Multiple Application Terminology

KreaTV can run several applications simultaneously. This page clarifies the terminology used to describe the components in the multiple application environment:

Applications

Applications are divided up into several types.

Primary Application

There is always one primary application. This is the main user interface, and it is responsible for acting on end-user input and showing and hiding of applications. The primary application may be a web browser (running HTML or SVG), or a native C++ application. It uses the TOI API to communicate with, and to control the STB hardware.

Secondary Applications

Zero or more secondary applications can be installed. These can be browser or even native C++ based. The major difference from the primary application is that secondary applications do not have access to the TOI API, and so cannot control the STB they are running on.

Non-interactive

Zero or more non-interactive applications may also be running. The primary application does not interact with these. The subtitle renderer is a good example, it draws to the video window, but the primary application does not interact with it directly, only through the KreaTV platform subtitle support.

Browsers

Primary Browser

The primary browser is responsible for hosting/running a "portal application", usually written with HTML and JavaScript, and functioning as the main UI on the STB. The portal application running in the primary browser is entitled to communicate with the KreaTV platform via the TOI API, and this API allows the primary browser to control the visibility of other applications.

Secondary Browser

The secondary browser is designed to run 3rd party web apps, such as YouTube's leanback portal.

When talking about software running on the STB in this user manual, terms like "portal" and "browser" may sometimes be used interchangeably, unless the context requires further clarification. It is important to understand the differences.