Samsung Will Power Its Smart TV Range With Tizen This Year

By Steven Hogg - 04 Jan '15 20:19PM

Samsung has revealed plans to expand the presence of its home-grown Tizen OS by integrating the platform into Smart TVs sometime this year.

Tizen is still a long way from competing against rivals like iOS and Android, but Samsung is making constant efforts to give it a significant boost. In its latest push to make Tizen a mainstream OS, the Korean tech giant has revealed plans to power its upcoming lineup of Smart TVs with Tizen. As a result, the televisions will have a series of new features including live streaming sports events, PSN service, Milk video and more.

The announcement comes just weeks after LG revealed plans to upgrade its Smart TV platform. As its biggest rival, Samsung wishes to challenge LG with competing specs and features in the TV space.

"Building our Smart Platform around Tizen is a groundbreaking step towards a much more intelligent and integrated system," Won Jin Lee, EVP of the Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics, said in a statement, ZDNet reported. "Tizen not only enriches the entertainment experience for our customers today, but unlocks great potential for the future in home entertainment."

By adding Tizen to its Smart TV fleet, Samsung will add a host of new features. Access to Samsung Sports Live will allow users to stream games and watch player stats as they happen. PlayStation games will also be available via PlayStation Now without the need of an actual console.

Additionally, Samsung smartphone owners can take advantage of the Wi-Fi Direct feature to share content from right on to the television screen with just one click.

"Using Wi-Fi Direct, content is seamlessly shared from a mobile device to a TV and vice-versa with just one click. With Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Samsung's Smart TV software automatically searches for Samsung mobile devices nearby and connects to them," Samsung explained.

The overall interface will be designed to bring quick and easy access to most of the features. Users will be able to see the most recently viewed content as they launch the menu followed by recommendations based on users' preferences, according to media reports.