Summary
- Jellyfin is now available natively on Samsung Tizen TVs.
- The rollout is starting on newer Samsung models first, but older TVs will get the app soon.
- Jellyfin is a free, open-source alternative to Plex.
Jellyfin, a popular free, open-source alternative to Plex that allows users to stream and manage their self-hosted media library, has made its way to several platforms over the years, including Windows, macOS, Linux, LG TVs, and more. Now, after a multi-year wait, Jellyfin is launching natively on Samsung's Tizen TV operating system.
According to Linuxiac, a comment about the app's recent launch appeared on Jellyfin's GitHub repository. A thread under the post includes a photo of the user's TV showing Jellyfin in the Tizen store.
Jellyfin developer Anthony Lavado later confirmed the app's launch on Samsung TVs in the same thread:
I can confirm. Surprise! It’s not all models that are eligible yet, just some. Not all of the 'bugs' were release blocking for all platforms, and I had to bargain with the Seller Apps Office to allow some to go through.
Jellyfin is making its way to newer Samsung TVs first
Older Samsung TVs should get the self-hosting app soon
If the Jellyfin app isn't available in the Tizen Store on your Samsung TV yet, it's likely coming soon. The self-hosting media app is rolling out first to new Samsung TV models, followed by older televisions. It was possible to get Jellyfin running on Samsung TVs before the native version of Jellyfin's launch, but it required a mutli-step process that includes enabling developer mode.
Plex, Jellyfin's main competitor in the self-hosted space, has been available on Samsung TVs for several years. However, several Plex features are locked behind the self-hosting streaming apps' paid Plex Pass, including remote streaming, hardware-accelerated transcoding, DVR support, and more.
Now that Jellyfin is officially available on Tizen, Samsung TV owners have an open-source, free self-hosting option.
