Nowadays, you can do virtually anything on a TV, from watching the news to streaming movies, playing music or video games. But don’t underestimate the power of high-quality photos either.
Sometimes you might want to view vacation photos or a wedding album on a screen larger than your phone. That’s when it pays to know how to put a slideshow on a TV. And don’t worry about your TV model either. With the right devices and accessories, you can make slideshows work on almost anything these days.
Load images from a USB drive
Using a USB stick is probably the fastest way to create a slideshow on your TV, as long as you have a smart TV. Most smart TVs can easily read USB drives and even have built-in media players.
- Manage photos on your USB flash drive using a laptop or desktop computer.
- Plug the USB drive into an open TV USB port.
- Open the native media player app and load the images folder from the USB drive.
- Use the remote control to start the slideshow or change images manually.
Although it doesn’t have fancy features, this is the easiest type of slideshow to view on a TV.
Upload images with a dedicated media player
A standalone media player is a great option if you want more control over your slideshow. You can connect a digital media player to your TV using an HDMI cable.
What are the advantages of portable media players? First, the device may be able to read multiple memory card formats. It can have its own remote control and allow changing various slideshow functions such as playback speed, resolution, etc. Even better, a portable digital media player can let you put a slideshow on an older, non-smart TV.
The exact steps to use such a device will vary depending on the player module. However, in general they should be similar.
- Insert a memory card or USB drive into the media player device.
- Connect the device to the TV with an HDMI cable.
- Use the remote control to power the device.
- Select the input device from the TV’s source list.
- Press play on the remote and control the slideshow as you wish.
Stream images from your smartphone
Streaming is one of the best features you can get on modern smartphones. Makes it easy to share content from a mobile device while enjoying the superior resolution, screen size and image quality of a TV.
Don’t worry if you don’t have the latest smartphone model or a specific brand. Sure, TV manufacturers have better support for brands like Apple. In fact, many started adding AirPlay 2 functionality to their TVs years ago.
You can stream to a TV from any Google Pixel, Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Motorola, or any other brand you can think of. It’s just a matter of not having a decade-old smartphone with limited capabilities.
To use the streaming feature, you often need two things.
- The latest operating system update on your TV and phone.
- Have both the television and the smartphone connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
From there, the streaming steps are pretty similar for all TVs and smartphone devices.
Cast to an LG TV
LG TVs with AirPlay 2 supports iPhone streaming without advanced settings or third-party apps.
- Connect the two devices.
- Enable AirPlay 2 on your LG TV.
- Launch AirPlay 2 on your iPhone and start streaming.
Android users may need to go through a slightly different process.
- Connect your smartphone and LG TV to the same network.
- Enter a code if prompted during the first discovery process.
- Open a slideshow of images on your phone.
- Enable screen sharing to stream images to the TV.
LG smartphones use something called screen mirroring.
- Go to the “Settings” app on your LG phone.
- Go to “Share and connect.”
- Go to “Cast” or “Mirror Screen”, depending on your model.
The streaming feature may have different names, such as Smart View, Mirroring, Quick Connect, etc. The terminology only differs on Android smartphones.
Cast to a TCL TV
TCL TVs with built-in Roku streaming are compatible with iPhone and AirPlay.
- Make sure both devices share the same Wi-Fi network.
- Launch your iPhone’s AirPlay to stream images from your gallery or iCloud storage.
You can use Android smartphones to do the same on TCL TVs powered by Google or Android TV.
- Place both devices on the same network.
- Launch the Google Home app.
- Use “Cast My Screen” to start a slideshow on your TV.
Cast to a Sony TV
Newer sony tv The models come with built-in Google TV or Android TV technology. Streaming a slideshow from your phone doesn’t require much.
- Connect your phone and TV to the same Wi-Fi network.
- Go through the screening process.
- Launch the Gallery app and enable the casting feature.
- Alternatively, use the Google Photos app to cast a slideshow to your TV.
The process is similar for streaming from an iPhone with AirPlay 2. But keep in mind that not all Sony TVs made after 2018 support AirPlay 2. Please check your model’s compatibility before using AirPlay 2.
