How to Cast Photos from a Laptop or Computer to a TV
You can use an HDMI cable, screen mirroring, Google Photos, or a local browser slideshow. This guide helps you choose the right method for Windows and Mac.
PictaCast Team
Updated May 2026 · 3 min read
Choose the best way to show photos on your TV
The right approach depends on whether you want a quick one-off display, an idle photo frame, or a slideshow you can run while you keep using your computer.
HDMI cable
Best for a reliable, one-time presentation when your laptop can stay next to the TV.
Screen mirroring
Useful when you need the TV to show exactly what is on your laptop screen.
Google Photos on Google TV
Best for an automatic idle screensaver after your photos are in Google Photos. See the Google TV Ambient Mode guide.
Local browser casting
Best for a private photo slideshow from a local folder, with your computer still free for other work.
When screen mirroring is not the best fit
Screen mirroring is useful for sharing your laptop screen. For an unattended photo slideshow, though, it comes with a few practical trade-offs:
- You can't multitask. Mirroring your entire screen means everything on your display — including notifications, your email, and your desktop — is visible on the TV.
- No slideshow features. Screen mirroring just shows what's on screen. There's no auto-advance, crossfade transition, picture wall layout, or background music.
- It ties the slideshow to your screen. Sleep settings, notifications, and anything else that changes on your laptop can interrupt what viewers see on the TV.
How to put a slideshow on a TV with PictaCast
If you're wondering how to put a slideshow on a TV, PictaCast is the easiest method. It is a web app that reads a local folder of photos and streams them directly to your Chromecast or Smart TV via your home or office network — with full slideshow controls, music support, and zero cloud uploads.
Open PictaCast in Chrome or Edge
Go to app.pictacast.com in Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge on your Mac or Windows computer. Sign in with your Google account to get started.
Select your local photo folder
Click the folder picker and choose the folder that contains your JPG or PNG images. Your photos never leave your computer — they are read locally by the browser and streamed directly to the TV over your local network.
Click Cast and pick your TV
Click the Cast icon in PictaCast. Your browser will show a list of Chromecast devices and Cast-enabled Smart TVs on the same network. Select yours — the slideshow begins immediately at full resolution.
How to make a slideshow for a TV
Often, people ask "how to make a slideshow for TV", assuming they need to use complicated video editing software like Premiere Pro or iMovie to export an MP4 video file just to show their photos. You don't need to do any of that.
- Don't render a video. When you export a video file, it's a fixed length and you can't easily skip forward, jump backward, or pause to talk about a specific photo without fumbling with a remote.
- Just use the raw photos. PictaCast creates the slideshow on the fly. It reads your raw JPG and PNG files and applies smooth transitions automatically.
- Easy updates. If you need to add or remove a photo from your slideshow, you just move the file in your folder. If you rendered a video, you'd have to re-edit and re-export the entire timeline.
Why this beats setting up a media server
Some people try to set up Plex or a Windows DLNA server to achieve the same result. These work, but they require significant setup time, ongoing maintenance, and still don't give you a proper slideshow experience designed for photos.
No Setup Time
No servers to configure, no apps to install, no port forwarding. Open the browser and cast in under a minute.
Beautiful Layouts
Choose fullscreen crossfade or a dynamic picture-wall grid. Plex doesn't have a photo display mode designed for this.
Multitask Freely
Minimise PictaCast and use your computer for anything else while the slideshow keeps running on the TV.
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