At AFDS, David Perry showed off the cloud gaming service Gaikai running on Samsung's Smart Televisions where he hinted that a closed beta might become available soon. Despite my concerns following the acquisition of Gaikai by Sony, the beta application showed up today as being available for download. We managed to snag a few photos of the app and the setup process, as seen below.

The Gaikai application tile in the Samsung Smart Hub

 

After upgrading to the latest (just released) firmware, which is version 1023.0 at time of writing, the application tile for Gaikai becomes available. The easiest way to upgrade the TV’s firmware is to force an update by navigating to the TV's menu, then clicking on "Support," and finally selecting the Software Update option. Alternatively, users can download the firmware from the Samsung website and place it on a USB flash drive.

 

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After clicking on the app tile (which is only shown for a few seconds at a time) in the Samsung Smart Hub, you can download it to your TV. After the application runs through a few tests, you are presented with an access code to use on the Gaikai.com website. After obtaining the access code, you will need to go to the Gaikai website and enter it. From there, you will need to go through a couple of steps and enter a few bits of personal information to sign up for the beta program. Right now, they are running a promotion where the first 150 people that sign up for (and are accepted into) the beta will receive a Logitech game pad. We understand the input requirement will be with any Xinput compatible controller, but Gaikai seems to favor the Logitech 310, 510, and 710 controllers, as seen when they gave a live demo to Engadget last month.

 

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The Samsung Cloud Gaming application is currently at version 9.1121 and is a 20.4MB download. You can obtain the app from the Smart Hub, as mentioned above. If you don't see this firmware and/or the app, your set might not yet be supported or simply be too old to support the beta. The service is expected to require a 7000 Series or higher Samsung Smart TV. Initial support is for 2012 models, but that support may be rolled back to earlier units as the beta progresses.

 

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Interestingly, this beta application and its accompanying firmware have both gone live with little fanfare from either company. If you own a Samsung TV and want a chance to get in on the beta, be sure to update your TV’s firmware and sign up for the Gaikai beta as soon as possible. If you have managed to get into the beta, we encourage you to test out the service and join the discussion in the comments section below (no registration required).

 

Stay tuned for more information on the Gaikai Samsung Smart TV beta as we get it! As soon as we are accepted into the beta, we will try to test the service out and report back.