Are you unable to play videos on your Samsung TV-Browser, or has the Samsung smart TV browser stopped playing videos, and you cannot play YouTube videos on the browser nor can you view videos via websites?
In this guide I will explain everything you need to know about Samsung smart TV browsers if you are experiencing similar issues, wondering why it happens or how you can use any other browser on your Samsung smart TV.
Samsung Smart TVs are not able to play videos because they lack Flash Player support. Unlike computers, flash players do not provide support to smart tv browsers and that is why these browsers cannot play videos.
On some sites, users were able to open websites and play videos, such as from official MotoGP, Discovery, or any other site they wanted, but after the Samsung TV firmware update, the browser also got updated and stopped playing videos.
This restriction can be attributed to the operating system of Samsung TVs. These TVs are based on Tizen OS, a Linux-based operating system that has been restricted to specific functions only.
There are a number of ways by which you can watch the video and gain full-screen access on Samsung TV browsers.
How To Watch Videos On Samsung Smart TV Browser?
You may wonder whether you can watch video on your Samsung TV’s browser, or if it is possible to make the browser full screen or not, let me explain how this works.
Samsung smart tv runs on the Tizen platform, which is based on Linux, it can only perform specific tasks, in addition, there is no flash player support, which further complicates video support due to a lack of video codecs and hardware acceleration.
It might be clear to you at this point why it is so difficult to play videos on Samsung’s browser and why it has so many restrictions, on top of that it doesn’t provide the option to download and use any other browser as an alternative such as Mozilla, Chrome, Puffin, UC browser, etc.
Nevertheless, there are still a couple of ways to watch videos or, in short, the alternative to the Smart TV browser on Samsung.
- Via Third Party Streaming Devices (Fire TV, Chromecast, Apple TV etc)
- Via Screen Mirroring from Mobile, Tablet or Computer to Samsung TV
- Using HDMI Cable to connect laptop or desktop to Samsung TV
Currently, these are the only options available for accessing the browser videos on your Samsung smart TV.
Additionally, since most modern Samsung smart TVs come with Android OS, you can install any third-party browser from their play store.
Can we install a third party browser on Samsung Smart TV?
Samsung tv comes with its own default browser. It doesn’t support any other web browsers because the operating system of the TV is Tizen and there are no other browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Puffin, UC Browser, etc that are compatible with Tizen OS.
Can you change the default browser on Samsung Smart TV?
As there are no third-party web browsers compatible with Tizen OS, Samsung Smart TVs cannot be modified or installed with a custom browser.
In that case, the only way to install third-party browsers or apps is by using third-party streaming devices, such as Roku, Firestick, Apple TV, Nvidia Shield, etc. Furthermore, if you are using an Android TV, you may install the apps manually.
What are the features and what you can do on the Samsung smart TV browser?
In case you’ve attempted some of the following and are wondering what’s wrong with your Samsung TV, know that it’s not your device’s fault. Samsung built its TV browser that way.
The following are some things that you can’t do with your Samsung TV’s default browser:
- Access to some websites may be limited.
- There are a limited number of windows you can open.
- It is not possible to play Flash videos.
- No Copy-Paste feature is available.
- It is not possible to download images, videos, or certain types of text files.
Besides the above, there are some other limitations, but for an average user, these are most relevant.
Also, if you’re simultaneously using multiple TV functions, the Samsung TV browser is slow and less responsive.
