Real AI project · At home

I Used ChatGPT to Give My TV a New Home Screen

My Samsung TV’s home screen was crowded with ads and things I didn’t use. I wanted my favorite apps, nature wallpapers and a cleaner place to start watching.

I worked with ChatGPT/Codex through tools on my computer to create a custom Home screen. I handled steps such as enabling developer access, signing in and checking the TV with the remote.

Get the starting prompt See the follow-ups

By Matthew Parsons, REALTOR® and Home Star Courses instructor

Watch the finished Home screen in action

The transformation

From cluttered to clean

These are photos of my actual TV, taken from the couch. Same TV, same apps. The difference is a Home screen built around what I actually watch.

My Samsung TV's original home screen, with a large sponsored ad across the top and recommended shows filling the screen — **Before**Ads + clutter

My new TV Home screen: a mountain and forest wallpaper with a single dock of my favorite apps — **After**My apps + nature

What I ended up with

The finished setup

Apple TV-style dock

My favorite apps in one row, in the order I chose.

Rotating nature wallpapers

A calm, changing backdrop instead of a wall of promotions.

My video screensaver

My SanDisk video starts automatically after five idle minutes.

Remembers my place

Saved playback position, so the screensaver continues where it left off.

Opens at power-on

The new Home appears automatically when I turn on the TV.

Backups and restore

A restore script is ready, and every existing app was kept.

How it actually happened

We reached that result through a conversation

I described what I wanted, tried the first version, then explained what needed to change. That loop is the whole skill.

Describe it
My TV model, my apps, the look I liked and what to leave alone.
Try version one
Pick up the remote and use it like a normal evening at home.
Say what to change
Plain words work: “start it after five minutes.”
Verify it
Ask what was actually tested and what still needs checking.

Then repeat steps 2 through 4 until it feels right.

Free to copy

Copy this starting prompt

Replace the bracketed information with your details. Attach a photo of your TV’s model information and a picture of the design you like. See which photos help most.

This is an improved starting prompt based on the completed project. Your TV may support different features. Typing a prompt does not give an assistant access to your network or TV; it needs appropriate tools and your authorization, or it must guide you through the steps.

TV Home Screen Starting Prompt

Download .txt

Help me improve my TV's home screen and reduce clutter, using reversible changes appropriate for my exact TV.

MY SETUP
- TV brand and exact model: [ADD MODEL OR ATTACH A PHOTO OF THE MODEL INFORMATION]
- TV software version, if known: [ADD VERSION]
- Computer I can use: [MAC / WINDOWS / LINUX]
- Favorite apps, in dock order: [ADD YOUR LIST]
- Features I use and want preserved: [LIVE TV, CASTING/AIRPLAY, VOICE CONTROL, GAMING, SOUNDBAR, ETC.]
- Screensaver: [USB DRIVE NAME AND EXACT VIDEO FILENAME, OR NONE]
- Design reference: [ATTACH A PHOTO OR DESCRIBE THE LOOK]
- Photos attached: [MY TV'S ABOUT SCREEN, MY CURRENT HOME SCREEN, THE APP LOGOS AND CARDS I LIKE]

START WITH COMPATIBILITY
Identify my TV's operating system and supported developer connection before giving commands. Do not assume it uses Android or ADB. Explain what my model can actually support, what tools or permissions are required, and what I need to do on the TV. If you cannot directly access my computer or TV, guide me through the steps and ask for the results. Never claim you connected, installed or tested something unless it happened.

BACK UP BEFORE CHANGING ANYTHING
Record the original state of every setting and app flag you intend to change. Back up relevant configuration and any existing custom launcher before an update. Explain what the backup covers and what it does not. Never uninstall an app. Disable only verified optional components, reversibly, and ask me first about apps or features I might use. Do not root the TV, flash firmware or factory-reset it. Explain any method outside normal developer tools before using it.

BUILD THE HOME SCREEN
If my model supports it, build and install a lightweight Home screen with an Apple TV-style dock, wide rounded app cards, recognizable logos and rotating nature wallpapers. Use my reference image to guide the appearance. Keep the app order I supplied. Preserve access to the original Home and TV settings. Keep the new Home free of advertising feeds and unnecessary network requests. Do not promise to remove ads inside streaming apps or channels.

Make the remote's Home button open the new screen, and make it appear automatically when I turn on the TV, if supported. Preserve movie and show search across the services my TV's search actually supports. Explain any limitations.

ADD MY VIDEO SCREENSAVER
If I supplied a USB video, read it directly without changing the original file. Start it after five minutes of inactivity on the main Home screen. Remote input should reset the timer. It must not start over a streaming app or interrupt something I am watching.

Play it muted with looping enabled. Save its playback position on the TV about every ten seconds and when I exit. Resume from that saved position the next time, including after restarting Home, if supported. Back, OK or an arrow should return me to Home. Handle a missing USB drive without leaving the screen stuck or black. Provide a Manual option so I can turn automatic playback off.

