How to get a TV art screensaver on any smart TV
Share
As someone who sells art for the Samsung Frame TV, I am often asked if the art can be displayed on other TVs.
The short answer is yes, you can get a TV art screensaver on almost any TV!
It's a complicated topic but I'll guide you through it, starting with a simple question: What brand of TV do you have?
As a follow up question: Do you have a streaming device (media player)?
Feel free to jump ahead to the relevant section to get straight to the step-by-step instructions.
Samsung TVs
I’ll start with Samsung as they are not only the most popular brand of TV in the US, but also the makers of the much-loved Frame TV.
The recommended way of showing your own photos on your Samsung TV, whether it is the Frame TV or another supported model of Samsung TV, is to use Samsung’s SmartThings app, following these steps:
- Connect your Samsung TV and smartphone to the same Wi-Fi network
- Download and open the SmartThings app on your device
- Add your TV by tapping the “+” icon and selecting your TV from the list
- Select your TV and tap on Ambient Mode (or Art Mode if you have a Frame TV)
- Choose My Album to upload and display your photos
You can alternatively use a USB stick to transfer pictures to your TV. Read my full guide on how to add art to your Samsung Frame TV.
Read more about Ambient Mode on Samsung TVs.
Other alternatives:
- You could use a streaming device (eg Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast)
- You could use Airplay (with iPhone/iPad), if supported
- You could use Screen mirroring (with Android), if supported
- You could use a USB stick with a native TV photos app
LG TVs
I was excited to try out LG’s ThinQ app which is apparently their solution to sharing media from you device to your TV. Unfortunately after some testing, I found out that the current version only supports displaying one image at a time, and not a slideshow, so we’ll need to look for other options.
Your options:
- You could use a streaming device (eg Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast)
- You could use Airplay (with iPhone/iPad), if supported
- You could use Screen mirroring (with Android), if supported
- You could use Chromecast as an in-built function in more recent models
- You could use a USB stick with a native TV photos app
TCL, Hisense or Sony TVs
TCL, Hisense and Sony TVs usually have Chromecast / Google TV support. This is good news! I have the steps below for how to use Chromecast to view art on your TV.
Other alternatives:
- You could use a streaming device (eg Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast)
- You could use Airplay (with iPhone/iPad), supported by some Sony TVs
- You could use Screen mirroring (with Android), supported by some Sony TVs
- You could use a USB stick with a native TV photos app
Other TV brands
Whether you have a Vizio, a Panasonic or another brand of TV, be on the lookout for the type of built-in support it offers for connecting to your mobile devices.
If there are no built-in options, consider buying a streaming device (eg Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast – see below) which are generally an affordable and worthwhile investment.
Finally, the USB stick method will generally be a good fallback option.
Roku
Moving on to streaming devices like Roku, these can be a great way to get more functionality out of your TV. The beauty is that you don’t even need a smart TV to use a streaming device like the Roku streaming stick. Any TV with a HDMI port will do! Some of these devices come built into their own branded TVs as well, such as the Roku TV.
Here are the steps to share art from your phone to your TV using the Roku app:
- Connect your Roku and smartphone to the same Wi-Fi network
- Open the Roku mobile app
- Select the “Media” tab and choose “Photos”
- Start the slideshow from your mobile device
Read more about streaming slideshows to your Roku TV.
Back to: Samsung TVs | LG TVs | TCL, Hisense or Sony TVs
Amazon Fire TV stick
Another great streaming device is the Amazon Fire TV stick, which actually comes in various forms including a cube.
Here are the steps to share art from your phone to your TV using Fire TV and Amazon Photos app:
- Download and install the Amazon Photos app on your phone
- Open the Amazon Photos app and sign in with your Amazon account
- Upload the photos you want to display
- Ensure your Fire TV and smartphone are connected to the same Wi-Fi network
- Open Amazon Photos on Fire TV and sign in with the same Amazon account
- Select the album or photos you uploaded
- Choose the slideshow option to start displaying your images on the TV
Read more about displaying slideshows on your Fire TV.
Back to: Samsung TVs | LG TVs | TCL, Hisense or Sony TVs
Apple TV
If you are in the Apple ecosystem, then Apple TV might be the best streaming device for you.
