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LG Electronics announced today it\u2019s releasing a webcam for its TVs called the LG Smart Cam<\/a> (VC23GA). It\u2019s a $99 1080p camera with dual microphones, a physical privacy shutter, and support for webOS\u2019s multi-view feature, which shows two apps in a split-screen view on the TV. The webcam is supported on any TV running webOS 22 or webOS 23.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n LG is pitching this camera as a way to do videoconferencing at home using the webOS RemoteMeeting app, LG\u2019s web-based videoconferencing service. On the fitness side, it\u2019s compatible with Exercite, which uses the webcam to analyze your movements and give you live feedback, and Flexit<\/a>, a fitness platform with one-on-one wellness and exercise coaching. There\u2019s also a K-pop dance app called Home Dance by 1M, which LG developed with 1Million Dance Studio and gives you K-pop dance tutorials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The biggest problem with the camera is webOS and the fact that I have to explain what all of these apps are. The apps people are familiar with and want to use may not actually be available on an LG TV because webOS is wholly its own platform and can\u2019t run popular Android and tvOS apps unless they\u2019re ported over. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sure, the RemoteMeeting app is web-based, and anyone could use it, but good luck convincing your whole team not to use Zoom or Google Meet because you want to sit on your couch and not use your laptop or whatever. It feels like a pitch that\u2019s a little late, too, given the pandemic that sent so many of us indoors has mostly abated, at least from a policy standpoint<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Especially because… there are quite a few TV webcam solutions available right now. Sony released a fancier TV-based webcam for twice the price for its Bravia TVs. The $199 Bravia Cam<\/a> has serious Kinect vibes<\/a> thanks to its gesture controls, and it can tell when your kids are sitting too close to the TV. The UK-based Sky TV released an even more expensive camera called the Sky Live just a few days ago<\/a>. That one starts at \u00a3290 (about $370), can do Kinect-style motion controls, but also has RGB lights in the back. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Maybe the most compelling camera for TVs option is Apple\u2019s Continuity Camera feature, which is expanding to the Apple TV<\/a> later this year. Since it works with Apple TV, you don\u2019t have to buy a specific TV to buy it \u2014 you just need a $129 Apple TV streaming box<\/a> and a mount if you don\u2019t want to lean your phone on your Xbox or whatever.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Webcams for TVs are coming, and having used AirPlay in the past for FaceTime on my TV, it\u2019s an occasional nice-to-have, but it needs good support via an app ecosystem, and I\u2019m not convinced by the Smart Cam. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n