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Take Advantage of Your TV's Big Screen to View Your Photos

by Suzanne Kantra on November 07, 2023

Updated on 11/7/2023 with information on casting to Google TV with Chromecast and new product recommendations.

Whether you’re sharing photos from a recent trip or traveling down memory lane, it’s hard to do your pictures justice on your phone’s small screen. So why not take advantage of the big screen you already have – your TV?

I've been exploring the options for sharing photos on your TV for more than ten years, and it has kept getting easier as more manufacturers and devices now include these features natively. In fact, there's a very good chance you already have everything you need to start viewing your pictures and videos on your TV. Here are the options that should work for most people.

1. Use your phone to cast to your TV

The easiest way to cast your photos to your TV is to use the casting functionality that's built into your phone. For iPhone owners, that's the most recent version of AirPlay, AirPlay 2. Most TV manufacturers have been integrating AirPlay 2 into their products since 2018 or 2019. You can check for your model on Apple's list of AirPlay 2-enabled TVs and streaming devices.

How to use AirPlay on any TV

Make sure your iPhone and TV are connected to the same WiFi network.
Open the Control Center. (For iPhone X or later, swipe down from the upper-right corner. For iPhone 8 or earlier, swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen.)
Select Screen Mirroring (the two rectangles).
Select your TV from the AirPlay devices available on your WiFi network.

For Android users, built-in casting technology varies by manufacturer. Below, you'll find instructions on how to cast to the major manufacturers TVs with Android or iOS (for non-Airplay models).

How to cast photos to a Samsung TV

If you have an iPhone and a 2018 or newer model Samsung TV, check to see if your TV supports AirPlay 2.

If you have a Samsung phone, you can use "Screen Mirroring" to cast photos to your Samsung TV.

Turn on screen mirroring.
For old TV models more than a few years old, press "Menu" or the "Source" on the remote, then Network > Screen Mirroring.
For recent models, you'll go to "Settings," select General > External Device Manager > Device Connection Manager > Device List.
Once you have screen mirroring turned on, activate screen mirroring on your Samsung phone. Pull down from the top of the screen and select "Smart View" or "Quick Connect," depending on your phone model.
Select your TV from the available devices and, if prompted, enter the verification code.

If you have a non-Samsung Android phone and a 2018 or newer model Samsung TV, use the SmartThings app.

Download the SmartThings app.
Once you add your TV to the SmartThings app under Devices > Add devices.
Select "Smart View" to mirror your phone.

If your Samsung TV doesn't support AirPlay 2 or SmartThings, I recommend using an HDMI cable or streaming device, as outlined below.

[Editor's note: Samsung's website refers to the Samsung Smart View app as the way to view photos on your TV. However, Samsung has removed the Smart View app from the Apple App Store and Google Play, so follow my instructions above.]

How to cast photos to a TCL TV

Many TCL TVs have Roku streaming technology built-in. If you have an iPhone, TCL Roku TVs support AirPlay.

TCL also has TVs with Android TV or Google TV built-in. For Android phones:

Open the Google Home app.
Select your TCL Android TV.
Select "Cast my screen."

For iPhones, TCL Google TV models support AirPlay.

How to cast photos to an LG TV

If you have an iPhone and a 2019 or newer model LG TV, check to see if your TV supports AirPlay 2. If your LG TV doesn't support AirPlay 2, I recommend using an HDMI cable or streaming device, as outlined below.

If you have an Android phone, your phone's built-in screen sharing should enable you to cast your photos to your LG TV.

Go into your phone's Settings menu.
Select the screen sharing feature, which may be called "Share and Connect"cast," "Smart View," "Quick Connect," "SmartShare," or "mirroring."
Select your LG TV from the list of available devices and confirm that you want to cast on your TV with your TV remote.

[Editor's Note: LG recommends using the LG Screen Share app to view your photos on your TV. However, the app has been removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play, so follow my instructions above.]

How to cast photos to a Vizio TV

If you have a 2018 or newer Vizio TV, it likely will have either Roku or SmartCast OS, which incorporates Chromecast, built-in.

If your TV has SmartCast OS, you can cast your photos with your phone from any app that supports casting, including the Google Photos app for iPhones and Android phones.

Select the cast button in the upper right corner (a rectangle with three curved lines) to begin casting.
Select your Vizio TV from the list of available devices and confirm that you want to cast on your TV with your TV remote.

