Buzz
Samsung Smart View is a familiar app developed by Samsung for their Smart TV product line. Recently, it received a significant and entirely new update, although still in beta, users can comfortably download and use it.
1. Guide on Using Samsung Smart View 2016 App
Smart View is the app name for a familiar application developed by Samsung for their Smart TV product line. Not long ago, this app received a major and completely new update, although still in beta, users can still comfortably download and use it. In this article, I'll guide and share with you the experience of using the Smart View software version 2016.
What is SmartView?
Firstly, let me introduce a little about the Smart View app. This is an application for devices running on Android, iOS, and Windows operating systems to control Samsung Smart TVs. Besides, you can also directly cast content stored on your phone, tablet, or laptop to the large screen of the TV. The new version integrates all the features found in versions 1.0 and 2.0, currently in beta (under development). However, upon testing, it operates relatively stably with only encountering a few minor errors, which I'll discuss in detail later in the article.
Smart View 2016 is compatible with devices running Android 4.1 or higher, iOS 7 or higher, and Windows 7. You can use this app to control all Samsung Smart TVs from 2011 onwards.
Guide on How to Use Smart View 2016 (beta version)
Firstly, you can download Smart View from the App Store (iOS), Google Play (Android), or visit www.samsung.com/smartview to download it for Windows computers. Unfortunately, there is no version available for Mac OS yet. Previous versions have had compatibility issues between the iPhone and Smart View, so in this guide, I'll use an iPhone 5s for demonstration, which represents the worst-case scenario. The TV I'm using is the JU7000, a mid-range Smart TV from Samsung in 2015.
Pairing is quite simple, when both the TV and phone are connected to the same home network, the TV name will appear in the Smart View app. You just need to tap on it and enter the PIN code (displayed on the TV screen).
The interface of the Smart View app is quite simple and user-friendly with 3 main sections: Photos (for sharing images), Videos (for sharing movies), and Music (for sharing music). In the top right corner, you'll see the Remote icon, tapping on it will activate the remote control mode.
Casting movies from your phone to the TV is similar, just tap on the video you want to watch and it will be cast directly to the screen. Additionally, Smart View has a Preview mode, allowing you to watch a demo of the movie before deciding whether to cast it to the big screen or not. Regarding video sharing, there is a minor issue you need to be aware of: for videos larger than 1GB, it takes a long time to start casting (nearly 1 minute for a 2GB movie like Spectre). However, if you cast a low-size video first and then switch to a high-size video, the connection time will be very fast (about 2 seconds). Once casting starts, everything runs smoothly without any issues. Hopefully, Samsung's official version will fix this bug. You can also create a Playlist to cast videos sequentially if you wish.
