How To Download Apps On Samsung Blu Ray Player

Samsung's Smart platform (Smart Hub) offers up an abundance of apps to choose from on your new Samsung Smart TV or Blu-ray Disc Player. However, just as with TV channels, there are undoubtedly some that you probably are more interested in than others. The problem is I need to find out if they pulled the App from the Opera Tv Store because it's not found on my new Blu Ray player. Samsung's website claims the app is supported and it shows up on the list of apps in the Opera store. Yet on the player it's nowhere to be seen. Software updates can add apps to your Samsung Blu-ray player. Credit: Ethan. A dialog box will appear indicating the status of the update download.

If you have an iPhone, Android phone, or tablet, you're familiar with the concept of apps (applications) that allow you to access content, perform tasks, and do shopping. However, did you know that your TV or Blu-ray disc player often times have apps too? This is very common these days, and one great example of incorporating apps into a TV or Blu-ray Disc player is provided by Samsung via its SmartHub platform.

Samsung Apps take TV viewing to a whole new level by bringing useful and fun internet content (such as Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Pandora, and more...), activities (shopping and games), and more, to your home theater viewing experience.

The nine-article series listed below take you through the world of Samsung Apps to give you all the information you need to know, including how to use and manage the apps.

What Are Samsung Apps?

Is your TV smart? Samsung has helped to change the way you interact with your TV (and Blu-ray disc player) by incorporating a feature known as Samsung Apps.

The Samsung Smart TV concept is not only a networked TV that can access online movie content like YouTube and Netflix but also enhance your lifestyle.

Find out what Samsung Apps are and how taking advantage of this feature available on some TVs and Blu-ray disc players, can both expand your home entertainment options, but also make your daily activities more fun and efficient.

How to Use Samsung Apps

Many Samsung TVs and Blu-ray Disc players incorporate apps like you might find on smartphones and tablets. However, it might not be immediately evident how to find and use Samsung Apps on your new TV or Blu-ray disc player.

Alas, there is no Samsung Apps button on the remote. However, using Samsung Apps is easy. Find out how to access the apps, set up an account, download and manage apps that can expand your home entertainment experience.

Also, since the Samsung Apps platform has changed over the years, we also fill you on how to use older and current versions as well.

Types of Samsung Apps

How To Download Apps On Samsung Blu Ray Player For Laptop

There are hundreds of Samsung Apps available for users of Samsung Smart TVs and Blu-ray disc players.

There are apps for shopping, travel, sports, health and fitness, and even fun games for the whole family. You can also find lifestyle, education and information apps for music, videos, weather, news and more.

Find out more about the types of available apps and get the scoop about which apps are good and which apps you might not want.

The Best Samsung TV Apps

Check out some of the popular apps we find to be the most practical and fun.

Samsung Makes Their TVs Smarter With Tizen Operating System

Samsung's Smart Hub platform has always been on the forefront in making Smart TVs easy to use, but with stiff competition from other systems, such as LG's WebOS, Vizio's SmartCast, Sony's Android TV, Roku TV, and others, the pressure is definitely on Samsung to keep up, let alone stay ahead. Check out how Samsung's partnership with Tizen makes accessing and managing Samsung Apps even easier.

From AllShare To SmartView: Simplified Media Streaming

Apps aren't just for accessing streaming content from the internet, Samsung's AllShare and SmartView builds on its Apps platform by allowing users to access still image, video, and audio content that may be stored on PCs, media servers, and other compatible devices that may be connected within your home network. Check out the details.

Samsung's Smart TV Web Browser

In addition to traditional streaming apps, Samsung also provides a built-in Web Browser on its Smart TVs, but its web browsing experience is limited when compared to the web browsing experience you get on a PC, laptop, or smartphone. However, there are ways to improve the web browsing experience on your Samsung Smart TV.

Samsung Makes Smart TVs Smarter with Home Control Features

Samsung apps are great for accessing online streaming content, and Samsung AllShare allows sharing of locally connected content from PC and Media Servers, but Samsung has elevated the Smart TV/App experience even further with the ability of select Samsung TVs to control and manage other devices located around the house, including lighting, blind, and selected household appliances. Check out all the details on Samsung's SmartThings platform.

Delete Apps You Don't Want

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Samsung provides a lot of app choices. However, you may find after you install an app that you would like to delete it because you don't like it or may not use it anymore. Also, as a result of adding apps, you may find that you are running out of storage space to add more apps you really want. Depending on your Samsung TV or Blu-ray Disc player model year, the exact appearance and steps needed to delete apps may vary slightly, but in all cases it's easy.

They may be called Blu-ray players, but in 2011 they're as much about streaming media services as they are about high-definition discs. With every manufacturer having a different collection of streaming media services, it can be tough to choose a player, which is why we're taking an in-depth look at each major manufacturer's 2011 content portal.

We're starting with Samsung's Smart Hub, the company's renamed content portal (formerly called Internet@TV), which features streaming media services like Netflix and MLB.TV, (supposedly) cross-platform search, and the Samsung App store.

Smart Hub is the same on nearly all 2011 Blu-ray players--and home theater systems with built-in Blu-ray players--but slightly different on Samsung TVs. The main exception on the Blu-ray side is the entry-level Samsung BD-D5300, which doesn't have the full Smart Hub interface.

