Samsung TV Plus Review : Everything you Should Know 2022
Samsung is a world renowned brand that sells more televisions than other companies and it’s only fitting for their TVs to come preloaded with a free streaming service.
Yup, Samsung TV Plus is a streaming service exclusive to Samsung TVs that consists of over 220 channels to watch in the US.
It was first launched way back in 2015 as a video rental service and has since evolved into the ad-supported streaming video service we know and love today.
I’ve been using Samsung TV Plus for a little over 2 years and I must say that the content which is available and the fact that it’s free to watch makes it a service I would never opt out of.
It’s definitely among the top 5 best online streaming services available on Samsung TVs and in 2020 Samsung TV Plus was launched for Samsung mobile devices so we could watch premium content while on-the-go.
But what is Samsung TV Plus? How does it work and should you buy a Samsung TV or mobile specifically to watch Samsung TV Plus content?
Read on as I provide you with my review on using Samsung TV Plus and i’ll also answer some of the most common questions asked about this service.
Samsung TV Plus Review
What is Samsung TV Plus?
Samsung TV Plus is Samsung’s proprietary online streaming service that’s available on all Samsung TVs.
It initially began as a video rental service back in 2015 and has since become one of the most popular online streaming services available to Samsung users.
Samsung TV Plus was later launched for the Galaxy range of smartphones in 2020 and hardly a year later Samsung released their web version of the TV Plus software that’s accessible on laptops and PCs.
Currently, the Samsung TV Plus app is only available on Samsung TVs and Galaxy smartphones and will not be available to use on other devices running Android.
You can download the app from the Google Play store or the Galaxy store on your device for free and the complete list of supported devices can be found in the descriptions field on the Galaxy store page of the Samsung TV Plus app.
As per reports, Samsung is planning to release the TV Plus service for Samsung Family Hub refrigerators in the US and South Korea sometime in 2022.
So we can hopefully see some other devices get added to this list.
Where is Samsung TV Plus Available?
Samsung TV Plus was first available only in the US and South Korea but has since moved to over 24 countries worldwide such as Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, and the United States.
From what I can tell, as of 2022, the web player is only available in the United States and not all regions have access to the same selection of channels and content.
How is the Samsung TV Plus User Interface?
I was quite satisfied with how easy it was to use Samsung TV Plus and it actually felt like I was browsing through channels on my satellite box.
The platform is great, there’s a vast selection of channels and categories/genres to choose from and I was even allowed to add channels to my favorites and add them to the home screen for easier viewing.
One great feature of the Samsung TV Plus app is that there’s an option to add reminders to TV shows and I took advantage of this feature by setting reminders for all of my favorite programs.
Apart from this the UI is pretty simple, it has an all-black background and as I scroll down on the screen I was able to find my recently watched list, channels I frequently visited and even popular shows and on-demand movies were displayed based on my preferences.
At the top of the page is the profile icon and upon clicking it I was taken to my account details and personal information that I had to set up my Samsung Account with.
If I wanted to change the login, I simply had to select the Logout option in the Profile page and then sign into an alternate account.
One thing I did notice is that I was unable to uninstall Samsung TV Plus especially if it comes stock on the TV.
Instead, I was allowed to delete channels and once all the channels were taken down then the Samsung TV Plus app did not appear on the TV.
However, if any new channels were added then the Samsung TV Plus reappeared on the home screen.
There’s one fix which sort of worked for me and that was to remove the Samsung TV Plus app from the home screen.
To do this, I highlighted the app and then clicked on the Remove option followed by Remove once again.
Using Disney+ With Samsung TV Plus
I did notice that the Samsung TV Plus supported Disney+ and I was able to watch all of Disney+ content via the Samsung TV Plus app by interlinking both accounts.
Not only did Disney+ provide me with an ad-free experience, but it has a vast collection of Disney and Marvel movies as well as some pretty cool docu-series that I really enjoyed watching.
The only catch here is that to watch Disney+ content I had to subscribe to Disney+ on their own platform and pay a premium for their subscription.
Only then was I able to link both accounts and watch Disney+ on Samsung TV Plus.
It’s great and Disney+ is available as a stand-alone app for nearly all smart TVs and not only Samsungs, but it became a lot easier to watch Disney+ shows and movies by using Samsung TV Plus’s unique filtering and categorization system.