Here are the steps to share art from your phone to your TV using Apple TV and Photos app:
- Connect your iPhone/iPad and TV to the same Wi-Fi network
- Open the Photos app and choose the album or photos you want to include in the slideshow
- Tap the Share icon and select Slideshow (customise slideshow settings if you like)
- Tap the AirPlay icon and select your Apple TV or AirPlay-compatible TV from the list
Read more about starting a slideshow from your TV or streaming the slideshow from your iPhone.
Back to: Samsung TVs | LG TVs | TCL, Hisense or Sony TVs
Chromecast / Google TV
Chromecast is built into many smart TVs and it’s also inexpensive to buy separately and attach it to any TV with a HDMI port.
Google Photos app for a fast slideshow
My first hope was that I could cast photos via Chromecast using the Google Photos app on my phone. It does work, but before you get too excited, the slideshow only shows each image for 5 seconds with a swipe transition, so I didn’t think it was a good option. However, if you’d like to try it, here are the steps to share art from your phone to your TV using Chromecast and Google Photos:
- Ensure your Chromecast and device are on the same Wi-Fi network
- Open Google Photos and select the album you want to cast
- Tap the cast icon and choose your Chromecast
- Start the slideshow
Read more about showing photos on your TV using Chromecast.
Google Home app and Ambient mode for more control
I think the best option which uses Chromecast is to use the Google Home app on your phone. There are currently plenty of picture duration options, from 5 seconds to 10 minutes with many options in between - hooray!
When I tried this it was fiddly and didn't work at first, but eventually it worked and it was glorious! Best of luck that it will work faster for you! (A couple of tips: set Personal photo curation to “live albums only” and ensure your photos are not archived)
Here are the steps to share art from your phone to your TV using Chromecast Ambient Mode via the Google Home app:
- Connect your Chromecast and phone to the same Wi-Fi network
- Download and install the Google Home app on your phone
- Open the Google Home app and select your Chromecast device from the list
- Tap on the settings icon for your Chromecast and select “Ambient Mode”
- Select “Google Photos” as the source for Ambient Mode
- Choose specific albums you want to display as a slideshow
- Optionally configure options like slideshow timing
- Your selected photos will automatically display on your TV in Ambient Mode after a certain period of inactivity on your TV (about 10 minutes). It can also be triggered to start immediately by using the back button immediately after startup, or by long pressing the home button.
Read more about displaying a slideshow using Ambient Mode for Chromecast.
Back to: Samsung TVs | LG TVs | TCL, Hisense or Sony TVs
AirPlay (iPhone/iPad)
Certain TVs are compatible with AirPlay, which means you can cast a slideshow from your mobile device to your TV by tapping the AirPlay icon.
You would have already set up the slideshow in an app like the Photos app on your mobile device.
Read more about streaming photos from your iPhone using AirPlay.
Back to: Samsung TVs | LG TVs | TCL, Hisense or Sony TVs
Screen mirroring (Android)
This goes by many names depending on device. For example, it could also be called Smart View, Cast, or Miracast. You’ll generally find it with the quick access settings when you pull down from the top of your phone. It’s super quick and convenient if your TV supports it.
Of course you’d need an app on your phone to set up and display the slideshow as well, say the Google Photos app.
Read more about screen mirroring on Android.
Back to: Samsung TVs | LG TVs | TCL, Hisense or Sony TVs
USB stick / Flash drive
This article wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the classic old school method - the USB stick.
This will generally work with any smart TV that has a USB port and a Photos app preinstalled.
Steps:
- Copy the images onto your USB stick, using a standard image format like JPG
- Insert the USB stick into the USB port on your TV
- Find the Photos/Videos app on your TV
- Choose the USB input as the source
- Start the slideshow
I’m not going to lie, this is actually the method I have been using the most on my own LG TV. It just works! You might even be lucky and get to change the slideshow speed and transition effects.
Back to: Samsung TVs | LG TVs | TCL, Hisense or Sony TVs
Final thoughts
In summary, this is a pretty complicated and evolving topic, but usually it is possible to get a slideshow onto your TV!
The best method for you depends heavily on the capabilities of your TV, phone and streaming device. The good news is you have many options, and that's without even considering all the 3rd party free and paid apps to cast pictures from your phone to your television.
Bear in mind that a slideshow still won’t be quite the same as using a Frame TV, and isn't as energy efficient, but it could be fun for special occasions or just to create ambiance for a few hours.
If you want to get an even better real 'painting on your wall effect', you could do a DIY frame around your TV, and set your slide duration longer if possible.
Hope this guide was helpful! Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried any of these methods (or others) and have advice to share.
