Specifications and Feature Support Q&A

The following questions are related to the specifications for and the features supported by Samsung Smart TVs.

For the mapping of Samsung Smart TV product year and lineup with the model groups at the Samsung Apps TV Seller Office, see TV Model Groups for Smart TV or HTV Model Groups for Smart Hospitality Display.

TV
HTV
#model group

2016 and later Samsung Smart TVs are distributed with and can run Tizen applications only.

2015 models are distributed with Tizen applications, but for backward compatibility, can run Samsung Legacy Platform applications.

2010 to 2014 models are distributed with and can run Samsung Legacy Platform applications only.

TV
HTV
#platform

For detailed information on the supported music, picture, and video formats and decoders, see Media Specifications.

TV
HTV
#media specifications
#media format

The Samsung Product API is supported on 2012 and later Samsung Smart TV models.
For hospitality display, see Samsung Product API.

TV
HTV
#samsung product api

All Samsung TVs since 2015 support multitasking, except the "15TV_STANDARD2" model group. Multitasking is also supported on the TV emulator since Tizen TV Extension 2.1.2.

TV
HTV
#multitasking support

Not all Samsung TVs support HDR video. To determine whether the TV supports HDR content, use the isHdrTvSupport() method of the AVInfo API.

TV
HTV
#hdr

For information on the supported Web engine features, see Web Engine Specifications.

TV
HTV
#web engine

Samsung TVs partially support ES6 JavaScript. For a list of supported ES6 features, see Web Engine Specifications.

TV
HTV
#javascript
#es6

Make sure the Web engine used by the TV supports the feature. For information on the TV Web engine version and the supported features, see Web Engine Specifications.

TV
HTV
#web engine

Support for PlayReady and Widevine depends on the TV model year. For information on the supported versions, see MSE/ESE.

TV
HTV
#playready
#widevine

The PlayReady DRM support depends on the TV model year:

  • 2012 to 2013 models support PlayReady 1.2
  • 2014 to 2017 models support PlayReady 2.5
  • 2018 and later models support PlayReady 3.3

For more information, see MSE/ESE.

TV
HTV
#playready
#drm

Widevine Modular is supported since 2017 TV models. For 2016 and older models, use Widevine Classic.

TV
HTV
#widevine modular
#drm

In the "config.xml" file, define the minimum required platform version for your application in the required_version attribute of the tizen:application element. You must also specify the API version used for the application, by defining the value of the "'http://samsung.com/tv/metadata/devel.api.version" key within a tizen:metadata element.

If the API version is greater than the minimum required platform version, the application launches on devices using lower platform versions, but unsupported API features do not work.

TV
HTV
#config xml
#required platform version

Since 2017 models, you can implement text-to-speech (TTS) functionality using the Web Speech API. For information on supporting TTS in your application, see Text to Speech.

TV
HTV
#web speech api
#accessibility

Since 2016 TV models, ID3 tags containing timed meta data are supported for HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) media.

TV
HTV
#http live streaming
#id3 tag

When implementing Smooth Streaming, you can use TTML, DFXP, and SMPTE-TT internal subtitles or captions.

TV
HTV
#smooth streaming
#subtitle format
#ttml
#dfxp
#smpte tt

Streaming over RTMP is supported on 2012 to 2014 TVs only. For information on the supported network protocols, see General Specifications.

TV
HTV
#rtmp
#streaming
#samsung legacy platform
#network protocol

Unicast streaming over RTP is not supported on TV. For information on the supported network protocols, see General Specifications.
However, RTP is supported on HTV. For information on this, see Additional Media Specifications.

TV
HTV
#rtp
#streaming
#network protocol

No. Because SVG images are not supported, they can display incorrectly on Samsung TVs. Using JPG and PNG images is recommended.

TV
HTV
#scalable vector graphic
#image format

No. Customizing the UI sound effects is not supported on Samsung TVs.

TV
HTV
#ui sound effect

Since 2014 TV models, custom fonts are supported.

Custom Arabic fonts are not supported on 2013 and older TV models.

TV
HTV
#font
#arabic

You can use iframe elements in your application, but they can only display content. They do not support user interaction with the content, the Tizen or Samsung Product APIs for Smart TV. Neither Samsung Product APIs for hospitality display.

When the user clicks an iframe element, the content opens in the Web browser. This behavior cannot be disabled.

TV
HTV
#iframe

No, Samsung Smart TVs do not support Java applications.

TV
HTV
#java

No, Samsung Smart TVs do not support HbbTV.

TV
HTV
#hbbtv