For iPhone owners with a 2018 or newer Vizio TV, check to see if your TV supports AirPlay 2.

How to cast photos to a Sony TV

If you have a 2015 or newer Sony TV, it will likely have Android TV or Google TV built-in. That means you can cast your photos from any app on your phone that supports casting, including the Google Photos app for Android phones and iPhones.

Select an image in the Google Photos app and then tap the cast button in the upper right corner (a rectangle with three curved lines) to begin casting.
Select your Chromecast device from the available devices, and your photo will appear on your TV. Your TV will mirror your phone as you navigate the app.

For iPhone owners with a 2018 or newer Sony TV, check to see if your TV supports AirPlay 2.

2. Use your phone to connect to your streaming media player

How to cast photos to a Roku player

For iPhones, you can use AirPlay to cast photos to the Roku device attached to your TV.

For Android phones, you can use screen mirroring to show your pictures.

Go into your phone's Settings menu and find the screen sharing feature, which may be called "cast," "Smart View," "Quick Connect," "SmartShare," or "mirroring."
Once you enable screen mirroring, you'll see your Roku player show up as a device to mirror your phone's display.

Another option is to upload photos to your Roku account and use the Roku Photo Streams app to view your photos. Once you've set up the app, you can create a Stream, a photo album of up to 100 images. The pictures are stored on Roku's servers, and you can share your photos with other Roku owners and collaborate on Streams.

How to cast photos to Google TV and Chromecast

If you have a Google TV or older Chromecast device, you can cast your photos from the Google Photos app for Android phones and iPhones, as well as other apps that support casting.

Select a photo and then tap the cast button in the upper right corner (a rectangle with three curved lines) to begin casting.
Select your Chromecast device from among the available devices, and your photo will appear on your TV.

Your TV will mirror your phone as you navigate the app.

How to cast photos to Amazon Fire TV

To cast to your Fire TV device, download the AirScreen - AirPlay & Cast & Miracast & DLNA app (you'll find it in the Photos and Videos section of the app store). This will add AirPlay for use with iPhones and casting support for Android phones.

Open the AirScreen app on your Fire TV device.
Select the type of casting – AirPlay for iPhone, Cast for Google Pixel phone etc.
On your phone, choose AirPlay for iPhones or the option to cast in apps like Google Photos on Android phones, and look for AirScreen among the available devices. Once connected, your TV will mirror your phone.

You can also upload your photos to Amazon Photos through your computer, iPhone, or Android phone, and view them through the Amazon Photos app on your Fire TV. You get 5GB of free storage with a regular Amazon account and unlimited storage for photos for Amazon Prime accounts.

How to cast photos to Apple TV

Apple TV has AirPlay built-in. For Android phones, you'll need to install a casting app. I like AllCast, which receives 3.8 stars in Google Play and has been downloaded more than 10 million times. Once you have the app installed, you select your Apple TV from the available devices to start casting.

3. Connect your phone to your TV with an HDMI cable

Apple Lightning to HDMI adapter featuring a passthrough charging port, displayed on a wooden table, showcasing the HDMI port.

If you have an iPhone 5 to iPhone 14, you can purchase a Lightning to HDMI adapter to plug your iPhone into your TV. Once you connect your iPhone, you'll be able to see whatever is on your iPhone's screen on your TV. You can purchase the Lightning to HDMI adapter ($42, usually $49).

If you have an Android phone or iPhone 15, your phone will have a USB-C port. In that case, seeing your photos may be a simple matter of connecting your phone to your TV with a USB-C to HDMI cable. Check with your phone manufacturer to see if your smartphone supports HDMI output. I recommend the 6-foot Amazon Basics USB-C to HDMI cable, which sells for $23 and receives 4.4 stars from customers.

4. Use your phone or camera's memory card

Many old TVs have an SD card reader. Pop the memory card out of your camera or Android phone (if it has one) and put it into the TV’s SD card reader. For phones, you’ll need a microSD-to-SD card adapter, like the SanDisk MicroSD MicroSDHC to SD SDHC Adapter available for under $5. For most TVs, inserting an SD card will launch the photo viewer.

