option to control it with Google Assistant. The specifications may find an icon of the voice assistant or it will directly say that we can use it with this and with others such as Amazon Alexa or like Bixby.
We can also consult on the Google Assistant website some of the models available with this feature and from Mountain View they point to LG televisions, Sony Bravia Android TV televisions or Panasonic 4K Ultra HD TV televisions. But beyond those you see on the Google website, other Smart TVs may also be compatible and Samsung itself indicates that many of its televisions are available with this and other assistants.
You must bear in mind that as long as the operating system is Android TV or Google TV, it will be compatible with the assistant and we will only have to link it to the application since it will have Chromecast incorporated and we can add it as a new device.
Another option to find out which televisions are compatible with Google Assistant is to go to the Home application on our device and follow the configuration steps. Here we will see a checklist of tools and applications and gadgets that we can use to link to the app. If you use the magnifying glass at the top and write “TV” you will see that a series of compatible systems appear, such as Philips SAPHI Smart TV or Panasonic TV, among others.
Add a Smart TV
There are several options and they will depend on the model and the characteristics of each one.
With Chromecast built-in
If what you are going to link is a TV with Google Chromecast integrated, we can link it to a Google Home device or Nest screen in a simple way. It is essential that both the TV and the mobile phone or speaker that you want to link are connected to the same WiFi network, so make sure of this before continuing with the tutorial. Once you have it, we must have the Google Home application installed on our controller device.
- Open the Home app
- Tap on “+” and on Add
- Go to Configure Device
- Choose the option “New device”
- Choose the house you want to add it to if you have several
- Choose the device you want to configure (in this case, Chromecast / Google TV)
- Make sure the code on the TV matches the code on the phone
- Accept to send data or tap on “No, thanks”
- Tap on the room where you set up the device
- Confirm with Next
- Choose the WiFi network to connect to if you haven’t already done so
- Follow the steps indicated by the app and the TV
It will automatically be configured and you can control it using a Google Home speaker or a Nest screen when you ask it to turn the TV on, turn it off, change the channel.
Other televisions
The steps that we must follow to configure any television that does not have Chromecast integrated are quite similar to the previous ones, although we will have to adapt to the “application” or to the system of each of them. The difference between the previous one and this tutorial and the previous one is that we must mark different options when configuring the device.
- We open the Home application
- We go to the “+” symbol in the corner of the app
- We choose the first option: Configure device
- You will see two options
- New device
- Works with Google
- Choose the second: Works with Google
A list will now appear with all the services that Google can link to the Home application. Here you will find everything: robot vacuum applications, security cameras, light bulbs. We must use the search engine to write “TV” and the Smart TVs compatible with this service appear. As we will see in the next section, there may be exceptions and the search is different, so it is best that you inform yourself specifically in your manufacturer in case we must find another name when linking it. If it is general, type TV and you will see a series of results like the ones you can see in the image below: Fios TV, Netvue Home, Panasonic TV Philips SAPHI Smart TV….
Choose the one that corresponds to your device and follow the steps to pair it. Generally we will have to log into our account that we already have on the TV and the devices will automatically connect. You will simply have to use the OK Google commands that you will see at the end of these paragraphs to control your Smart TV with Google Assistant
Samsung
In the case of Samsung, you will not see it when you search for “TV” in the search engine, but the televisions are controlled from SmartThings in Google, as is also the case if you want to use Alexa . In that case, the steps to set up the TV from the speaker are as follows:
- We open the Google Home application on our mobile
- We touch the “+” in the upper left part of the screen
- Choose the option “Add to the house”
- Go to “Configure device”
- Choose the option “Works with Google”
- Go to the magnifying glass at the top of the screen
- Search for “SmartThings”
- Tap to add
- Confirm by pressing the “Link” button
Now you will have to log in with the Samsung account that you have registered on your TV, with an email and password that must be the same as you have on the TV. When you have logged in, the SmartTings website will ask us to give access to Google Assistant and you will have to authorize it. It will automatically link with the TV.
Once you have linked it you can add it to the room you want. And just tap on the gear in the upper right corner to change the details of the TV. For example, we can rename it if we want to make it easier to “invoke” it.
Other devices: Chromecast with Google TV
Another option if you want to control the Smart TV with Google Assistant is to bet on a Chromecast device with Google TV. It is a device that allows us to make any television smart but it is also recommended even if you already have a Smart TV as it will allow us updated compatibility with all applications regardless of the model of your television. For example , you can’t watch Disney + on Samsung if you have a 2013 TV but a Chromecast with Google TV would allow us to access it without problem.
In addition, the device allows to unify the contents in a single interface where you can use any series or movie from Google and it will automatically take you to the app whenever you have an account on Netflix, HBO or any other service you want to visit.
The configuration of the Chromecast with Google TV is identical to if we connect a television:
- Choose the house to add the Chromecast to
- Tap on the “+” icon in the upper left corner
- Choose the option “Configure device”
- Choose “New Device” in the configuration list
- Choose the house in which you want to configure it
- Confirm with “Next”
- The app will automatically search for nearby devices
- Choose the option “Chromecast or Google TV”
- It will ask you to plug in the device
- Follow the steps of the Google application
- It will start to connect
Pair both devices, wait for it to update and the process will be over.
Commands
Google Home or Google Nest works with commands and you just have to repeat these classic “magic words” to invoke the assistant and control the TV. Of course, you must indicate where if there are several devices connected. For example, add an “on the living room TV” in all commands or an “on the Chromecast.”
- Ok Google, turn up the volume / turn down the volume by …
- Ok Google, volume to X (number from 1 to 10) in …
- Ok Google, set the volume to maximum in …
- Ok Google, open Netflix in …
- Ok Google, put Elite on Netflix at …
- Ok Google, next chapter
- Ok Google, go ahead X minutes
- Ok Google, go back X minutes
- Ok Google, view in language X
- Ok Google, search for action movies
- Ok Google, pause at …
- Ok Google, resume on …
- Ok Google, turn off in …
- Ok Google, turn on …
- Ok Google, open YouTube in …
- Ok Google, the video of channel X in …
- Ok Google, turn on subtitles
- Ok Google, turn off the subtitles
