Samsung TV by Papaya | Docs

Driver name in Composer: Samsung TV by Papaya. Model: SmartHub-Fix TV. Manufacturer: Papaya Web Services. File: Papaya_SamsungTV.c4z. Current driver version: 1.0.0 (Release Candidate). Store slug: samsung-tv.

Overview

Modern Samsung TVs open Smart Hub and shrink the HDMI picture into a small box whenever Control4 sends the Input or Source command. This driver never sends that command.

Over IP, after pairing: every Watch powers the TV on and switches it to the HDMI input Control4 routed, using Samsung IP Control. Full screen, no Smart Hub. It also brings the TV back from Smart Hub, Live TV or a TV app.
Over RS-232 or IR only: the driver sends only Power On. The TV stays on the HDMI input it is already on, and the AVR or matrix does the switching.

Also included:

Control Method Auto: IP first, then RS-232, then IR, using whatever is bound.
Fast, state-aware IP power with Wake-on-LAN from deep sleep, and protection against double presses toggling the TV back.
Finds the TV again after a DHCP address change.
The Frame: Art Mode on Room Off, a nightly Art Mode Off Time, and an optional second Room Off press for full power off.
Mini apps: a Samsung App Switcher with 15 MiniApp inputs launches the TV's own apps from Control4 Universal mini app tiles.

Built for the standard layout where the TV watches one HDMI input fed by an AVR or matrix. Over IP the TV can also follow several sources on HDMI 1 to 4.

Requirements

Control4 OS 4.x. Earlier OS versions have not been tested.
IP control: Samsung Tizen smart TVs, 2018 and newer, including The Frame. Input switching uses Samsung IP Control, which needs Expert Settings > IP Remote = On. Older models that only offer the unencrypted port 8001 are not supported over IP; use RS-232 or IR.
RS-232 (Ex-Link): Samsungs with the 3.5 mm Ex-Link jack, including The Frame. 9600 baud, 8N1. Some models need the service menu RS-232 Jack set to UART.
IR: any Samsung TV.
Wake-on-LAN: the TV's MAC Address (filled in automatically on Wi-Fi TVs) and Power On with Mobile = On.
Mini apps need IP control and pairing.
A DHCP reservation for the TV is recommended.

Installing and first setup

On the TV first

All control methods:

Settings > General > Smart Features > Autorun Smart Hub = Off.
Settings > General > External Device Manager > Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC) = Off, so the AVR or a source cannot switch the TV behind Control4's back.
RS-232 or IR only: select the HDMI input the AVR or matrix is plugged into. Not needed over IP.

For IP:

Settings > General > Network > Expert Settings > Power On with Mobile = On (Wake-on-LAN).
Settings > General > Network > Expert Settings > IP Remote = On (IP Control input switching).
Settings > General > External Device Manager > Device Connection Manager > Access Notification = First Time Only, so the Allow prompts appear when you pair.

Menu names vary a little by model year.

Driver setup in Composer Pro

Add Samsung TV by Papaya to the room. Leave Control Method on Auto: IP, RS-232, IR.
IP: in Connections > Network, drag the discovered Samsung onto the driver's IP Control Connection, or type the TV's IP there or in the IP Address property.
RS-232 and/or IR (optional with IP, required without it): bind RS-232 to the controller serial port cabled to the Ex-Link jack, and/or IR to the IR port with an emitter on the TV.
With the TV on, run Pair with TV (IP) - Allow BOTH prompts on the TV. Two Allow prompts appear a few seconds apart. Allow both: the first is remote control and power, the second is IP Control input switching. Status ends on IP Control paired and TV Model fills in.
Bind the HDMI input, the room, and for mini apps in AVR rooms the Audio Output. Refresh Navigators.
Run Test Power Off and Test Power On.

Properties

Control properties

Driver Version: read only.
Control Method: Auto: IP, RS-232, IR (default), IP, Serial or IR. Auto uses IP whenever the driver knows the TV's address, with RS-232 then IR as fallback for whatever is bound. Keys go out wired immediately while the IP link opens. If the TV does not answer on the network, Power On and Off also go out as discrete wired codes. Pairing switches an IR or Serial driver to IP; giving the TV a Network-tab address switches an IR driver to IP.
Source Behavior: Power On only (SmartHub fix) (default) or Send Input normally. Send Input normally sends RS-232 or IR input codes on every Watch, for TVs that switch between their own inputs over wired control.
IP Address: fills in from Connections > Network and follows it. A typed IP takes priority; clear it to go back to the Network tab address. Updated automatically if the driver finds the TV at a new address.
MAC Address: for Wake-on-LAN and finding the TV after an address change. Learned automatically on Wi-Fi TVs. Type it for wired TVs. Type off to disable Wake-on-LAN. A typed MAC is never overwritten.
Subnet Mask: default 255.255.255.0. Used to send Wake-on-LAN to the right network.
Power On Delay (sec): 1 to 30, default 4. RS-232 and IR: other commands are held this long after Power On. Over IP the driver waits for the TV by itself.
Power Off Delay (sec): 1 to 10, default 2. All methods: a Power On right after Power Off is held this long. A full IP power off adds its 3 second Power key hold.
TV Model: read only. Detected over IP (shows The Frame when detected).
Status: read only. Last thing the driver did, including errors and what to do.
Log Level: 0 Fatal to 5 Trace, default 1 - Error. Pairing tokens are always masked.
Log Mode: Off (default), Print (Lua tab), Log (Director log), Print and Log.