5. Use a USB cable or flash drive

Take the USB cable that came with your camera and use it to connect the camera to your TV's USB port. If your photos and videos are stored on your computer, you can copy them onto a USB flash drive and then insert the drive into your TV's USB port. On most TVs, inserting the USB cable or flash drive will automatically launch the TV’s photo-viewing app. From there, you can view photos, videos, or a combination of both. Manually scroll through or set your photos to music for a slideshow.

As you can see, there's no reason to make everyone crowd around a tiny display when it's so easy to share pictures on your big-screen TV.

[Image credits: Suzanne Kantra/Techlicious]

For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.

Topics

Cameras and Photography, Photo / Video Sharing, Music and Video, TVs & Video Players, Mobile Apps, Tips & How-Tos

Discussion

From Tony Scott on October 09, 2014 :: 2:06 am

This is wonderful & so easy to follow. However, I wish I could find a way to stream my media to my Smart TV from my Samsung Galaxy S5 micro SD card. So far all my attempts at this have failed & I can only access media on the phone’s internal memory.

From Mike Hixson on December 29, 2014 :: 3:59 pm

With my nice, but dumb, TV & ROKU 3 connected to receiver’s HDMI port, there’s a great program available through ROKU called ‘MY MEDIA’, which will stream your media, including your music playlists, photos and videos directly to the TV with hi-def sound and images. Works great.

BTW, I was told that the Samsung Galaxy S5 wouldn’t stream directly to an HDMI port, without an optional special box and a power source for it, as there is no micro HDMI jack on the S5, unlike my previous Razr Maxx HD, which worked great. Am I mistaken?

From Josh Kirschner on December 30, 2014 :: 10:47 am

The Galaxy S5 uses MHL 2.1, which is basically HDMI plus power charging. But the power charging bit isn’t required, so you can use a standard microUSB to HDMI adapter or an MHL to HDMI adapter. I just double checked it with one of our Galaxy S5 hooked up to a Samsung TV and it worked fine.

Here is one cable option (plenty for under $10): micro-USB MHL to HDMI adapter. Note that you will need an 11-pin adapter, so verify that before you buy another model.

From Mike Hixson on December 30, 2014 :: 11:07 am

Really appreciate the advice! Nothing in the S5 manual, nor could anyone in 1 ATT or 2 Verizon stores help on this question. And thanks for the cable link, too!

From Brandon McConnell on December 15, 2015 :: 9:27 pm

Get a usb powered sd card reader plug into tv’s usb port then plug phones sd card into reader and there you go! You’ll be able to watch or see anything on the SD card I got a card reader that worked on my tv from Walmart for 8 dollars

From Al Winston on June 08, 2017 :: 10:33 am

For years I bought the 1st gen Apple TV for one reason: the floating picture screensaver. It’s the only way to display multiple images in a kinetic and eye-catching way, and if you have thousands of images, the only way to see most of them (vs one picture at a time). It was limited by the number of images it could ‘mine’ for viewing (a few hundred) but at least was high resolution. However, NOW there is a much better option: Google chromecast plus a FREE android app called Floating Image, by a fellow named Mark somewhere in Denmark. It mines thousands of images (I haven’t seen a limit yet) in hi res in a floating image way and looks fantastic on a large screen TV. If it’s viewed on a large tablet, like the Galaxy View, the thumbnail images floating across can be tapped and they’ll zoom to full screen. A second tap and it goes back to the floating image. Thus far, this is the best way I’ve seen to display a library of thousands of digital images.

From Jc on November 09, 2021 :: 5:59 am

Its almost 2022 and still there’s no floating photos (appletv like) for androidtv screensaver.

I can’t believe no one has done it yet.

Please someone make this a reality.

From Steve Weflen on July 27, 2017 :: 1:53 pm

When I try to display pictures on my tv using a flash drive in the USB port, the tv re-orients the pictures such that I have to individually rotate them every time I display them. Does anyone know of a solution to this?

From Josh Kirschner on July 27, 2017 :: 4:19 pm

The issue is that there are two things that determine how a picture is oriented - 1)the actual data in the image and 2) the Exif metadata. So, for example, when you rotate your smartphone the picture is now stored sideways (orientation of sensor/lens stays the same), but the smartphone is smart enough to detect how you were holding your phone and applies a tag in the Exif data with the orientation. Some programs will look at the Exif data and orient the photo correctly for viewing, some will not.

