Samsung TV Driver

Samsung produces excellent TVs for commercial usage in Sports Bars and Restaurants.

myServer 6 provides easy integration into the control system for reliable control.

There are two drivers to covers most of the Samsung IP controlled TVs (install the correct driver for the TV):

Tizen (does not support Video Source discrete selection but "guesses" at the right HDMI input)
TVs that have ports 1515 / 1516 open (non Tizen and most of the commercial TVs - supports discrete Video Source selection)

Prep the TV(s):

On newer TVs (about 2018 and newer), you need to enable "External Device Manager"

Settings -> General -> External Device Manager

-> Device Connection Manager

-> Device List

You have to click on iPhone/iPad item to choose Allow

You should confirm that the authentication notification is set for "First Time Only".

For myServer to turn On the TV, you have to enable Wake On Lan support. Go to Settings / General / Network / Expert Settings and turn on "Power on with Mobile". Restart the TV to ensure all settings are active. (NOTE: WOL will not work via WiFi if myServer is on ethernet so no Power On will work)

If you see "External IP Control" (or some words like that), then the TV might support the non Tizen driver - use that and uninstall the Tizen driver. Enable IP control.

The authentication is specific with one myServer's MAC address. So, if you are using two myServer controllers (like a backup), you must authenticate each individually.

From Samsung Commercial TV manual:

Connecting an IP control device to the TV (left directional button)

Settings > All Settings > Connection > Network > Expert Settings > IP Remote > Try Now

You can connect an IP control device to the TV remotely to manage your IP device.

To use this function, Power On with Mobile must be turned on.

Turning this feature on may allow other IP control devices to control your TV. We recommend turning this feature on only if an authorized third-party custom controller is installed and configured specifically for a Samsung TV and if your Wi-Fi network is password protected.

This function may not be supported depending on the model.

Driver Installation:

Download the Samsung TV driver or the standard Samsung driver from the myServer 6 Software Updater. The driver will self install.

Go to the Drivers section and select Configure for the Samsung driver.

The supported commands are listed in the Commands drop down list.

The easiest way to add a TV to control is to enable External Control on the TV, turn on all TVs, and then click the Discovery button in the driver. You will see in the driver myServer scanning all IP addresses on all active NIC (ethernet and Wifi ports) for any TVs that the driver should support. This will then auto add discovered TVs to the driver's list of configured TVs. Once added, you can edit the TV device's Alias Name for easy identification. For installations that have many TVs, use a logical naming convention like "TV1, TV2, TV3....". You should also name the TVs in the order they are to be displayed, which should also be the order the TVs are installed into the video matrix switch (if used).

Optionally, use the AddTV command to add an Samsung TV to the network. Enter the TV's IP address, MAC address including colons between value pairs (for Wake On Lan), and the friendly name of the TV (your choice).

You first must run the PAIR command for each TV. This will request an authentication token from the TV.

Soon, you should see a Device management popup on the TV. Accept the connection from "Allonis".

You should now be able to send commands to the TV from myServer. Note that some commands only work when the TV is on certain screens or activities.

To control power to individual Samsung TVs in the Sportsbar template:

Add to the api call on the scroller object in myDesigner 6:

/api/getpowercontrols?driver=samsungtizen,lgwebos (omit lgwebos if only samsung TVs are uses)

Is this the right driver for your Samsung TV?

Determine if you can use the Samsung Commercial TV driver (that supports discrete power on / off and status)

From myServer's terminal window, explicitly check to see if ports 1515 or 1516 are open using sudo nmap -p 1515,1516 192.168.....

If you see ports 1515 or 1516 open, then use this driver. If non existent or closed, ensure you have external control enabled and test again. If still closed, then install the Samsung Tizen TV driver from myServer's Software Updater.

Port 1515 open means it's a "prosumer TV". 1516 open means it's a commercial duty TV.

Commercial Samsung TVs:

Conflicting information from Samsung advises to use the BET-HU driver.

You may not be able to select discrete HDMI ports. You may have to use the HDMI command to rotate through the available Inputs (TV Tuner / HDMI1, HDMI2 etc.)

Older Samsung TVs:

For 2016+ Samsung IP TVs, they support the "SamsungTVDriver" on port 55000.

Draft content below:

Older Samsung TVs (~2015 back) can be controlled via RS232. There will be either a DB-9 or a minijack depending on TV model. Both should use the same protocol so other than wiring differences, the myServer 6 Samsung driver should support both.

When a serial controlled Samsung TV is used with a matrix, the TV can be addressed using 1-99. The Samsung Driver can then address the command that the appropriate TV will respond to. The TVs are wired with their "serial Out" jack wired to the next TV's "serial In" jack in a daisy chain. Only one serial com port is then needed for up to 99 TVs. If each TV is wired to the central equipment rack (and not daisy chained), then you will need a serial com port for each TV which adds additional hardware.

The Samsung TV driver supports brightness control.

Here is a macro that you can edit to control multiple TVs

Then, use Scheduled Task Editor to create a time of day (like Dusk + 1 hr) to turn the brightness lower, and build a second macro with Brightness~0! with a second Scheduled Task to bring them bright at "9AM".

Samsung Frame TV specifics

The issue is that the Frame TVs go into Art mode when you turn them "Offf".

Below is unverified to work but worth a try:

"There is a "magic packet" WoL issue with the Frame TV. One simple work around from within Art Mode settings: enable "turn off at night" and set "screen blank" standby mode time-out as well, most newer frames have motion sensors that can be tweaked to only show art when someone is in the room"