Slouched on the sofa wearing space-age specs and watching a 55-inch Samsung smart TV, I concentrated on a colourful, animated chameleon trying his best not to act like a fool.
Q&A:Melding of television and Wi-Fi the wave of the future
What is a smart TV? Smart TVs integrate internet features and those of a television, offering the types of applications you would see on a smartphone or tablet computer. These TVs also now tend to have 3D capacity.
Do the TVs only come in 3D? No, the TVs can flick between 2D and a 3D picture.
Is Wi-Fi usually built in or do you have to pay extra?The TVs are usually Wi-Fi-enabled to connect to an existing Wi-Fi network, in the same way a smartphone can.
Where is the Samsung Series 7 available?Samsung has stand-alone stores in the UAE and also sells through most of the major electronics retailers. Eros Electricals is the brand's local distributor in the UAE.
Are smart TVs popular in the Middle East?In the three months after the Samsung smart TV was launched, the brand sold 170,000 units across the region. The company claims to hold 45 per cent of the market.
And when Rango eventually beat the bad guy, got the girl and won the day, it was I who felt somewhat sheepish at having lost nearly two hours of my life in front of a kid's film, while wearing ridiculous 3D glasses.
Not to worry though, the experience was not about a well-constructed plot or looking cool; it was about sitting in my pyjamas to understand a smart TV set.
The colour, quality, look and feel of this sleek TV were a long way from the box we had in the family room when I was a child. That TV was akin to a small car with 1980s wood panelling, and I am pretty sure my dad had to knock through the side of the house just to throw it out.
No, this Samsung smart TV is different. It is the future, because it can do almost everything a computer can, while transporting you to the heart of the action during a 3D film. The TV connects to your home Wi-Fi network and away it goes. You can giggle at YouTube clips in wide-screen, log on to Facebook, check the weather or upload photos to see your beautiful mug in life size.
Then there is watching sport, which is taken to a whole new league when the high-definition shows up such fine detail as individual blades of grass.
Even when your team loses, you put your pain aside to acknowledge that sport is ultimately the winner here.
But winning does not come cheap, as Manchester City football club will attest.
The Samsung Series 7 normally sells for about Dh12,999 (US$3,538). Unfortunately, it could also be extinct if a manufacturer manages to create a 3D TV with no glasses needed, which many brands are looking to do. But there are no guarantees that such a TV will eventually be available, and anyway the Series 7 is just so versatile.
Top 5: 3D TVs.
1 Samsung 8000 58-inch HDTVUS$2,300.
2 Sony Bravia 55-inch LED-backlit $2,000.
3 Vizio 65-inch XVT3D650SV $3,400.
4 LG Infinia 47-inch LX9500 $2,500.
5 Mitsubishi WD-60738 $1,100.
Source: PCMAG.com
If you were really stuck for talking points at a dinner party, you might even describe it as the TV equivalent of a particularly adaptable chameleon.
The Quote: "If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace." John Lennon