Mirroring a Phone on Smart TV

[SawyerTed]

Yesterday and today I've been under the weather with a bit of food poisoning I think.  

Sometimes I use down time like this to sort out problems I need to solve.  

One thing that's bugged me is knowing I could mirror my phone on my smart TV.  I've figured it out I think.  

Originally, I thought AirPlay would work.  For whatever reason I could not make that work.  

One TV has a FireStick attached to it.  It's an older TV that isn't "smart" without the FireStick.  Turns out there are specific apps that  (broad)"cast" to FireSticks.  Once I got the correct casting app, it works seamlessly.  

On our other TV is an LG Smart TV.  Again a specific LG compatible app is necessary on the phone AND the TV.  

Casting isn't so important on the smart TV since it's connected to the internet with its own apps etc. 

On the FireStick TV, I can use my cellular hotspot on my phone to connect to streaming services then cast to my TV.  This is especially true when we are traveling.  I'm also considering video calls with my grandson this summer while we are traveling.  

One thing to look out for is the cost of the apps.  The first I tried allowed a 3 day trial the a $4.99 per WEEK subscription.  Needless to say I cancelled it!  

In the end one app is free and the other had a $6.99 lifetime charge.  

[Jeff]

I use my phone at the cabin as a hotspot. I can then connect to it with the firestick, and stream almost anything between that and Tammy's prime account. The only time I mirror or cast, is if its something like photos, or a video preview on my phone. Youtube is always asking if I want it to connect to the firestick, but I don't allow it, as I can still look at the internet on the phone that is the hotspot for the T.V.

I have very poor upload ability

[SwampDonkey]

I mostly use a media server for that. If I want to watch internet TV there are several free apps on the TV, plus the internet TV that is built into the TV. Plus the web browser on my laptop or console will stream a lot of free stuff. The laptop and browser connected to my TV via HDMI cable is another method. I have a remote mouse and keyboard I can use from my rocking chair.  Change programming with mouse clicks.

[SawyerTed]

Since we have a grandchild, a big thing has been displaying photos of him on the TV.   It became a priority because the family photos became available online, I know because Dr. Emily said so!     We can scroll through and download the ones we want. 

Being able to put the photos up on the TV without having to use the notebook computer or a thumb drive is pretty slick.

Still figuring this out.  Using the phone instead of the remote as a mouse is easier too.

The browser on LG TVs and the browser on the FireStick are clunky.   Safari on the iPhone cast to the TV is much better.  In fact I'm reading Forestry Forum on my 57" TV this morning. 

[SwampDonkey]

Well, you can store them in the 'cloud' like a hard drive. Use the laptop just as the server.  Wouldn't be much difference. Me, I want my stuff on my hardware, not someone else's. That's a confidence thing.

I use my laptop browser from my rocking chair which is better than Edge on the console because it blocks unwanted stuff out if your on a streaming service. I can even use Spotify in the browser, free version, and no adds will come up, none. :D  When my old laptop went down, WIFI went out,  I used the console browser for the forum and checked the tracking of my new laptop on the way from a comfy spot, as I was also recovering from surgeries last summer.

I'll never own a cell phone, unless they take down all the land lines. Maybe they will 20 years from now. But if they do, I can run it off my ISP anyway. :D