What Channels are Available on Samsung TV Plus?
As I mentioned earlier, Samsung TV Plus consists of over 220 channels, but this number varies depending on where you’re located.
Since I’m based in the US, I had access to over 100+ channels and VOD movies from various major production companies.
However, if you’re looking to see how many channels are available on Samsung TV Plus in different countries, then here’s a short list I could prepare.
- USA: 120
- Austria: 64
- Germany: 64
- Switzerland: 64
- UK: 49
- Korea: 35
- Canada: 35
- Thailand: 30
- France: 26
- Italy: 18
- Spain: 18
Some of my favorite channels and programs on Samsung TV Plus are
- ABC News Live
- Bloomberg TV+ UHD
- CBS News
- USA Today
- 21 Jump street
- Degrassi
- ET Live
- Magellan TV Now
- Rotten Tomatoes
- Stories by AMC
- The Walking Dead Universe
- VICE
- Crime 360
- Forensic Files
- Law & Crime
- Unsolved Mysteries
- Fear Factor
- Fubo Sports Network
- Motorvision.tv
- BBC Home
- BBC Food
- Hell’s Kitchen
- Project Repo
- CHIVE TV
- Family Ties
- That Girl
- IGN
- MinecraftTV
- The LEGO Channel
- TED
- WeatherSpy
- Midnight Pulp
- The Asylum
- Documentary +
- Hallmark Movies & More
- The Movie Hub
- VEVO Hip Hop
- VEVO Country
- Rock On
- 90s Throwback
And many more..
Apart from these popular channels, Samsung also launched their own exclusive channels earlier this year including Ride or Drive which is a channel that talks about cars and collecting cars and Samsung Showcase which is a channel that is dedicated to Samsung exclusives, concerts, comedy specials and more.
Earlier this year, Samsung overhauled their TV Plus design and relaunched the app with new branding. The updated platform now carries additional networks such as A+E and BBC as well as ION and Home.Made.Nation.
Some of the new programming and partnerships for Samsung TV Plus are:
- Premium Content
- A+E Networks
- The E.W. Scripps Company
- BBC Studios
- Expansive News Offerings
- ABC News Live
- CBS News
- LiveNOW from FOX
- NBC News NOW.
- Expanded VOD Library
- Expanded partnership with Vice Media and Lionsgate
- New Owned and Operated Channels
- Alkemy X
- Travel Channel
- DIY Network
- HGTV
- Exclusive Premiers
- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series
- Uncut version of Demi Lovato’s Vevo Official Live Performance
- Vevo’s bespoke artist series
- Norteados con Don Cheto
Pros and Cons of Samsung TV Plus
| Pros | Cons |
| Free to Use | Available only on Samsung Devices |
| Delivers a cable-like viewing experience with ads and recognizable channels | Latest episodes are not updated regularly |
| Is preloaded on most of the new Samsung devices | DVR functionality is not available |
FAQ’s
Does Samsung TV Plus offer content in 4K?
Yes, some of the channels on Samsung TV Plus are in 4K, but to watch the channel in 4K resolution the Samsung TV has to have a 4K display.
Are the ads on Samsung TV Plus?
Yes, Samsung TV Plus plays ads at regular intervals and they will pop-up between movies, TV shows and even live channels.
Can I use Samsung TV Plus offline?
No, Samsung TV Plus requires the internet to work and you will not be able to stream anything while offline.
Can I install Samsung TV Plus on other devices?
Right now there’s no support for other devices outside Samsung TVs and their Galaxy smartphones. It’s possible to watch Samsung TV Plus on any Android TV by casting your Galaxy smartphone directly to the TV screen.
Is Samsung TV Plus free to use?
Yes, Samsung TV Plus is free to use and all you’d need to run Samsung TV Plus is a Samsung account and a device that supports Samsung TV Plus. There are VOD movies available on the app as well that are free to watch, the only catch is that ads will be played throughout the video.
Overview
Samsung TV Plus is a wonderful app to have on any Smart TV, but because it’s available only to Samsung TVs as of now, many are missing out on what this service has to offer.
I can only hope that Samsung releases this service to other platforms that generally run on Android or iOS so that more people can enjoy watching their favorite shows and movies in one place.
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