5 Easy Ways to View Photos on your TV

When you want to share your photos with family and friends, why not use your television? Instead of passing around your phone or camera, take advantage of the big screen that’s right in front of you. Everyone can see the photos at once, and no-one has to squint to focus on a tiny camera screen.

You have several easy options for viewing photos on your television:

 

Smart TVs and Internet Apps

If you upload your photos to services such as Flickr or Shutterfly, all you need is a television photo viewing app that’s compatible with the service. Search your televisions app center to see what’s available. You can also use Facebook apps on your television, allowing you to view any photos you’ve stored on your profile page.

 

Screen Mirroring

If your smartphone or tablet are made by the same manufacturer as your television, there should be a setting on both called screen mirroring. Activate this setting and you’ll be able to view whatever is on your smartphone screen on your television.

 

DLNA / Wifi Direct Apps

If your smartphone and television don’t share a manufacturer, you can still mirror your screens through DLNA. Short for Digital Living Networking Alliance, DLNA is intended to improve interoperability between unrelated devices. It’s also called Wi-Fi Direct.

To use DLNA, you’ll have to enable the option on your television, then download a DLNA app from your phone’s app marketplace.

 

Direct Connections

If you can’t connect your phone wirelessly, you may be able to access your photos through a direct hook-up. You have several choices here:

  • Most recent Android phones can be connected through a micro-HDMI to HDMI adapter. You can also use a USB-C to HDMI cable.
  • Micro-SD memory cards can be removed from phones or cameras, inserted into SD card adapters and then inserted into a television SD card reader.
  • If your camera or phone has a USB charger, you can connect it to the computer through that.

 

Picture Keeper Plug ‘n’ View

Finally, you can plug a USB flash drive straight into the television. Picture Keeper Connect is great for television-based viewing. Simply plug it in, set up a slideshow and turn your television into a giant digital picture frame!

 

No matter what type of photos your friends like to take, Picture Keeper has a picture storage solution that guaranteed to make them light up this holiday season. Check out our Holiday Gift Guide for gift ideas for every type of photography lover on your list.