Play music on TV - how it works

If you want to play your favorite music on your TV, there are a few options. In this guide, we will show you how this works.

Play music via cable connection on the TV

• If your TV has a jack or RCA audio input, you can easily connect any playback device using the appropriate cable.
• If you want to play music from a smartphone, for example, you may need a jack to cinch adapter. You can get this cheaply from Amazon.
• The disadvantage of this solution: You need a cable and are locally bound to the player.

Play music wirelessly on the TV using a Bluetooth receiver

• Similar to a car, you can also connect a Bluetooth receiver to your TV if the connection is suitable.
• This usually connects to your device via a jack. Now you can connect your smartphone or tablet to the receiver, specify it as a playback device and finally send the music to the TV.

Greater range via streaming stick

• If you want more options and a greater range than with Bluetooth devices, a streaming stick such as Google's Chromecast is recommended.
• This is located in an HDMI port on your TV and connects to the WLAN. Via this network you can now (possibly via an additional app) access the stick from almost any device and play videos and photos in addition to music.

No additional devices thanks to DLNA

• Most smart TVs today have a so-called DLNA function. This allows you to stream media over the WiFi network without additional hardware. To do this, you must first connect the television to your home network via its menu.
• Now you can start your music player on a tablet or smartphone that is registered in the same network. You will usually see a screen icon in the top right corner. Click here and your device will search for other playback devices nearby. If your TV appears in the list, you can select it as a "player" and stream your music.

Network storage or local hard drives

• If you have integrated your television into the home network using a network cable or connected an external memory via USB, you can usually search the connected media directly via the TV menu.
• Simply click on the folder with your favorite music and play it on the TV. The prerequisite here is that your device can also process the present audio format. The supported formats can best be found in the operating instructions.

Alternative: connect the player directly

• Alternatively, you can of course still connect a DVD player to your television and play an audio CD with it.
• The following applies to all variants: Make sure that the correct input (e.g. jack, cinch, HDMI) is active and selected for playback on the TV set.