Whether the Panasonic Viera is correctly reading the Exif data is hard to say - it may be ignoring the data or, perhaps, the device you took the photo with never tagged the photo with Exif data in the first place. You can verify this yourself by downloading a program that lets you view/edit image Exif data. If the Exif data is correct, there’s not much you can do to fix the Viera (assuming it’s using the latest firmware) - you will have to manually reorient and resave your photos for viewing on the TV. And when you do that, you will want to change the Exif data, too, or else programs that do read that data will reorient your photo, but now it will be sideways…

From markamark on August 21, 2017 :: 4:23 am

I decided to use ArkMC. It uses dlna. I like it, it’s simple to use and in installation, and has lots of good features, streams content to several devices on your home network without any difficulties. 4/5

From Andy on October 30, 2017 :: 1:20 pm

Copied photos to memory stick and plugged into LG TV USB port. Photos have a red X and will not come up. Can you advise how to get rid of the red X?

From Mike on December 10, 2017 :: 11:45 pm

I have over 3000 photos on a USB stick but when I plug into my normal TV it will only read a few hundred, how can I slideshow the whole lot

From Ronda on April 23, 2018 :: 10:35 am

I wish I knew the answer to your question I’m having the same problem. Have googled everything and no answer

From Josh Kirschner on April 23, 2018 :: 10:52 am

Hi Ronda,

It’s possible the manufacturer may have some sort of limit built how many photos you can use for a slideshow on the TV. What model do you have? Maybe I can find you an answer.

Josh

From lilbob on February 28, 2018 :: 11:09 am

Thanks for the big variety of different ways how to transfer pics from iPhone to TV. I use ArkMC to stream wirelessly all my videos, pics, music from iPhone to different devices(mac, TV, Xbox, etc).

From marie smith on November 08, 2018 :: 4:22 pm

When I have added extra photos to my usb and tried to play on my tv - only the original ones appear not the added photos which have been transposed from another usb - does anyone have the answer!!

thanking you

dolour

From Colin on December 18, 2018 :: 5:57 am

When having a slideshow why are some pictures full screen and others are small ? When looking at them one by one they all appear full screen .
December2018.

From Errol Campbell on February 03, 2019 :: 10:19 pm

When i watch my iphone photos via my tv screen,i get a mixture of 1,2,or 3 photos on the screen at the same time when i am on the slideshow feature. How can i get 1 complete photo at a time ???

From Suzanne Kantra on March 21, 2019 :: 1:30 pm

It depends on what app or platform you’re using to view your photos. What’s your setup?

From Josshad on October 31, 2019 :: 3:57 am

Take a look on https://apps.apple.com/us/app/photv-local/id1484497923 app. This works on my old LG, where there was the same problem when I tried to cast via DLNA

From Robert Lee on March 21, 2019 :: 6:17 pm

What do you think is the best solution to stream pictures from 1 source to 2 TVs? I want them to show the same picture at the same time. What ecosystem/apps are the easiest/best?

From Kevin M on April 22, 2019 :: 3:44 pm

Josh
I’m having difficulty wi/trying to get the pictures I have on my computer over to my Sony Tv.
Sony PlayMemories (after hrs of pulling pix over) to it, is now defunct.

Do you have a stupid simple way of my transfering
from ‘puter to TV?

TYIA,
KPM

From Josh Kirschner on April 23, 2019 :: 6:06 pm

Depending which model Sony TV you have, there may be an alternate app for photo watching. For example, newer Sony TVs run Android TV, so you could store your photos in Google Photo and cast them from your Android phone to your TV with Chromecast (https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6295590?co=GENIE.Platform=Android). If you don’t like that option, you can get a Roku or other streaming device and stream through on of those apps (see above). If you have an old Sony smart TV where apps are no longer being supported, this may not be a bad option.

From Kevin M on April 25, 2019 :: 3:26 pm

Hey Josh
Sent this to info@ (but wasn’t sure if it goes thru that way)...nonetheless here is what I asked:
1) I opened gmail on IE (on TV)...did fine, but when I tried to find “photo’s” I just couldn’t!!
Perhaps if I do it html, that might help
2) then I figured, well, I’ll d/l chrome, which is
how I use my gmail on computer….well it said my tv wasn’t set with “mme” or something or other? So I couldn’t d/l that…

This is like a 2014 Sony Bravia, its like a dumb-smart TV it seems…i.e. I tried d/l’ing the 4K Masters app….they (Sony) told me on phone I couldn’t….got me shaking my head!

