UTV.

A problem worth exploring.

I wanted a TV experience that felt comfortable from the couch: clear browsing, controls that work with a remote, and a quick way to move between videos and movies. UTV brings those two experiences together without making the viewer navigate a desktop-style browser.

Less friction. More intention.

UTV is made of two parts: UTube handles YouTube browsing, search, and video playback; UMovie handles movie and series discovery, title details, seasons, and episodes. Android uses a native Java interface over a WebView, while Samsung uses an HTML, CSS, and JavaScript interface with a Node.js service running on the TV. Shared JavaScript handles playback and local data, and each screen gives the remote a clear path from one control to the next.

• Switch between UTube and UMovie inside the same app.
• Brave Shields for ad and tracker blocking in the Brave-based viewer.
• Browse shelves, search with an on-screen keyboard, and control playback with a TV remote.
• Local viewer profiles with separate watch histories, searches, and recommendations.
• Movie and series browsing with genre filters, season selection, episode cards, and continue watching.
• Playback settings for video quality, subtitles, audio, and a sleep timer.

What the system enables.

Before

The project started with a browser-based TV viewer and grew into a need for dedicated browsing, search, and playback screens.

With UTV

The app brings UTube and UMovie together with remote controls and local viewing history. Android builds and a Samsung Tizen package are prepared for physical-TV testing.

What this project taught me.

On a TV, focus is part of the design. Every shelf, keyboard key, menu, and player control needs a predictable next step with the remote. Sharing playback logic across the native Android and Samsung web interfaces keeps the two versions consistent while allowing each to fit its platform.