Yandex introduced TV Stations – new devices that combine the technologies of TVs and smart speakers

Yandex has introduced TV Station and TV Station Pro. These are essentially Yandex TVs. Though the company calls it a new category of TVs that combine a smart speaker with Alice and smart TV. Video in Ultra-HD (4K), a billion colors, the Station’s capabilities and voice control without a remote control are all now in one device. TV Station is available in 43- and 50-inch diagonals, 

“We believe that full voice control will become the category standard for modern TVs. It’s a whole other level of comfort when you don t have to keep a remote handy. With the help of Alice, you ll be able to control your TV as freely as a smart speaker,” says Sergey Melnik, head of Alice and smart devices.

So you can control your TV as freely as a smart speaker.

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The main feature of the TV Station s Local Dimming technology. It adds saturation to the black color, making dark scenes look contrasty and spectacular. TV Station Pro has a QLED screen with anti-reflective coating: the picture remains bright and contrasty in any light. It’s ultra-thin (just 3.7cm) and can be mounted close to the wall, making the TV look like a painting come to life.

Bright and contrasting image

The two models have Ultra-HD (4K) resolution and run on the Yandex TV operating system. The powerful quad-core processor provides a contrasty, smooth and bright image. HDR technology helps to make it as realistic as possible, while MEMC increases frame rate and enhances the impression of dynamic scenes.

And MEMC helps to maximize the realism of the picture.

The main feature of the TV Station s Local Dimming technology. It makes dark scenes look contrasty and spectacular, which is especially important when watching movies. Most TVs due to the peculiarities of the matrix backlighting are not able to transmit black color: it turns out gray and inexpressive. Local Dimming dampens a portion of the LEDs in the backlight, which produces deep blacks.

The TV Station Pro is designed for those who want a bright, contrasting picture in any light. This model features a matte QLED screen with anti-glare coating: viewers won t have to pull down the curtains and turn off the lights to get rid of glare. The device has an ultra-thin body (only 3.7 cm!) and can be mounted close to the wall, making the TV look like a painting come to life.

Powerful and clear sound

The TV Station and TV Station Pro sound clear and powerful without any external speakers. The first model has four speakers with a total output of 34 watts, while the second model has six speakers with a total output of 44 watts. They cover a wide frequency range and provide surround balanced sound. This allows you to listen to music in high quality, and when watching movies, fully immerse yourself in what is happening. And to make human speech sound loud and clear in movies and TV series, the engineers have emphasized the bass and midrange.

The acoustics were developed by the same team that created Yandex’s smart speakers. They came up with an original arrangement of speakers and microphones and isolated them in the enclosure to minimize the influence of vibrations and resonances.

And the speakers were designed by the same team that created Yandex’s smart speakers.

Voice control and Station features

With Far-field’s voice recognition technology, the TV can be controlled without a remote. Users will be able to change channels, adjust volume, search for movies and shows, add subtitles and switch accounts by voice. It’s a whole new experience with TV when you just don t need the remote. Many commands can be spoken without the word “Alice” for example, the TV will understand if you say “Further” or “Quiet”. In addition to the main processor, Alice is powered by a dual-core neural processing unit (NPU) that performs 2.6 trillion operations per second.

You can communicate with Alice and control your smart home even when the screen is off. All of the Station’s features are available on TVs. If you ask for it, Alice will start a morning show, set a timer, turn up the lights and draw the curtains. You can exchange jokes or chat with her, she will tell you about the situation on the roads and find information on the internet. When the screen is on, Alice can visualize its response – for example, not just tell you the weather forecast by voice, but also show you.

Alice can visualize its response.

Content and personalization

TV Station and TV Station Pro provide access to a variety of audio and video content. These are federal and commercial TV channels, children’s movies and cartoons, videos on the Internet, millions of tracks and podcasts on Yandex Music. The device can search for movies and TV series in different online cinemas at once – for example, Alice will show you where to watch “House of the Dragon” or “Gentlemen.”

The device can search for movies and TV series in different online cinemas at once.

On the home screen, each family member will see personalized recommendations: movies and series selected for them, their favorite apps and TV channels, and their viewing history. The user can postpone a favorite movie for later, continue watching the movie or series.  Alice will remember where he left off, and will turn on the movie exactly from that place. You can switch between accounts using your voice or the remote.

Design and interface

The design and interface elements are united by the idea of light: it is reflected in the light, airy font and glow with which Alice responds to commands. The interface is designed so that it is convenient to interact with it by voice. All elements are as informative as possible. For example, you can not only view a list of TV channels, but also see what’s on, when it’s over, and what’s coming up next.

How to pre-order

Yandex TV Station with 43-inch diagonal costs 44,990 rubles, with 50-inch diagonal – 49,990 rubles. The cost of TV Station Pro with 55 and 65 inches diagonal is 74,990 and 99,990 rubles respectively. When pre-ordering, buyers will receive a subscription Plus for 12 or 30 months, depending on the model chosen.

Buyers will get a subscription Plus as a gift.