A smart TV can dominate much of your living space, but it doesn’t have to resemble a featureless black void when in standby mode. Most TVs and streaming devices can be customized to show your favorite art or photos to enhance the look of any room.

Sourcing Artwork to View on Your TV

Digital cameras and smartphones produce high-resolution images that will usually look fine on the largest TV screens. Still, when sourcing your favorite artwork online, you should download the highest resolution possible to get the best results. Be sure to check whether you can download the image if you haven’t paid for it or whether it is copyright-free (for example, in the United States, artwork produced before 1923 is legal to use).

If you’re happy to use their suggested images, many TVs and streaming devices have built-in galleries. Amazon’s Alexa even offers AI-generated, original artwork via the Fire TV Stick. Alternatively, a quick Google search to buy digital artwork will yield plenty of options for downloading tasteful images for just a few dollars.

a smart tv with photography displayed on the screen

What Are Your Options for Viewing Art on Your TV?

There are many options for displaying art and photos on your smart TV screen. If you’re unable to use your existing devices, there will be a solution here to suit most requirements and budgets:

Built-In TV Galleries

TV manufacturers have figured out that we like to see our favorite images as screensavers, with Samsung designing its Frame line of televisions around this principle. Newer Samsung and LG TVs include a gallery app as standard.

Other brands, including TCL and Vizio, have built-in screensaver and gallery features where you can add your own images, which can be accessed from their settings. Google TV also has a Screensaver setting that can be linked to your Google Photos account to access your favorite artwork and photos.

a closeup of a tv remote with a tv screen in the background

If your TV doesn’t have a built-in gallery, you can download an app from its app store or source an app for your Android or iOS device that turns 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, as well as brand-specific streaming apps, such as Sony’s Photo Sharing Plus.

USB Storage Devices

Perhaps the easiest way to view media on a smart TV is to plug a storage device into a free USB port. This can be a simple flash drive, which can be purchased for just a few dollars with more than enough storage to hold a good-sized gallery of images.

The drive can then be accessed via your TV’s settings or media player and can usually be configured to work as a screensaver.

Plug-In Streaming Devices

A streaming device will convert a regular TV into a smart TV, or you might use one as an accessory to your existing smart TV. These devices are generally affordable, and most have a built-in gallery function 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 change to a gallery of photography when the device isn’t being used.

Once you have organized your preferred artwork or photo selection, you may configure it to play as a slideshow when your TV is in standby mode. Here are some examples of how to 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 own one of its tablets or smartphones, you’re able to try another of the options listed below.

To sync your Samsung device with your smart TV, follow these steps:

LG Smart TVs

Most newer LG TVs have an extensive selection of artwork in various genres ready to display in standby mode. However, you may also add your choice of photos and artwork to your LG gallery from an external storage device, such as a USB flash drive, by following these steps:

Sony Smart TVs

Sony smart TVs also work well with an external storage device for displaying images, which can be accessed via the TV’s media player and configured to play a slide show by following these steps:

Streaming devices are affordable plug-and-play solutions that turn your regular TV into a smart device and offer a practicalalternative to smart TV apps. One significant benefit of most streaming devices is that you can easily play your images and photo galleries when your TV is in standby mode.

Google Chromecast

Google’sChromecastdisplays media from your Google Photos library using the Google Home app on your Android device.Compile an album in Google Photoswith your artwork and photos and follow these steps to show them as a screensaver on your TV:

Amazon Fire TV Stick

Amazon Photos is an Android and iOS-friendly photo-viewing platform that works with yourFire TV Stickas a screensaver. Here’s how to view your favorite images with the Amazon Fire TV Stick:

Apple TV works similarly to Google’s Chromecast and Google TV but uses Apple’s Photos app instead of Google Photos. Follow these steps to use your own photos and artwork in screensaver mode:

These are just a few common ways to turn your smart TV into a frame with an aesthetically pleasing gallery in standby mode. As a bonus, your backlit screen will often bring out the vibrant colors and improve the definition of an artwork. Whether you use it as a digital photo frame or as a scrolling art gallery, it is worth researching your TV or streaming device’s settings to get the best out of your specific model whenever it’s working as a screensaver