By Ayo Susan
LG Electronics has reaffirmed its commitment to Smart TV innovation as Nigerian consumers increasingly adopt connected entertainment and smart-home technologies. The company is positioning its latest Smart TV experience around convenience and personalisation, while placing greater emphasis on privacy, security and customer control.
DEVELOPMENT
General Manager, Media Entertainment Solutions, LG Electronics, Choongbae Seok, said that customer empowerment is central to the company’s Smart TV strategy.
According to Seok, voice recognition, Automatic Content Recognition (ACR), personalised recommendations and interest-based advertising are optional features that require users to actively opt in.
“Technology should work for people, not the other way around. Our goal is to provide meaningful customer choice while delivering smarter and more personalised entertainment experiences,” he stated.
Customers can review permissions, adjust settings or withdraw consent through their TV settings without affecting core functions such as live television, streaming, device connectivity or software updates.
DATA
Seok said that voice control is disabled by default and becomes active only when users deliberately enable it. He explained: “Voice control is disabled by default and only becomes active when users choose to enable the feature. The system responds only when a user deliberately initiates a voice command, either by pressing the microphone button on the remote or enabling hands-free voice control on compatible models.”
LG said that hands-free voice control listens locally for a specific wake word. Audio without the wake word is processed on the device and immediately discarded, while a voice-recognition session ends automatically after a command is completed.
ACR is also turned off by default and requires separate user agreements. According to Seok, it uses audio fingerprinting to recognise content and does not collect screenshots, screen recordings, video captures or voice recordings.
SIGNIFICANCE
The positioning reflects a broader shift in the Smart TV market from television as a viewing device to television as a connected platform linking streaming services, gaming consoles, decoders, appliances and other IoT-enabled products.
LG also said that device-discovery technology facilitates these connections, while information used for connectivity is not intended for household profiling or targeted advertising without additional consent.
NEXT MOVE
Security and software support remain important elements of the proposition. LG operates a global Bug Bounty Programme and works with independent security researchers to identify vulnerabilities. Eligible TV models currently receive security updates for up to five years from the initial release of the applicable webOS platform version.
OUR LENS
The deeper commercial proposition is that connected entertainment increasingly depends on consumer trust. For LG, the competitive equation is no longer simply picture quality or smart functionality. It is the ability to combine personalisation and connectivity with transparent controls that allow consumers to determine what information-enabled features they activate.
Seok said that LG believes trust is essential to the future of connected entertainment, with innovation, security, transparent privacy practices and user-controlled settings forming the basis of its Smart TV proposition.
Ayo Susan is a journalist, covering business, infrastructure, insurance, technology, society and emerging developments with an emphasis on credible and engaging storytelling.
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