TV Simulator

Samsung TV Simulator is a light-weight tool that provides many settings and features for testing Samsung TV Web applications on a computer. You can use the simulator features to debug your applications.

Related Info

The Samsung TV Simulator simulates the runtime environment of Samsung TV Web applications. You can test your applications on the simulator and save significant development and testing time. The simulator is useful when quick prototype development is required. It is suitable for UI development or testing application features which use basic Samsung Product or Tizen APIs.

To use the simulator, the Samsung TV SDK must be installed.

Launching Applications on TV Simulator

You can launch an application in the simulator in the following ways:

  • Using the Tizen Studio

    In the "Project Explorer" view, right-click an application project and select "Run as > Tizen Web Simulator Application (Samsung TV)"

    Figure 1. Launching an application from the Tizen Studio

    The simulator launches and runs the application.

  • Installing a ".wgt" file in the simulator

    To run the simulator and install the application separately:

    1. Launch "Samsung TV Web Simulator" using the Start menu (in Windows®) or the ${install path}/tools/sec-tv-simulator/simulator.sh shell script (in Ubuntu).
    2. Install the Web application package (".wgt") file.
      1. Right-click the simulator and select "Install Application".
      2. Click "...", select the ".wgt" file, and click "Open".
      3. Confirm the package information, and click "Install".

        Figure 2. Installing a ".wgt" file using the context menu
    3. Run the application by clicking its icon in the simulator.

Simulator Features

The simulator provides various features to help you test and debug your applications:

  • Standard Web technologies

    The simulator supports standard Web technologies, such as HTML5, JS, and CSS. It also simulates some TV Product APIs, but APIs which have strict dependencies on TV hardware or core TV-specific modules are not supported.

    If your application is highly dependent on TV hardware or TV-specific APIs, testing on the simulator is not recommended. Checking security rules using the simulator is not recommended.

  • Web Inspector

    You can use the Web Inspector to debug applications. To launch the Web Inspector, right-click the simulator and select "Web Inspector".

    Figure 4. Web Inspector

  • Multiple scaling levels

    You can test how an application appears at different screen scales. Right-click the simulator, select "Scale Screen", and select the scale you want.

    Figure 5. Scaling levels

  • Full-screen mode

    You can view the application at the maximum possible size of your computer monitor. Right-click the simulator and select "Full Screen".

    Figure 6. Full-screen mode

  • Multiple remote control types

    You can simulate multiple types of remote controls. Right-click the simulator, select "Change Remote Control", and select the type you want.

    Figure 7. Remote control types

  • TV model configuration

    You can simulate different TV configurations. Right-click the simulator and select "Configuration Settings".

    Figure 8. TV model configuration

  • Portrait orientation support

    You can test your application on a simulated screen in portrait orientation. The behavior of this feature depends on the screen-orientation parameter value in the application's "config.xml" file.

    If screen-orientation is set to portrait or landscape, the simulator switches to the respective orientation when the application is launched. If it is set to auto-rotation, you can switch the orientation by right-clicking the simulator and selecting "Change Orientation".

    Figure 9. Simulator in portrait mode

  • Application uninstallation

    You can remove applications which were installed on the simulator during testing. Right-click the simulator and select "Uninstall Applications".

    Figure 10. Uninstalling applications

Differences between TV Simulator and TV Emulator or Device

Unlike Samsung TVs and the Samsung TV Emulator, the simulator does not actually run the Samsung TV platform. The simulator is a WebKit-based application that simulates Samsung TV APIs using a JavaScript backend. As a result, the simulator does not support any features that have strict dependencies on TV hardware or core Tizen modules.

The following features are not supported by the TV simulator:

  • Hosted Web applications
  • DRM-encrypted content support, such as Widevine and PlayReady
  • Some streaming protocols, such as HLS

    These are simulated using dummy videos.
  • Voice guide (text-to-speech)
  • Some API functions

    These are simulated by returning dummy values.
  • Hardware features, such as Bluetooth, Camera, and HDMI

Known Issues

The simulator has the following known issues:

  • Window clipping at higher scales in Ubuntu

    In Ubuntu, at high scaling levels, the simulator window size can become larger than the monitor resolution. This can result in clipping of the simulator window.

    To restore the clipped window parts, try the following:

    • Move the simulator window around, using "Alt + drag".
    • Hide and re-show the remote control.

      Right-click the simulator, and select "Change Remote Control > Hide/Show Remote Control".

  • Keyboard focus not shifting as expected after closing simulator popups

    When some simulator popups, such as the TV menu, are opened, the keyboard focus does not return to the application after closing the popup. In general, this is not a problem because a keyboard is not the preferred input method for TV applications. Avoid opening simulator popups when using a keyboard as the input method.

Reference Videos

The following video provides a visual overview of the simulator features.