Smart Hub streaming services vs. competitors

Editors' Note:The chart doesn't list every streaming media service available on each content portal; for the sake of simplicity, we chose those we considered most important.

Samsung has one of the most comprehensive selections of streaming media apps in 2011, especially on the video side. Standard services like Netflix, Vudu, and YouTube are covered, but also some standout extras, like MLB.TV and Hulu Plus.

For us, the main missing ingredient of Samsung's streaming media offerings is Amazon Instant Streaming. While competing services like Vudu are a compelling alternative for video-on-demand movies, Amazon Instant offers by far the largest selection of TV shows for pay-per-view watching, including both network and cable shows. We also appreciate that it's tied into the viewer's Amazon.com account, which means we're able to watch our purchased content in a browser as well. If you're looking to 'cut the cord' or just supplement your existing cable subscription, we've found Amazon Instant Streaming to be the best TV content provider. That being said, CinemaNow and Hulu Plus offer a solid collection of TV content, so it really comes down to which service you prefer.

Purely in terms of quality of streaming services offered, the main competitors to Samsung are Sony and Panasonic. At first glance, Sony would appear to be the hands-down winner--especially with its glut of music services--but it's hamstrung by the subpar user interface for all its video services. (More on this in our upcoming review of Sony's Bravia Internet Video services.) Panasonic doesn't have quite the breadth of either Sony or Samsung, but it does have Amazon Instant and doesn't have the interface issues present on the Sony.

Of course, a lot of this comes down to personal preference. The nice thing is that you can check out what most of these services have to offer by visiting their Web sites.

Smart Hub, Samsung Apps, and search

Samsung's Smart Hub is more ambitious than any of its competitors. There's an application store, customizable home page, search, recommendations--really the kitchen sink approach to dealing with digital content. There's no doubt Samsung is trying to do a lot with Smart Hub, but unfortunately most of the implementation is clunky.

Take search. Smart Hub search bills itself as a cross-platform search engine for content, which is a great idea since it can be a pain trying to remember which content is available where. Unfortunately, we found that search only worked with Vudu, YouTube, and Facebook, leaving out major services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and CinemaNow. We doubt we'd use the feature at all if we owned a Samsung Blu-ray player. We felt the same way about the recommendations page, which didn't seem nearly as useful as Netflix or Amazon's similar features.

There's also the issue of text input. To start with, it's a pain entering the countless usernames and passwords for all the services. And despite the fact that we had to register separate accounts for Samsung Smart TV and Samsung Apps, there wasn't a Web interface where we could easily manage our account info. If you have a smartphone, it makes it a lot easier, as there are both iPhone and Android apps, although note that you won't be able to use the phone to input text for in-app search functions, such as on Netflix. It's fair to point out that competitors don't have great solutions to the account management problem either, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating.

The other side effect of Smart Hub trying to do so much is that it makes the home page feel cluttered and confusing. There's a tile that says 'Your Video,' but that doesn't lead you to your favorite streaming video apps, instead bringing you to Samsung's recommendations. There's a banner that says 'Smart TV,' but that brings you to what looks like an advertisement for Smart TV--which you already own. You're supposedly able to edit and make folders of the main apps on the home page, but we couldn't figure out how to add services, only delete them.

Samsung Apps was released last year and is also available through Smart Hub. The idea is similar to that other famous app store, allowing third-party developers to create programs that you can add to your Samsung Blu-ray player. Like in other app stores, the majority of the apps aren't worthwhile, but there are some good ones that don't come preinstalled like MLB.TV. So far, we don't see Samsung's line of products as having an advantage over standard content portals, as Panasonic and Sony offer similar services without an app store.

While we appreciate Samsung's effort to innovate in this space, we ended up feeling like the more curated content portals offered by competitors like Panasonic and LG made for a better user experience. When it comes down to it, 95 percent of the time we just want to access a few major services like Netflix, Vudu, and Pandora, and the rest of the stuff just gets in the way. Samsung may improve the service as time goes on, but right now it needs work.

Netflix interface

We had our problems with Samsung's Smart Hub, but Samsung's Netflix interface is excellent. It's very similar to the interface offered on the PS3 at the end of last year, so if you're looking for more information, take a look at our detailed hands-on. Unlike with older versions of Netflix, you can search for titles as well as browse categories like new arrivals and different genres.

How To Download Apps On Samsung Blu-ray Player

While there was significant variation in Netflix interfaces last year on Blu-ray players, this year they're largely the same, so it's not a major differentiating factor.

Samsung's Smart Hub promises a lot (search, recommendations, app store) and it's easy to get underwhelmed when a lot of those features don't work that well. However, there's no denying that Samsung has put together an excellent collection of streaming video services, including standouts like Hulu Plus and MLB.TV. If you plan on taking advantage of all of Samsung's streaming video services, it's a solid option and you won't find a few of its services on products from other manufacturers. On the other hand, if you think you'll mostly stick with major services like Netflix and Pandora, you'll probably be better off with LG's or Panasonic's simpler, more straightforward content portals. And Amazon Instant fans will likely want to stick with Panasonic, which offers a considerably better interface than Sony.

Got Smart Hub questions? Leave a comment below.

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