Faridul Islam

Posted on Oct 19

Building Smart TV Apps Just Got Easier

#smarttv #tizen #webos #videoplayer

Introducing the Smart TV

A comprehensive guide to creating professional Smart TV applications with React and TypeScript

If you're building Smart TV apps, you need to check out the Smart TV — a comprehensive monorepo with everything you need to build professional streaming apps. It includes a powerful video player, data fetching utilities, and a CLI to get started in seconds. All open-source and ready to use!

The Problem: Smart TV Development Is Hard

Let me paint you a picture: You're a developer tasked with building a streaming app for Smart TVs. Sounds exciting, right? Until you realize...

🎮 Navigation is completely different — Users navigate with remote controls, not mice or touchscreens
📱 Multiple platforms — Samsung Tizen, LG webOS, Fire TV... each with quirks
🎬 Video playback is complex — Adaptive streaming, DRM, subtitle support, live content
⚡ Performance matters — TV hardware is limited; every KB counts
🔄 Data management — Efficient caching and fetching for smooth experiences

You could spend weeks (or months!) solving these problems from scratch. Or you could use a toolkit that's already solved them.

The Solution: Smart TV

The Smart TV is an open-source monorepo that provides everything developers need to build modern Smart TV applications. Think of it as your development accelerator — it handles the hard parts so you can focus on building great user experiences.

📦 What's Inside?

The toolkit consists of three core packages published on npm:

1. @smart-tv/player 🎬

A production-ready video player built on Shaka Player with:

✅ Adaptive streaming (DASH, HLS)
✅ DRM support (Widevine, PlayReady, FairPlay)
✅ Subtitles and multi-audio tracks
✅ Live and VOD content
✅ Fully customizable UI
✅ TypeScript support

2. @smart-tv/query 🔄

Smart data fetching and caching utilities designed for TV apps:

✅ Automatic caching and revalidation
✅ Infinite scrolling support
✅ Request deduplication
✅ Optimistic updates
✅ Memory-efficient for TV hardware
✅ React hooks for easy integration

3. create-smart-tv-app 🚀

A CLI tool to scaffold complete Smart TV projects:

✅ One command setup
✅ Pre-configured TypeScript, ESLint, Prettier
✅ Tailwind CSS included
✅ Development server ready
✅ Production build optimized

🚀 Getting Started in 30 Seconds

Want to see how easy it is? Here's how you create a complete Smart TV app:

# Create a new app
npm create smart-tv-app my-streaming-app

# Start development
cd my-streaming-app
npm install
npm run dev

That's it! You now have a fully configured Smart TV application with:

TypeScript for type safety
Tailwind CSS for styling
Spatial navigation ready
Hot module reload for fast development
Production builds optimized for TV platforms

💡 Real-World Usage Examples

Let's see the packages in action:

Example 1: Adding a Video Player

import { Player } from '@smart-tv/player';
import '@smart-tv/player/styles.css';

function VideoPage() {
  return (
    <Player
      src="https://example.com/content/manifest.mpd"
      poster="https://example.com/poster.jpg"
      autoPlay={false}
      controls={true}
      onPlay={() => console.log('Playing!')}
      onError={(error) => console.error('Error:', error)}
    />
  );
}

The player handles all the complexity:

Adaptive bitrate streaming
Buffer management
Error recovery
Accessibility features
Cross-platform compatibility

Example 2: Fetching Data Efficiently

import { useQuery } from '@smart-tv/query';

function MovieList() {
  const { data, loading, error, refetch } = useQuery({
    queryKey: ['movies', 'trending'],
    queryFn: async () => {
      const response = await fetch('/api/movies/trending');
      return response.json();
    },
    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000, // 5 minutes
    cacheTime: 10 * 60 * 1000, // 10 minutes
  });

  if (loading) return <LoadingSkeleton />;
  if (error) return <ErrorMessage error={error} />;

  return (
    <Grid>
      {data.movies.map((movie) => (
        <MovieCard key={movie.id} movie={movie} />
      ))}
    </Grid>
  );
}

The query hook provides:

Automatic caching
Background refetching
Loading and error states
Request deduplication
Memory efficiency

Example 3: Infinite Scrolling

import { useInfiniteQuery } from '@smart-tv/query';

function BrowseMovies() {
  const {
    data,
    loading,
    error,
    fetchNextPage,
    hasNextPage,
  } = useInfiniteQuery({
    queryKey: ['movies', 'all'],
    queryFn: async ({ pageParam = 1 }) => {
      const response = await fetch(`/api/movies?page=${pageParam}`);
      return response.json();
    },
    getNextPageParam: (lastPage) => lastPage.nextPage,
  });

  return (
    <InfiniteScroll
      onEndReached={fetchNextPage}
      hasMore={hasNextPage}
    >
      {data?.pages.flatMap(page => 
        page.movies.map(movie => (
          <MovieCard key={movie.id} movie={movie} />
        ))
      )}
    </InfiniteScroll>
  );
}

🎨 Key Features That Make Development Easy

1. Type Safety First

Everything is written in TypeScript. Get autocomplete, catch errors early, and ship with confidence.

