[Youtube Video] Common Tizen TV APIs Every Developer Should Know

Tizen TV provides a rich set of APIs that give developers programmatic control over the TV’s hardware and software capabilities. This overview covers the most commonly used Tizen TV APIs you will encounter during application development.

Why Knowing the APIs Matters

Before diving into implementation, it is worth understanding what the Tizen platform makes available to you. Your application must operate within the boundaries defined by these APIs. The list covered in this video represents the majority of services developers interact with during a typical Tizen TV application’s life cycle. Third-party APIs can also be used, but they must be compatible with the TV platform.

Core Display and Content APIs

The Tizen Web API forms the foundation, enabling the device to communicate with the outside world and interact with external services over the internet. The TV Window API gives you control over on-screen content — including managing what is displayed on screen, controlling window size, and implementing features like picture-in-picture. For video playback, two main options exist:

• TV Audio/Video API — uses the standard HTML5 video element for straightforward video playback scenarios
• AVPlay API — a Samsung-specific API that supports video and audio playback along with digital rights management (DRM), and provides built-in controls for play, pause, stop, and seeking without needing to program each action individually

Audio and Product Information APIs

The TV Audio Control API lets you programmatically manage the TV’s audio output. A common use case is detecting system notifications from other applications and temporarily adjusting the volume so the notification sound plays correctly alongside your app’s audio.

The Samsung Product API retrieves device-specific information such as the firmware version, hardware specs, and other product details. This is particularly useful when your app needs to behave differently depending on the exact TV model or software version it is running on.

Input, IME, and Screensaver APIs

TVs have limited input capacity compared to computers, so the IME (Input Method Editor) API is essential for any application that accepts text from users. It displays an on-screen keyboard that users can navigate with the remote control, allowing text entry without a physical keyboard.

The Screensaver API lets you control when and how the screensaver activates. If your application has long idle periods, you can use this API to prevent the screensaver from interrupting the experience, or to trigger it deliberately when appropriate.

Multitasking, Storage, and Security APIs

Tizen TV supports multitasking — users can switch between your app and other applications. The Multitasking API provides tools to save and restore your application’s state, so users return to exactly where they left off. Paired with this, the Web Storage API (using standard web storage like localStorage and sessionStorage) allows you to persist data locally on the device even if the TV is powered off.

For embedding external content, the standard HTML5 <iframe> element is supported. The Security API ensures that communications are protected, helping prevent data interception or unauthorized access — important when your app communicates with external servers or services.

Watch the full video for a detailed walkthrough of each API category and guidance on which ones apply to the most common Smart TV development scenarios.