How to get Zoom on your TV

This page was translated using AI and machine learning.

(Pocket-lint) – Zoom is awesome on your phone or laptop, but what if you want to take it to the big screen? Maybe you’re watching an online yoga class or taking a Zoom pub quiz and want to have your hands free, or just want everything to be bigger?

Zoom offers a professional conferencing solution for businesses – Zoom Rooms – but as a home user, you just need it on your TV. There are many options for getting Zoom on your TV, but they basically fall into two areas: wired or wireless. The advantage of wired is that it is a more stable connection (less fooling around), the advantage of wireless is that you can keep the camera close to you.

Here is an overview of your options.

Use AirPlay with Apple TV or AirPlay-enabled TVs

One of the easiest ways if you have an iPhone, iPad, or Mac is to use AirPlay and Apple TV. This will allow you to mirror your display to your TV via Apple TV. Mirroring is where a second screen displays what’s on the first screen.

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For iOS devices

1. As always with Apple devices, make sure the software is up to date on the iOS or device as well as Apple TV.
2. Make sure your iOS device is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the Apple TV, otherwise it won’t work.
3. Pull down the Action Center in the top right of your iPhone or iPad on Face ID-enabled iPhones or any iPad capable of running iPadOS. You need to swipe up from the bottom on other Touch ID devices.
4. Tap Screen mirroring.
5. Tap the name of your Apple TV that appears in the list. Your screen will then be mirrored to the Apple TV.
6. Open Zoom and make the call.

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For Macs and TVs

This process also works with a Mac so you can share to an AirPlay display or compatible device, like a Roku. If this option is available to you, you will see the icon on the bar at the top of the screen, then you just have to click to share your Mac’s screen with your TV. Again, this gives Widescreen Zoom.

This option also works if you have a recent TV that supports AirPlay. There aren’t many, but if you have a recent Samsung TV, for example (like a 2019 model or later), you might be in luck. A full list of supported TVs can be found here. As above, you can then AirPlay Zoom on your phone to your TV – remembering to share the screen before opening the Zoom app.

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Mirror your screen to Chromecast devices

Chromecast is an ideal bridge between a device – your phone or PC – and the TV. The Chromecast dongle connects to the TV via an HDMI allowing you to control what you watch. Normally that would be Netflix or Disney+, but it also supports screen mirroring from Android phones, Chrome browser, or ChromeOS (Chromebooks).

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You’ll need to find the Cast option, with the Cast logo (a box with what looks like a Wi-Fi logo in the corner) – which you’ll see in Chrome the browser (on all platforms), menu on ChromeOS , or on your phone. Android manufacturers all have a different name for it: Pixel, Sony, Xiaomi and others say “cast”, Samsung calls it Smart View, Huawei calls it Wireless Projection, others have other names, but newer phones can do this and you find it in the quick settings menu at the top of your phone.

1. Set up your Chromecast, make sure your phone is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the Chromecast.
2. Find the casting option on your phone, find the devices to share with.
3. Tap on your Chromecast and the phone screen will appear on your TV.
4. Open Zoom as usual on your phone, rotating to landscape will give you the best view.

The same process as above applies to laptops, but you need to stream the whole desktop rather than just the tab. This is because Zoom wants to run in its own app and if you only launch one tab, you will only get that tab and not the actual Zoom app.

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Mirror your screen with Roku

You probably didn’t know you could do this, but Roku devices will also allow you to mirror your display to your TV and this is supported by the Android ecosystem and more recently Apple AirPlay as well. If you have an Android phone and a Roku device, you’re probably good to go.

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Again, the option to share your screen will have different names depending on the phone you have – casting, Smart View, wireless projection, etc. – but many phones will support this, so it’s worth a try if you have a Roku.

1. Set up your Roku device as usual, make sure your phone is on the same Wi-Fi network.
2. Find the Cast or Mirror option on your phone and scan for devices.
3. You will see your Roku model, tap on it.
4. You will need to confirm that you want to allow your phone to show on your TV.
5. Open Zoom, rotate your phone to landscape mode and away you go.

It’s worth noting that whenever you’re mirroring, your phone needs to stay on – what happens on your phone happens on your TV. When mirroring like this, audio will also be sent to the TV, so if everything is quiet, turn up your phone volume, then turn up your TV volume to get the level you want.

Your TV may already support mirroring

There are a number of TVs that support mirroring functions without the need for any additional devices. For example, Samsung smart TVs have supported mirroring for many phones – but Samsung’s phones in particular – for several years.

You might be able to mirror your phone directly to your TV and launch the Zoom app, so it’s worth checking out. Just make sure you’re not trying to mirror your neighbor’s TV.

Connect via HDMI

Connecting via cable means you don’t have to worry about the wireless signal dropping, so can be more stable – but it also means your source device is then connected to the TV, so you can’t just take a walk. It can also mean that the camera and microphone are farther from you than you want (although you can use Bluetooth devices to work around this).

But the wireframe is also very simple. If you have HDMI on your laptop, plug it in and plug it into your TV. It’s that simple, although you may need to tell the laptop what’s going on with that second screen if it doesn’t figure it out on its own.

If you don’t have HDMI but do have USB-C, you can use that instead. You will need a dongle to connect to the HDMI cable coming into your TV, but you will need to check for compatibility. We’ve found that some adapters don’t do anything, so you’re probably better off getting one from your device manufacturer.

You can also improve the sound of Zoom

So it’s not strictly about getting stuff on your TV, as it’s about sound – but it’s worth considering. Phones and laptops usually have poor speakers and microphones, which will degrade the audio experience. If you’re sharing to your TV, then you’ll probably use your TV speaker or a home theater system for audio, which might sound a lot better – this is great for a fitness class where you don’t have need to say anything in return.

An alternative is to use a Bluetooth speaker. This means you can connect a Bluetooth speaker and have it near you, put your phone in the room and you can still hear everything. It’s great if you’re zooming into a group – and if the speaker has a mic it may be better for those on the other end too.

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If you’re alone this is less important, but using a headset with a microphone will give you better sound, both because you’re wearing headphones and because you’re using a mic closer to you.

Written by Chris Hall.