Anyway, hate to be one but once again, help!!
thx

From Josh Kirschner on April 30, 2019 :: 10:53 am

It’s hard to troubleshoot this without actually being able to see the TV, especially since the 2014 models did not use Android TV. However, according to the relatively useless Sony TV manual, you should be able to play photos off USB from your TV. Have you tried copying your photos to a USB and then sticking it into the USB jack on your Sony?

From Kevin M on May 01, 2019 :: 7:31 am

Hey Josh
Again, thanks for the help. Well yes, I *did* try that (pix to usb flash drive) then plugged it in…couldn’t find it on the internet explorer)..just frustrating, this TV! I think I’m caught in between *real* smart tv’s and this sony bravia one :(

From Josh Kirschner on May 01, 2019 :: 7:35 am

If your photos are on a USB, there will either be a photo app on the TV you can use to access the photos or try switching your TV input settings to USB and see if it launches the app automatically,or at least allows you to browse through the photos with your remote.

From Kevin M on May 01, 2019 :: 7:42 am

just tried it….shows hdmi 1, 2, 3, 4…thats it :(

From Josh Kirschner on May 01, 2019 :: 2:31 pm

One more set of instructions from Sony:

1) Press the HOME button on the TV remote to reveal the menu.
2) Depending on the TV model you can go to either one of the following:
- Select Media > Photos, Music or Videos > Select name of connected device
- Select Connected Devices > USB > Photos, Music or Videos
- Select Media Server > USB

From Rudy on May 19, 2019 :: 2:54 am

Whenever I view photos from a USB memory stick on my LG TV as a slide show, there’s a point, not always the same point, where the viewer starts from the beginning and does not want to show all photos loaded. What could be the problem?
The model of the TV is LG 42LF650T.

From Josh R. on May 31, 2019 :: 12:17 pm

I have a new 2019 Samsung smart TV. Using powerpoint, I exported jpeg photos into a MP4 file. The TV successfully plays the MP4 file from a USB that I plug into the TV. I set the slideshow to loop. Here’s the problem. Every time the loop starts over, a message appears stating

Unsupported Feature
This audio data is not supported
OK Stop

This message covers the screen. I can either hit ok, or it will disappear on it’s own in about 10-15 seconds. How can I prevent this message from displaying.

Thanks,

Josh

From Josh Kirschner on May 31, 2019 :: 1:50 pm

The issue is that when you save the video from PPT, there is no audio track. And Samsung views no audio as “unsupported” audio.

So the solution is to use a video editing tool to add an audio track to your MP4 file. It doesn’t matter what the audio is as long as you use one of the following audio codecs supported by Samsung TVs: AC-3, AC-4, LPCM, ADPCM (IMA, MS), AAC, HE-AAC, WMA, DD+, MPEG (MP3), MPEG-H G.711 (A-Law, µ-Law), Opus.

Let me know if that fixes your issue.

From Josh R. on May 31, 2019 :: 2:22 pm

Josh K.,
Thanks for the advice. I will try it. I have never used any video editing tools. Can you recommend any that are free and easy to use.

So, I assume that I create the MP4 file with PPT as before, and I add the audio after the MP4 file is created? Is this correct.

Thanks.

Josh R.

From Josh Kirschner on May 31, 2019 :: 2:57 pm

If you’re on Mac, you could just use iMovie. Certainly not the best out there, but free and realtively easy to use.

If you’re on Windows, Avidemux is a free, simple program that will do what you want. Else, take a look at Shotcut, which is a little more advanced.

And yes, just take your existing MP4, import it into the editing program and the add an audio track. The programs may even let you add a default blank audio track, but haven’t tried it so not sure.

From Josh Kirschner on May 31, 2019 :: 3:12 pm

I checked and the process is even easier if you use a program like Shotcut (maybe same with the others). Just import your video and then export it File > Export using the default settings. It will add AAC encoding automatically - no need to mess around with a separate audio file.

From Josh R. on May 31, 2019 :: 3:49 pm

Thanks, Josh K.

I will try this in the next few days and let you know how it worked.

Josh R.