The Frame properties

On Power Off: Art Mode (default), Art Mode then Power Off on second press (a second Room Off while showing art turns the Frame fully off, even though the room is already off), or Power Off (always full off).
Art Mode Off Time (24-hour): HH:MM, for example 22:00. Daily at this time, if the Frame is showing art it turns fully off; if someone is watching it is left on. From this time until the Resume Time, Room Off is a full power off. Blank turns the schedule off. An invalid entry is reported in Status.
Art Mode Resume Time (24-hour): default 06:00. After this time Room Off shows art again.

Actions

Pair with TV (IP) - Allow BOTH prompts on the TV: pairs remote control and IP Control. TV must be on. Switches Control Method to IP if it was IR or Serial. Run again if the TV was reset or a pairing was removed.
Detect TV: reads the model and Frame support and updates TV Model and which properties show.
Find TV on Network: searches the subnet for the TV by MAC Address and updates IP Address. Also runs automatically when needed.
List TV Apps: lists installed apps in the Lua tab (set Log Mode to Print).
Test Power On / Test Power Off: power with the current Control Method. The Frame follows On Power Off.
Test Volume Up: one Volume Up, to check the IR emitter, serial link or IP link.
Run Art Mode Off Check Now: The Frame only. Runs the Art Mode Off Time check now.

Programming

Commands (Device Actions):

SEND_KEY (KEY): sends one Samsung remote key over IP, for example KEY_MENU, KEY_EXIT, KEY_HOME, KEY_HDMI3.
LAUNCH_APP (APP): opens a TV app by name over IP, for example Netflix.

The driver also handles the standard Control4 TV proxy commands (power, volume up/down, mute toggle, input selection, channel entry).

Events, conditionals and custom variables: none. Use the TV proxy's normal power and input state in programming.

Connections and bindings

IP Control Connection [Port 8002] (network): drag the discovered Samsung onto it (SDDP) or type the IP. Optional if you type the IP into the IP Address property.
RS-232 (control): serial port cabled to the Ex-Link jack. Used alone with Serial, or as the first fallback with Auto.
IR (control): IR port with an emitter on the TV. Used alone with IR, or as the last fallback with Auto.
HDMI 1 to HDMI 4 (video in): bind the input the AVR or matrix output feeds. Over IP the driver switches to whichever input Control4 routes.
ANTENNA / CABLE: only if you use the TV's own tuner.
Audio Output: bind to the AVR input the TV's ARC/eARC audio arrives on (Denon/Marantz: TV Audio). Required for mini apps when an AVR is the room's audio endpoint, because mini apps send remote keys along the room's audio path. Not needed when the TV speakers are the room audio.
MiniApp 1 to MiniApp 15 (on the Samsung App Switcher device): bind Control4 Universal mini app drivers, one per input.
Room Selection - Output: created when the TV is added to a room. Leave it.

Mini apps

Add the Universal mini app drivers you want (Netflix, YouTube, Disney Plus, Max and so on).
Bind each to a MiniApp input on the Samsung App Switcher.
In AVR rooms, bind the TV's Audio Output to the AVR's TV Audio input.
Refresh Navigators. Picking a tile turns the TV on if needed and opens the app. Remote keys control the TV while the app is selected.

The driver has a built-in map of about 40 Samsung apps (Netflix, YouTube, YouTube TV, Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Paramount+, Peacock, Apple TV, Apple Music, ESPN, Sling, Spotify, Tubi, Plex, Pluto TV, Fandango at Home and more). Before each launch it checks the app's name with the TV, so a tile never opens the wrong app. It learns the installed apps right after pairing and remembers them so tiles open fast. When the room leaves an app for an HDMI source, the driver switches the TV back to that HDMI input.

