You need to first mirror your phone or tablet to a PC using an app such as ApowerMirror, then mirror your computer to your TV. iPhone and iPad: iPhones and iPads require significant effort to screen mirror to a Google Cast device.On the default Android operating system (OS), this settings option is called screen cast, but it might be called smart view, quick connect, smart share, or a number of other things depending on which phone or tablet you have. Some Android devices also let you screen share from the pull-down quick settings menu.

To stop, go through the same motions and select Stop mirroring. Select it, and at the bottom of the screen hit Cast my screen. Android: On an Android device, open the Google Home app and scroll till you find your Google Cast device.While Google Cast is mostly designed for casting media content such as movies and music, it's also one of the easiest ways to mirror a phone, tablet or computer on your TV. You can also buy a Chromecast or Chromecast Ultra dongle to add this functionality to a non-supported TV, or to improve your experience if your TV's Google Cast functionality isn't great. Google Cast is built into some smart TVs from many major brands, including Sony, Philips, Hisense and Sharp, among others. Works with Android, Windows, Mac, iPhone and iPad (provisionally).How mirroring is handled depends on which mirroring protocol you're using, which device you're broadcasting from, and which smart TV or other device is acting as the receiver. Usually, the receiving TV shows an exact duplicate – visuals and sound – of what's on your broadcasting device. This means the original device is still doing all the processing and its screen usually needs to stay on, which can be a drain on the battery. 'Mirroring' is like using your smart TV as a display for a phone, tablet, PC or Mac. It's as if your phone or tablet tells the Chromecast what to do, and then the Chromecast goes ahead and does the legwork while the device you're casting from acts as a remote control. When 'casting' to another device, such as a Chromecast or Apple TV, that device takes over the job of showing videos, photos or music. Screen mirroring is technically not the same as casting, but it is another way of sharing content from one device to another and the two terms are often confused. Likewise, a search of app stores will turn up numerous other apps that can stream from computer to TV using the hardware listed above and the same basic ideas. Some of these connect with different software, or work differently with your TV. Miracast, Amazon Fire Stick, and Roku are some other popular options. While we've shown some easy and popular methods for screen casting, there are plenty of other media devices out there, aside from Chromecast and Apple TV. The paid version unlocks the ability to add subtitles and create playlists that auto-play the next video. You can also download the Videostream app on Android or iOS to control video playback or select new videos from your phone or tablet, so long as Videostream is open on your computer. Videostream shares video to Chromecast via the Google Chrome web browser, which you will need installed on your computer. Windows PC or Mac with Google Chrome browser installed.Some paid features ($2 per month, $21 per year, or $49 for lifetime). If your TV doesn't have a casting, mirroring or screen sharing feature, fear not, all you need is a spare HDMI connection and a you'll need a media streaming device, such as Google Chromecast or Apple TV and you can turn your old TV into a Smart TV. Most new TVs will have this functionality built in, if it's on the home wireless network you will simply select the TV in your smartphone menu in a similar way you would pair a set of wireless headphones via Bluetooth. Laptops, tablet devices and smartphones connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your TV or media streaming device can share photos and videos to your TV by a simple selection on your device to have the TV basically dive into your device and access the content. Maybe you want to put some of your smartphone's photos on the big screen for a slideshow night?Įither way, you can cast photos and videos wirelessly to your TV via your home Wi-Fi network or directly through your smartphone. Your smartphone is one of the most versatile pieces of technology you will own, but it doesn't have a 65-inch screen. Find out more about fact-checking at CHOICE. Checked for accuracy by our qualified fact-checkers and verifiers.

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