The best IPTV app for Tizen
Tizen is the operating system on every Samsung Smart TV. An IPTV app that feels good on it has to be built for its video player, its remote and the older Tizen versions still in millions of living rooms.
What "native Tizen" means for IPTV
Apps on Samsung TVs are Tizen web applications: the interface runs in the TV's built-in browser engine, while the video goes to Samsung's hardware player, called AVPlay. An IPTV app that uses AVPlay gets hardware decoding of MPEG-TS and HLS streams, low memory use and quick channel changes. Apps that play video in a plain web player, or that are thin wrappers around a website, usually feel slower and stutter more.
Android apps and APK files can't be installed on Tizen at all. If a guide recommends an Android IPTV app for your Samsung TV, it's describing a different device.
Tizen versions by model year
The Tizen version depends on the year your TV came out. It matters because older versions ship an older browser engine, and an app has to be built for the oldest one it supports.
| Model year | Tizen | Kinlo |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 5.0 | Supported, light mode recommended on budget models |
| 2020 | 5.5 | Supported |
| 2021 | 6.0 | Supported, tested on a 2021 model |
| 2022 | 6.5 | Supported |
| 2023 | 7.0 | Supported |
| 2024 | 8.0 | Supported |
| 2025 | 9.0 | Supported |
| 2026 | 10.0 | Supported, tested on the Samsung TV emulator |
You find your TV's model year under Settings → Support → About This TV. Models from 2018 and earlier aren't supported by Kinlo.
Six technical criteria
1. Built for the oldest Tizen it claims to support
2019 Samsung TVs run a browser engine from 2017 (Chromium 63). Apps written for modern browsers can simply show a black screen there. A good Tizen app is compiled and tested for that engine. Kinlo's code is checked for it on every build.
2. Heavy work off the main thread
Parsing a 50 MB playlist or a guide with hundreds of thousands of programmes blocks a TV for seconds if done in the interface. Kinlo does it in a background worker and stores the result on the TV, so the remote stays responsive and the next start doesn't download everything again.
3. Careful use of AVPlay
AVPlay can freeze an app when calls overlap during fast zapping. A robust player stops, closes and reopens the stream in a strict order, cancels a previous channel change when you press again, and recovers after a timeout. For live TV a small start buffer keeps zapping quick; for movies a larger one keeps playback smooth.
4. Designed for the remote
Channel up/down that stays inside your list, number keys that work like a regular TV, colour keys for favorites and the guide, play/pause and skip for movies, and a Back button that always does what you expect. A mouse-style interface on a TV is a sign the app wasn't made for one.
5. Fast cold start
In our own test on a 2021 Samsung TV (Tizen 6.0) with a 10,000-line playlist, Kinlo showed its first screen after 0.44 seconds and its content after 1.9 seconds on a cold start, with 5,354 merged channels and 115,000 guide entries stored on the TV. One TV isn't a benchmark, but it shows what to expect from a native app.
6. Setup that respects the TV
Typing long playlist links with a remote is painful, and activation by MAC address ties a purchase to one device. Kinlo pairs with a QR code: you add your M3U or Xtream source on your phone, encrypted before it leaves the phone, and the TV picks it up.
Formats and sources
- Sources: M3U and M3U8 links, Xtream Codes, XMLTV guides (also gzipped).
- Live TV: MPEG-TS and HLS streams through AVPlay.
- Movies and series: from Xtream libraries and from M3U playlists, with posters, seasons, resume and next episode.
Which codecs play depends on your TV model, because AVPlay uses the TV's own decoders.
Installing an IPTV app on Tizen
For normal use, install from the app store on your TV. Developer mode and sideloading exist, but they're meant for app developers: they need a Samsung developer certificate tied to your specific TV. Kinlo is coming soon to the Samsung TV app store; the steps after installing are on Install Kinlo.
Looking for the non-technical version? See the best Samsung IPTV app.