Best practices

Use IP with pairing for the full Smart Hub fix. Bind RS-232 or IR too, with Control Method Auto, for a wired fallback when the TV is in deep sleep.
Turn off Autorun Smart Hub and Anynet+ on every TV.
Give the TV a DHCP reservation.
Fill in MAC Address on wired TVs so Wake-on-LAN works.
For The Frame, set Art Mode Off Time (for example 22:00) so art goes fully off at night.
Do not pair a second app or driver using the same remote name; the TV keeps one IP Control pairing.
Updating from a version before 0.7.0 adds the App Switcher, which can make Director restart once. Update during a service visit, or delete and re-add the driver.
Set Log Mode back to Off when done troubleshooting.

Troubleshooting

Pairing and IP

Pair with TV shows no prompt: the TV must be on and the driver must have its address. On the TV, check Device Connection Manager: Access Notification First Time Only, and delete or allow "Control4 Papaya" in Device List. Status shows the reason.
Status: TV denied pairing: someone chose Deny. Run Pair with TV and choose Allow both times.
Status: TV pairing prompt timed out: nobody answered the prompt. Run Pair with TV again.
Status: IP Control pairing failed or was lost: check Expert Settings > IP Remote = On. If another driver or app paired since, turn IP Remote off and on, then run Pair with TV and allow both prompts.
Status: TV not answering on the network: the TV is in deep sleep. Check MAC Address is set (not off) and Power On with Mobile is on. With Auto, bind RS-232 or IR for a wired fallback.
Status: TV did not wake from Wake-on-LAN: check MAC Address matches the TV's active interface (Wi-Fi or wired) and Power On with Mobile is on.
Status: Find TV: not found: needs IP Address, MAC Address and the TV awake.
First Power On after an IP change takes up to a minute: expected while the driver finds the new address. Status shows TV found at new address.
TV stays offline after a Network tab problem: delete the network entry and re-add the TV, or remove and re-add the driver.

Picture, power and Frame

Smart Hub appears on Watch, or the TV stays on the wrong input: over IP, Status should show IP Control paired; if not, pair again. Check the AVR or matrix is bound to the right TV HDMI input. Over RS-232 or IR only, keep Source Behavior = Power On only and set the TV's input once by hand. Turn off Autorun Smart Hub and Anynet+.
Double press or duplicate programming: a second Power On or Off within 8 seconds is ignored on purpose.
The Frame turns off instead of showing art: check Art Mode Off Time and Resume Time. Inside that window Room Off is a full off.
Frame properties not shown: run Detect TV with the TV on.
RS-232 or IR: volume ignored right after power on: increase Power On Delay.
RS-232 does nothing: some models need the service menu RS-232 Jack set to UART. Change nothing else there.

Mini apps

Tile does nothing: the driver needs the TV address and pairing. Check Status. Install the app on the TV, or run List TV Apps to see exact names. Check the mini app is bound to the Samsung App Switcher.
Opens the app but remote keys do nothing: in AVR rooms, bind the TV's Audio Output to the AVR's TV Audio input.
Status: Apps need IP: set the TV address and pair.
Need details: Log Mode = Print, Log Level = 4 - Debug or 5 - Trace, reproduce, and read the Lua tab.

Limitations

Clean input switching needs IP Control (Tizen 2018+ with IP Remote on). Over RS-232 or IR only, the TV is not switched between its own inputs unless you choose Send Input normally, which brings back the Smart Hub behavior.
Older TVs that only offer port 8001 are not supported over IP.
SEND_KEY, LAUNCH_APP and mini apps work over IP only.
Wake-on-LAN depends on the TV's Power On with Mobile setting and the right MAC.
Pandora, DIRECTV and Spectrum TV have no known app ID in the built-in map; they work only if the TV lists them.
No events or conditionals of its own.
Samsung app IDs change over time; the built-in app map needs a yearly refresh.

Version history highlights

1.0.0 RC: release candidate. Documentation, help text and action order final.
0.9.6: built-in map of about 40 Samsung apps; each launch is checked against the TV's app name.
0.9.5: instant Power Off when the TV is known to be on; faster tiles.
0.9.3: Control Method Auto (IP, RS-232, IR). The driver no longer re-prompts on its own.
0.9.0 to 0.9.2: faster input switching; Power On held until the TV finishes turning off.
0.8.x: Frame power fixes, second press full off, IP Address follows the Network tab.
0.7.x: mini apps and the Samsung App Switcher, IP Control input switching, encrypted code.
0.6.x: Frame Art Mode schedule, DHCP recovery, Frame auto-detect.
0.5.x: Wake-on-LAN, SDDP discovery, Art Mode aware power.
0.1.0 to 0.4.x: IR with the Smart Hub fix, then RS-232 and IP.