Samsung Smart TVs run Tizen, not Android — which is why most of the IPTV players you read about (TiviMate, OTT Navigator, and friends) simply don’t exist there. Owners usually end up either buying a Firestick to hang off a perfectly capable TV, or settling for one of the few Tizen apps. This guide covers the native route: installing an IPTV player straight from Samsung’s own app store, with no extra hardware.

The usual disclaimer applies: an IPTV player plays the M3U or Xtream Codes playlist you bring from your own provider. The app contains no channels, and your subscription’s legality is between you and your provider.

What you need

A Samsung Smart TV from 2017 or later (Tizen 4.0+ covers most models people actually own).
Your playlist credentials from your IPTV provider — either an M3U URL or an Xtream Codes server/username/password.
The TV connected to the internet.

1. Install the player from the Samsung App Store

Press the Home button on your Samsung remote.
Open Apps, then use the search (magnifying glass, top right).
Search for the player by name — for Sama, type “Sama IPTV Player”.
Select Install. The app appears on your home row when it finishes.

That’s the entire installation. No developer mode, no sideloading, no USB sticks — the fragile workarounds you may remember from older Tizen tutorials aren’t needed when the player is published in the official store.

Open the app. Sama uses passwordless login: enter your email, receive a one-time code, type it in. If you’ve already used Sama on another device — a phone, a Firestick, a laptop — signing in with the same account pulls in your existing playlists, favorites, and settings automatically. That sync is the main reason to prefer an account-based player on a TV: you configure everything once, on whichever device has the most comfortable keyboard, and the TV just inherits it.

3. Add your playlist

If your account is new, add the playlist directly on the TV:

Xtream Codes: enter the server URL (for example http://example.com:8080), username, and password.
M3U: paste the full playlist URL.

Typing long URLs with a TV remote is tedious — if you have the choice, add the playlist from the web dashboard or a phone first, then just sign in on the TV.

4. Load the guide and start watching

The app fetches your channels, video-on-demand, and EPG. First load of a large playlist can take a minute; after that it’s cached and refreshed in the background. Channels with catch-up support show an archive icon in the guide — scroll back to replay up to 7 days on channels that offer it.

Troubleshooting

App not in the store? Check your TV’s region settings — Samsung’s store catalog varies by country. Also confirm the TV is 2017 or newer.
Channels load but the guide is empty. Your provider’s playlist entries likely aren’t matched to their EPG feed. Ask them for an XMLTV URL and add it in the app’s settings.
Buffering. Almost always the provider or your connection, not the TV. Test the same playlist on another device before blaming the app; if it buffers everywhere, talk to your provider.

LG TV instead?

The same store-install approach works on LG WebOS — search the LG Content Store for the player. Sama ships native apps for both TV platforms, plus Android TV, Firestick, iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS, all under one account with a 7-day free trial.

For other devices, see the companion guide: How to set up an IPTV player on Amazon Firestick.