Key findings
- You can use your own digital photos or download artwork as a Smart TV screensaver.
- You can choose from built-in galleries, gallery apps, external storage, and streaming devices to display your artwork and photos.
- Smart TVs from popular brands such as Samsung, LG and Sony can be configured to play slideshows in standby mode.
A smart TV can take up a large portion of your living space, but it doesn’t have to look like a drab black void when on standby. Most TVs and streaming devices can be customized to display your favorite artwork or photos, enhancing the look of any room.
Sourcing artwork to display on your TV
Digital cameras and smartphones produce high-resolution images that usually look good on even the largest TV screens. If you’re looking for your favorite piece of art online, you should still download the highest resolution possible for best results. Be sure to check if you can download the image if you haven’t paid for it, or if it’s copyright-free (in the US, for example, using artwork created before 1923 is legal).
If you’d like to use the suggested images, many TVs and streaming devices have galleries built in. Amazon’s Alexa even offers AI-generated original artwork through the Fire TV Stick. Alternatively, a quick Google search for purchasing digital artwork will yield plenty of options for downloading tasteful images for just a few dollars.
What options do you have for viewing art on your television?
There are many ways to display artwork and photos on your Smart TV screen, and if you can’t use your existing devices, here’s a solution that will suit most needs and budgets:
Integrated TV galleries
TV manufacturers have realized that we like to see our favorite pictures as screen savers. Samsung designed its Frame TVs based on this principle. Newer TVs from Samsung and LG come with a gallery app as standard.
Other brands, including TCL and Vizio, have built-in screensavers and gallery features that allow you to add your own images, which can be accessed through the settings. Google TV also has a screensaver setting that can be linked to your Google Photos account to access your favorite artwork and photos.
TV Gallery Apps
If your TV doesn’t have a built-in gallery, you can download an app from the App Store or get an app for your Android or iOS device that will turn your TV into a digital photo frame. These include the Amazon Fire TV app, Google Photos and Roku Photo Streams, which work with compatible TVs and devices, and brand-specific streaming apps like Sony’s Photo Sharing Plus.
Alternatively, you can subscribe to paid apps like Pixo, which will play your selected photo gallery on most smart devices.
USB storage devices
Arguably the easiest way to view media on a smart TV is to connect a storage device to a free USB port. This can be a simple flash drive, available for just a few dollars, and provides more than enough space to store a large image gallery.
The drive can then be accessed through your TV’s settings or media player and can usually be configured to act as a screen saver.
Plug-in streaming devices
With a streaming device, you can turn a regular TV into a smart TV or use it as an accessory to your existing smart TV. These devices are usually affordable and often have a built-in gallery feature that presents your selected artwork and/or photos in a slideshow format when your TV is in standby mode.
For example, Chromecast and Android TV devices often switch to a photo gallery when the device is not in use.
How to configure art on popular smart TVs
Once you’ve organized your favorite artwork or photo selections, you can configure them to play as a slideshow when your TV is on standby. Here are some examples of how you can configure your gallery for some popular TV brands.
Samsung Smart TVs
Samsung ideally requires a native Samsung Galaxy device to sync with the TV’s Gallery app, so if you don’t have one of those tablets or smartphones, you can try one of the options below.
To sync your Samsung device with your Smart TV, follow these steps:
- Press the Home button on your Samsung remote control.
- Select the gallery app from your TV app menu.
- When prompted, sign in with your Samsung account password.
- Select the button with three horizontal lines to access the menu.
- Here you can configure your slideshow and select the images you want to display.
LG Smart TVs
Most newer LG TVs come with an extensive selection of artwork of various genres that can be displayed in standby mode, but you can also add your selected photos and artwork to your LG Gallery from an external storage device, such as a USB flash drive, by following these steps:
- Press the Home button on your LG Magic Remote.
- Select the gallery App at the bottom of the screen.
- Edit your photos and images by selecting the My photos Menu.
- Select the Add Button at the top right of the menu.
- The screen displays Add modeyou can navigate to external storage devices.
- Add your pictures to your My photos List by clicking on the Add Button.
- Click Complete to save your new images.
Sony Smart TVs
Sony Smart TVs also work well with an external storage device for displaying images. This can be accessed through the TV’s media player and the following steps can be used to configure a slideshow to play:
- Upload your artwork and/or photos to a USB storage device.
- Press the Home and then select the media Button that looks like a triangular “play” icon.
- Choose Photos with the up and down buttons on the remote control and press “OK” to confirm.
- Select your USB storage device and click the image folder to confirm.
- Navigate to Options button with the up and down buttons and press OK.
- Choose File options and click on OK.
- Select the picture frame image and press OK for confirmation.
- Press Return to return to the device selection menu.
How to configure art with common streaming devices
Streaming devices are inexpensive, plug-and-play solutions that turn your regular TV into a smart device, providing a convenient alternative to smart TV apps. A key benefit of most streaming devices is that they allow you to easily play your pictures and photo galleries when your TV is in standby mode.
Google Chromecast
Google’s Chromecast displays media from your Google Photos library using the Google Home app on your Android device. Create an album of your artwork and photos in Google Photos and follow these steps to display them as a screensaver on your TV:
- Open the Google Home App on an Android device.
- Choose your Chromecast from the menu.
- Knock Settings in the upper right corner.
- Knock Ambient modeand then select Google Photos.
- Select the album containing your artwork and/or photos.
Amazon Fire TV Stick
Amazon Photos is an Android and iOS friendly photo viewing platform that works with your Fire TV Stick as a screensaver. Here’s how to view your favorite pictures with Amazon Fire TV Stick:
- Download the free Amazon Photos App.
- Create a collection of images to use as a screensaver.
- Open Fire TV Settings on your TV.
- Choose Screensaver.
- Click Current screensaver and select your curated image collection from Amazon Photos.
AppleTV
Apple TV works similarly to Google Chromecast and Google TV, but uses Apple’s Photos app instead of Google Photos. Follow these steps to use your own photos and graphics in screen saver mode:
- Curate a gallery of artwork or photos in the Photos App on your Apple device.
- Open the Photos app on your Apple TV.
- Navigate to Albums in the menu bar.
- Select your curated album and choose Set as screen saver.
- Click to confirm your selection.
These are just a few common ways to turn your smart TV into a frame with an aesthetically pleasing gallery when it’s on standby. As a bonus, your backlit screen often brings out the vibrant colors and enhances the definition of a piece of art. Whether you’re using it as a digital photo frame or a scrolling art gallery, it’s worth examining the settings on your TV or streaming device to get the most out of your specific model when it works as a screensaver.
