<b>By Lee Scott</b>

Upon our arrival in South Carolina, we discovered that one of our television sets had cracked in transit. This was a perfect excuse for my husband to run out and buy a Smart TV. We didn’t realize that it requires some intelligence to operate a Smart TV.

At home, we opened the box and removed the unit,  the set-up guide and the user manual. Imagine our surprise when the first direction on the set-up guide was titled “Unpack — Taking the TV out of the box.” Right away we knew we were in trouble since we had failed to remove it correctly and most likely voided the limited warranty.

There was also a note at the end of the set up guide that said, “Scan this QR code with your smart phone to see helpful videos.” We burst out laughing since we don’t scan QR codes nor did we realize that those little barcodes were called QR codes.

Thumbing through the 34-page user manual, we discovered we had bought a unit that featured a Smart Hub, a multi-purpose entertainment and family center.  We thought we had just purchased a TV set. After all the precautions and features were read, we finally got to the page titled “Turning On and Controlling the TV.” Oh no! Another remote control. Every electronic now has its own unique device.  The remote control for my cable service provider has the volume on the left and the channel changer on the right. The new Smart TV remote is completely opposite.

It occurred to me during this process that I have lived through the television evolution. The first television I recall as a girl was a huge box that had two knobs. One knob was the on/off switch and also adjusted the volume, and the other knob was for switching to one of the three channels available — NBC, CBS and ABC. The TV set contained an assortment of tubes in the back and the television repair man, with his large box of tubes,  would come to our home to fix it when needed. It was all very technical. We have certainly come a long way.

Fortunately for us, the user guide did provide the Tech Support number so we could get some help. After we finally got the TV operating with the help from  Bob, our technician, my husband informed him there had been one thing missing from the box. They left out the TV repair man.