2. Modern Developer Experience

Vite for blazing-fast development
Hot module reload
ESLint and Prettier pre-configured
Clear error messages

3. Performance Optimized

Minimal bundle sizes
Tree-shakeable exports
Lazy loading support
Memory-efficient caching

4. Platform Support

Works across all major Smart TV platforms:

Samsung Tizen (2019+)
LG webOS (4.0+)
Fire TV
Modern web browsers

5. Customizable

Every component is customizable:

Override default styles with Tailwind
Use your own themes
Extend functionality
Bring your own components

🛠️ The Tech Stack

Built with modern, battle-tested technologies:

React 19 — Latest React features
TypeScript 5 — Type safety and better DX
Vite — Fast builds and HMR
Turborepo — Monorepo management
Shaka Player — Industry-standard video player
Tailwind CSS — Utility-first styling
pnpm — Fast, efficient package manager

📚 Resources for Developers

The project includes comprehensive documentation:

For Users

Quick Start Guide — Get running in minutes
API Documentation — Complete reference for all packages
Examples — Real-world usage patterns
Migration Guides — Upgrade smoothly

For Contributors

Contributing Guide — How to contribute
Code of Conduct — Community standards
Architecture Docs — Understanding the codebase
Security Policy — Responsible disclosure

🌟 Why This Matters

Smart TV development doesn't have to be painful. With the right tools, you can:

✅ Save Weeks of Development Time — Stop reinventing the wheel

✅ Ship Faster — Get to market quickly with production-ready components

✅ Focus on UX — Spend time on features, not infrastructure

✅ Scale Confidently — Battle-tested patterns and performance

✅ Join a Community — Open source means continuous improvement

🚀 Real-World Use Cases

This toolkit is perfect for:

Streaming Platforms

Build the next Netflix, Disney+, or HBO Max for Smart TVs

Live TV Apps

Sports streaming, news channels, live events

Educational Content

E-learning platforms, training videos, courses

IPTV Solutions

Custom IPTV applications with VOD and live content

Corporate Training

Internal training and communication platforms

📊 Project Status

The Smart TV is:

✅ Open Source — MIT License
✅ Actively Maintained — Regular updates
✅ Production Ready — Battle-tested components
✅ Well Documented — Comprehensive guides
✅ Community Driven — Open to contributions

🤝 How You Can Help

This is a community project, and there are many ways to contribute:

As a Developer

⭐ Star the repository on GitHub
🐛 Report bugs and issues
💡 Suggest new features
🔧 Submit pull requests
📝 Improve documentation

As a User

🚀 Build something cool and share it
💬 Join discussions and help others
📢 Spread the word
✍️ Write tutorials and articles
🎥 Create video content

💭 The Philosophy

Smart TV development should be:

Simple — Easy to start, easy to scale
Modern — Use the latest tools and patterns
Performant — Optimized for TV hardware
Flexible — Adapt to your needs
Community-Driven — Better together

🎯 What's Next?

The roadmap includes exciting features:

🎮 Enhanced spatial navigation utilities
📱 More platform integrations (tvOS, Roku)
🔐 Advanced DRM and security features
📊 Performance monitoring and analytics
🧪 Testing utilities and helpers
📖 More examples and starter templates
🌍 Internationalization support

🔗 Get Started Today

Ready to build your Smart TV app?

Quick Links

📦 npm: npm create smart-tv-app my-app
🐙 GitHub: github.com/smarttv-dev/smart-tv
📖 Documentation: Check the README and guides
💬 Community: Join GitHub Discussions
🐛 Issues: Report bugs and request features

Install Individual Packages

# Video player
npm install @smart-tv/player

# Data fetching
npm install @smart-tv/query

# CLI tool
npm create smart-tv-app

🎬 Final Thoughts

Building for Smart TVs is challenging, but it doesn't have to be overwhelming. The Smart TV provides the foundation you need to create amazing streaming experiences without starting from scratch.

Whether you're building a streaming platform, live TV app, or educational content portal, these tools will save you time and help you ship faster.

The project is open source, actively maintained, and ready for production use. Give it a try, contribute improvements, and help make Smart TV development better for everyone!

👏 Acknowledgments

This toolkit wouldn't be possible without amazing open-source projects:

React team for the incredible UI library
Shaka Player for robust video playback
Vite team for fast development experience
Turborepo for monorepo management
The entire open-source community

📬 Let's Connect

Have questions? Want to share what you're building?

💬 Start a discussion on GitHub
🐛 Report issues and bugs
⭐ Star the repository
🔀 Fork and contribute
📢 Share with other developers

Let's build the future of Smart TV apps together! 🚀📺

This article is meant to help developers discover and use the Smart TV. The project is open source and welcomes contributions from the community.

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