From George Han on September 19, 2019 :: 7:32 pm

Thanks for nice tutorial Josh!
I want to share my little experience here, mine is a older HDTV without any “smart” feature, so I bought a MI BOX which is an android tv box system. amazingly when I connect my thumb drive with my photos into it, nothing happens, so I dig into google play store and try to find a solutions, I tried a few and find this useful “photo viewer for android tv”, it does simple usb photo navigation, full screen viewing, photo slides, can be controlled by d-pad, that’s almost all I wanted. I want to share this with other people who also need this. thank you.

From Cari Yoder on October 03, 2019 :: 8:50 am

Hey Josh.Is there any way to change the speed of the USB JPG files when they are displayed on the tv? I got them all to play but they are a little slow

From Josh Kirschner on October 03, 2019 :: 3:48 pm

Many (most/all) manufactures will let you change the speed of your slideshow through the menu options on your TV. The exact menu commands will vary by TV manufacturer. If you can’t figure it out from the menu, Google “[MANUFACTURER] TV slideshow speed” and you’ll probably find the solution.

From Mansel powell on January 05, 2020 :: 7:13 am

I plugged in an external hard drive into the usb and viewed some photos but when removed it has left one on the screen that can be seen when tv is switched on but drive is removed . How do i change or remove the image ?

From Darius Perry on April 01, 2020 :: 12:30 am

Well I don’t have any comments to say about all that reading?

From CG on April 15, 2020 :: 5:01 pm

It shows a square with a mountain in it instead of the picture. I have been able to show puctures with usb dorwctly from the camera before.

Thank you for any help.

From Susan on July 25, 2020 :: 1:35 pm

I’ve about 200 old family slides. I’d like to view, purge, edit/crop them, and then have them on a CD or Memory card.
I’ve heard scanning is an endlessly painful process. I’d like to be able to do this myself somehow. I have a smart tv and digital camera if that factors into your reply.

Thank you so much for your time and help!

From Josh Kirschner on July 30, 2020 :: 9:17 am

You can scan your old photos or slides yourself or there are a number of services that will do it for you. Check out our article on how to digitize your old photos.

From Tori Reigle on December 31, 2021 :: 9:50 am

Question, I need to figure out a way to take photos with my iphone 13max pro and display them on a new Vizio 70” tv at a wedding. I’ve seen this done by other DJs using a tv video booth (we now have one), but I can only find mirroring which won’t work because I’ll be taking pictures and the customers would see my phone screen instead of the pictures I just took. Is there an app or device where I can “send/throw” pictures from my photo to display immediately onto the tv?

From andrew wootton on April 23, 2022 :: 11:24 am

MY TV IS SHOWING TALL PICTURES AND THE VOICES ARE VIBRAITING HELP PLEASE

From Josh Kirschner on April 23, 2022 :: 11:53 am

Your TV likely has an aspect ratio setting that needs to be changed. I’m guessing the aspect ratio may by set to 4:3 when it should be 16:9 (which may be called “Full” or something similar on your particular TV model). For the voices, vibration is hard to diagnose without actually hearing what you’re hearing, but could be due to a blown speaker.

From Nicholas Y on July 05, 2022 :: 12:08 pm

I want to show photos edited in my iMac for slide show display on a LG UQ9000 TV. I’m using a new FAT32 formatted USB-3 drive. When I select it on the TV it recognizes not only the actual jpg files, but also the Mac File Directory metadata thumbnails. For each photo there is a corresponding thumbnail which the TV doesn’t understand so is presented as a gray icon with a diagonal line across it. If I load 75 photos and start a slide show, the TV first shows the 75 gray icons for the Mac directory thumbnails before getting to the real jpeg images. There is no way on Mac OS to store images without the directory metadata. Is there a way to get around this issue (not display all the useless gray icons first) on a LG TV?

From Josh Kirschner on July 05, 2022 :: 5:44 pm

I’m assuming you are saving the photos to that USB drive using iPhoto? If so, rather than doing that, have you tried simply copying the jpgs to the USB using Finder so the associated metadata thumbnails don’t get copied, as well?

From Denis E Lipp on November 20, 2022 :: 8:05 pm

My Roku device has instructions on how to cast photos onto my TV
No matter the make or model. Following the instructions is easy.
So for those who have a Roku device on their TV, just look up the directions on your Roku device.