webOS is the operating system on LG smart TVs and, with Samsung's Tizen, one of the two dominant native smart-TV platforms. Like Tizen, webOS apps are primarily web-technology apps running in the TV's runtime, with LG SDKs for media playback, DRM, and the platform's pointer-based remote.
Targeting webOS means handling the same living-room challenges as Tizen - many model years with varied capabilities, store certification, and per-model DRM/codec support - and testing on real hardware because TV performance and quirks differ sharply from desktop. Supporting Tizen and webOS together covers the large majority of native smart-TV reach outside streaming sticks like Roku and Fire TV.
The handbook · 7 volumes
Fora Soft Video Engineering Handbook
A webOS app lives or dies on playback: LG TV runtimes differ in DRM support, decoder limits and how they handle ABR switches. Our seven-volume handbook covers the whole video stack, and for webOS work start with Volume 3: players, DRM, ABR and recovery after stalls. Volumes 1 and 2 cover the codecs and HLS or DASH streams the TV must play. Written by Nikolay Sapunov, CEO at Fora Soft.
Launching on LG webOS and worried about playback across TV model years?
Tell us your stream setup and DRM, and we will scope the webOS app with a device test matrix, timeline and estimate. 250+ video products shipped since 2005.