VERIFY AND PROVIDE RESTORATION
Work in small steps. Capture before-and-after TV screenshots where available and verify changed values. If screenshots cannot show a hardware video layer, explain that and ask me to confirm what is visible.

Test remote navigation, opening apps, returning Home, ordinary power-on, the full five-minute idle interval, stopping and resuming the video, and resume after restarting Home. Check that features I asked to keep remain available. Distinguish an app opening from testing its account and actual media playback.

Give me the source files, installable app if one was created, a change log, backups, simple usage instructions and a restore script that returns the recorded settings to their originals without uninstalling apps. Test the restore steps where practical, and clearly list anything not verified.

Start by assessing my setup and asking only for the information needed to choose a workable approach. Do not make unsupported changes just to force the requested result.

The shortcut that saves the most time

Don’t describe your TV. Show it.

You can drop photos and screenshots right into the chat. A picture answers in seconds what would take paragraphs to type, and it keeps the assistant from guessing. A phone photo of the screen works fine.

Your TV’s About screen

Open Settings on your TV, find the About or Support screen, and snap a photo of the model number and software version.

Tells it exactly what your TV can and can’t do

Your current home screen

Take a photo of what you see today, like my “before” shot above.

Shows which apps you have and what you want gone

The look you want

A photo of another TV, a streaming box or anything else with the app logos and cards you like. I used a photo of my Apple TV.

Shows what the logos and cards should look like

Keep sending pictures as you go. After each change, snap the TV and drop it in with a note like “the Netflix card is too small” or “this logo is blurry.” It’s the same loop as my follow-ups below.

The part most people skip

How my follow-up prompts improved the result

These examples come from my project. The conversation excerpts are shortened and lightly edited for readability.

Example 1

“Make the screensaver remember my place”

Idle on HomeRemote input resets the timer
5 minutes passVideo starts, muted and looping
Picks up at the saved spotAbout 20 minutes in, during our test
Saves every 10 secondsAnd again when I exit
Back, OK or an arrowReturns me to Home, bookmark kept

The first version, summarized

Your new Home has a Screensaver button that plays your SanDisk video silently with looping enabled. Automatic playback after five minutes is available in Options, but currently set to Manual.

That version played the video, but it didn’t save my position.

My clarification

Make my SanDisk screensaver start automatically after five minutes of inactivity on the Home screen. I’d also like it to pick up in the MP4 where it left off, if possible. It’s a long video, and I don’t want to see the beginning every time.

The revised result, summarized

Automatic playback is enabled after five idle minutes on Home. The player saves its position on the TV about every ten seconds and when you exit. It resumes from that position next time, including after restarting Home. Opening another app cancels Home’s idle timer.

What we checked: We left Home idle for the full five minutes. The video started automatically at its saved position around 20 minutes in. Stopping, reopening and restarting Home also preserved the bookmark.

Try this yourself: Describe what should trigger the feature, what should happen next, and what it should remember.

Example 2

“Make the app cards look like this photo”

The finished dock on my TV: consistent wide, rounded cards in my order.

The first version, summarized

The dock includes your favorite apps, using a mixture of installed app icons and text tiles, over rotating nature wallpapers.

It worked, but I wanted the cards to look closer to the ones on my Apple TV.

My clarification

Update the icons to look more like the app logos and cards Apple TV uses. Use this photo as the visual reference. Keep my app order and nature wallpaper.

The revised result, summarized

The dock now uses consistent wide, rounded cards with recognizable app logos. Most use provider-supplied TV artwork, with matching custom cards for Music, TV Plus and Live TV. Your favorite apps remain in the same order.

What we checked: We inspected screenshots from the installed TV app and confirmed every card image loaded.

Try this yourself: Attach a reference, identify what should change, and name the parts you want preserved.

No tech vocabulary required

You can keep refining it

You don’t need technical vocabulary to give useful feedback. These are clear instructions:

“Start it after five minutes.” “Remember where I stopped.” “Make these cards look like this photo.”

Set the scene

Give the assistant your equipment details, describe the result you want, and set boundaries around the changes.

Test, then adjust

Test the first version and explain what you’d like adjusted.

Keep a way back

Keep a way back to the original setup, and ask the assistant to distinguish what it actually verified from what remains untested.

Want to use AI like this in your business?

The same describe, test and refine habit works for listing descriptions, client emails, market updates and paperwork. In AI for REALTORS®, I teach it live with real examples you can use the same day.

See AI for REALTORS® View upcoming classes

I Used ChatGPT to Give My TV a New Home Screen

From cluttered to clean

The finished setup

Apple TV-style dock

Rotating nature wallpapers

My video screensaver

Remembers my place

Opens at power-on

Backups and restore

We reached that result through a conversation

Describe it

Try version one

Say what to change

Verify it

Copy this starting prompt

Don’t describe your TV. Show it.

Your TV’s About screen

Your current home screen

The look you want

How my follow-up prompts improved the result

“Make the screensaver remember my place”

“Make the app cards look like this photo”

You can keep refining it

Set the scene

Test, then adjust

Keep a way back

Want to use AI like this in your business?