Use a Lightning to HDMI adapter
Standard smartphone cables won’t fit into the open ports on your smart TV. Therefore, it is a challenge to connect your phone to the TV like you would with your laptop or PC. But that doesn’t mean it’s not possible.
iPhone users can purchase Lightning to HDMI cable adapters. With that, you can connect your phone directly to your TV and use the big screen to view a slideshow of your local or cloud-stored photos.
Android users can do something similar. You can purchase a USB-C to HDMI cable to quickly connect a smartphone to a smart TV. However, you should check with the manufacturer to ensure that the phone is capable of outputting HDMI signals. Not all Android mobile devices, regardless of their specifications, can do this.
On the contrary, determining whether your iPhone can support it is simple. All models after the iPhone 5 can connect to TVs using a Lightning to HDMI adapter.
Cast to a streaming media player
Small portable digital media players are an inexpensive solution for streaming a slideshow from a USB drive or memory card. But if you have a smart TV, you don’t need that type of device.
You may want to consider purchasing a streaming media player like Amazon Fire Stick, Google Chromecast, Roku player, etc. Streaming media players can add a ton of features to older smart TVs and even improve new ones by allowing you to use a different player. SW.
The process varies between media players and mobile devices, but the same general guidelines apply.
- Connect your phone and streaming device to the same Wi-Fi network.
- Go through the discovery process and enter the code that appears on the screen on your phone if prompted.
- Open an app on your phone and select the mirroring or streaming function.
- Select the media player as the output device.
While the terminology may differ slightly between phone manufacturers and operating systems, it is intuitive enough for almost any user. In some ways, it’s very similar to streaming directly to a smart TV. The difference is that streaming to a dedicated media player lets you play a slideshow from your phone on a traditional TV.
Use the TV’s native apps and features
If you have an Apple TV, setting up a slideshow is pretty easy. You should have access to your iCloud account. Run the app and let the images play.
The same applies to cloud services like Google Photos. TVs with built-in Google TV technology make it easy to connect to your Google Drive and Google Photos accounts. Launch the app and run a slideshow from there.
Of course, this is only relevant if you store your photos in the cloud.
Put a slideshow on a TV from a laptop, PC or tablet
This is the oldest way to put slideshows on a TV. Before screen casting, mirroring, and smartphones were invented, people connected their computers to their TVs. It was an ideal option for movie nights, gaming sessions, etc.
But the fact that it is an older method does not make it any less useful today. You can connect a laptop, PC or tablet to your TV and stream a slideshow.
There are two ways to do it.
First, you can connect the TV to an open port on your laptop or PC. Depending on what you want, this will enlarge the screen or mirror it. From there, you can launch any slideshow you want on your device in apps like Photoshop, Image Viewer, or PowerPoint. It’s just a matter of dragging the slideshow application to the correct instance on the desktop to view it on your TV.
Secondly, you can connect your device to the TV via USB. This usually works best for tablets. You can use the TV to navigate your tablet’s folder and start a slideshow.
Lastly, laptops and tablets can have Bluetooth connectivity. If that’s the case, you can pair the two devices to stream a slideshow on your TV without worrying about cable connections.
Use the SD card slot
Not all smart TVs come with an SD card slot on the front or back panel. But if yours has it, you can use it for a slideshow.
- Take the SD from your camera or phone.
- Check if the memory card is compatible with your TV.
- Slide it into the SD card slot.
- Set the memory card as the input source on your TV.
- Start a slideshow with your remote control.
Smart TVs make slideshows more engaging
There are countless ways to display your family photo album, vacation photos, and other images on your TV screen. It doesn’t even matter if you don’t have a smart TV. Streaming media players can add smart functionality to many older TVs. Additionally, you can connect and pair your mobile and desktop devices with TVs in several ways.
It’s just a matter of how you want to approach things and where you keep your images.
Now we want to hear from you. Do you often scroll through photos on your phone or do you prefer slideshows on a larger screen? Let us know your favorite way to view your memories in the comments section below.
