Smart View SDK

With the Samsung Smart View SDK, you can develop mobile apps that can stream multimedia content from mobile devices to Samsung Smart TVs. This chapter provides basic guidelines you must consider when you are designing a Smart View enabled app.

Cast Icon

Button Design

Smart View enabled apps should show their current status with the following button images:

Downloading Button Images

Click here to download the Cast button images for Android and iOS.

Device Discovery

If your app only supports one type of receiver, such as TVs or speakers, you can make your app filter out unsupported devices.

If both the TV and mobile device support Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), make the TV name appear in the available devices list even if it is not connected to a Wi-Fi network. Selecting the TV name should open the Device Connection Guide pop-up window.
? Refer to chapter Supported Models and Versions for information about troubleshooting tips.

Connected Behaviors

There are two ways to stream multimedia content from a mobile device to a TV: The Connect and Play method and the Play and Connect method. With the Connect and Play method, users can stream multimedia content to a TV after selecting a multimedia file using a file browser to connect to a TV and launch a TV app. With the Play and Connect method, users can stream multimedia content to a TV after tapping the Cast button while the multimedia file is playing on the mobile device.

(Connect and Play) Connection will launch the TV app and content can be selected using the TV remote control.

• The TV app launches after connection, with its main page at the top.

• When multimedia content is streamed from the mobile device, the TV app will start playing it on the TV screen.

Multiple multimedia content items can be selected and sent from the mobile device to the TV.

• When multiple multimedia content items are selected and sent to the TV, they must be played sequentially in the order they were selected.
• When a new multimedia content item is added to the play queue, it must be added to the end of the play queue.
• In the play queue (containing multimedia content selected from the mobile device), a user must be able to move forward or backward using the TV remote control.

(Play and Connect) Tapping the Cast button while a multimedia file is playing on a mobile device will temporarily pause the playback on the mobile device while connecting to TV. When the connection is complete, the mobile app will resume the playback and the TV app will start playing it on the TV screen.

• Playback starts on the TV screen from where the streaming started on the mobile device (playback is synced between the mobile and TV apps).

• On the multimedia content’s details page, users should be able to see the ‘Casting’ status with simple content information (e.g. content title, timeline, thumbnail) for what is being streamed.

Browse and Control

• The “Now Playing” status should be shown on a consistent area of a mobile device’s screen.

• As a cue, when tapping the “Now Playing” status bar, users should be taken back to the content details page where they can control the playback of the current content.

Tapping the Cast button while multimedia content is being streamed should show the information about the cast status and available options.

• Connected device name
• Disconnect

• Content information which is being casted
• Playback controls (e.g. on-screen volume control and pause)

Volume control

• The hardware buttons on a mobile device should adjust the TV system volume.

Playback Sync

This chapter describes the synced playback between mobile and TV apps. If there is no corresponding app on the TV, the TV’s default media player will be used to play the multimedia content streamed from a mobile device. Refer to Chapter 7.9 for more information about synced playback.

The same feedback should be shown on the mobile and TV apps while the TV app is loading the content.

• Loading animation
• Content title

The same playback controls (Fast Forward, Rewind, Play, Stop, and Pause) should be shown on both the mobile and TV apps.

• When controlling the playback on a mobile device, changes in the playback status should also be shown on the TV screen.

When controlling the playback on the TV using the remote control, the playback status should also be updated on the mobile device.

• Even when the TV app is launched first using the remote control and the connection is made afterwards, the status of the TV app should be synced to the mobile device while connected.

Disconnect

• The TV app stays where it was before disconnection (e.g. content keeps playing).
• The mobile app goes to the content detail page when the content is paused, when content is being played on the TV.

• The mobile app stays where it is (e.g. on the content detail page or main page) when no content is being played on the TV.

Multitasking

When a TV app is active in the background, the connection remains and the mobile app should still show the “Connected” status.

Whilst still connected, the TV app must be pushed to the foreground when new cast requests are received from the mobile app.

Default Media Player

When there is no corresponding TV app, the TV’s default media player can be used to play content from mobile devices. The default media player supports playback of videos, photos, and songs.
Click here to find more details on spec&features for Default Media Player.

• Refer above topics for information about synced playback between the TV and a mobile device and controlling the playback.
• When playback is finished, the Playback window will remain at the top of the TV screen.

WoW(Wake on WirelessLAN)

When the TV and mobile device are connected to the same network and the TV is turned off, streaming multimedia content from the mobile device to the TV will make the TV automatically turn on and start playing the content.

Click here to find more details on spec&features for WoW.

• When the TV is turned off, the TV status is displayed as “{TV Name} (standby)” on the mobile device.
• When the TV is turning on, the message “Preparing the TV...” will be displayed on the mobile device. As soon as the TV starts playing the content, the message will disappear from the mobile device.

Compatibility Check

We recommend that you show the correct Cast button and provide appropriate pop-up windows to help users if they fail to discover their Samsung Smart TVs through the Smart View enabled app on their mobile devices or if they have Samsung Smart TVs that do not support Smart View.

Problems Finding Samsung Smart TVs

Users may fail to discover their Samsung Smart TVs even if they have one. To help the users troubleshoot this issue, follow the guidance below:

• Include all devices that may be discovered in the available device list (there may be none).
• Provide a generic help prompt, such as “Missing a device?”
• Link the help prompt to the pop-up window that shows how to troubleshoot this issue.

Title: Device Connection Guide
Sub-title: Samsung Smart TVs
Description: Follow these steps to connect {TV app name} to your TV without a dongle!

1. Verify your TV and mobile network connections are working
2. Make sure they are both on the same network.
3. Check that your TV is compatible : Supported Device

• If there are no devices available, make the Cast button appear dimmed. Tapping the Cast button should still open the Connection pop-up window.

Different Connection Scenarios to Consider

Even if users successfully connect their Smart View enabled apps to their TVs, users may still have to perform other tasks to play the streamed multimedia content on their TVs. Provide them with appropriate messages that correctly describe what they need to do.

• The TV app must be installed
  Provide the users with a message telling them that the TV app is not yet installed, and tell them to try connecting again after installing the TV app. If the users confirm this message, they should be taken to the app download page, on the TV screen, where they can manually install it using the remote control.
  Example of a message: {TV App name} is not installed on this TV. You must confirm this manually with a TV remote and try reconnecting once finished. Open the download page on the TV?

• The TV app must be updated
  Provide the users with a message telling them that the TV app needs to be updated to the latest version, to support the casting functionality, and instruct them how to do this.
  Example of a message: {TV App name} must be updated to support this feature. You will need to confirm this manually with a TV remote and try reconnecting once finished. Open the update page on the TV?

• The TV app doesn’t support Smart View yet
  Provide the users with a message telling them that their TVs do not support the Cast functionality, even though the app is available on their TVs.
  Example of a message: {TV App name} does not yet fully support this feature. Try launching anyway?

• The TV app is not available
  Provide the users with a message telling them that the TV app does not support their TV models at all.
  Example of a message: Sorry, {TV App name} is not available for this TV model.

Mobile App

On the mobile app installation stage, provide the users with a link to the Play Store or iTunes to let them to check supported TV models.
? Attribution for contents

Content title	Attribution	Link
Sintel	? copyright Blender Foundation	www.sintel.org
Elephants dream	? copyright 2006, Blender Foundation / Netherlands Media Art Institute	www.elephantsdream.org
Big Buck Bunny	? copyright 2008, Blender Foundation	www.bigbuckbunny.org
Tears of Steel	(CC) Blender Foundation	mango.blender.org