jukebox

Host on a TV

Guests stay on their phones. The TV is for the music and the join code. Work top to bottom. Stop at the first path that fits the room.

Decision outline
Need the room on a TV?
YouTube room Open Big screen Keep that page visible. Then put the picture on the TV.

Then pick one

HDMI Most reliable TV browser Open Big screen there Cast or AirPlay Mirror the tab None of those Laptop, or add a stick
Spotify room Pick the speaker Host settings, then the TV or a speaker. The screen can sleep.

Stay inside jukebox

The TV YouTube app will not run this room. A playlist there skips the queue. Open Big screen in jukebox, then send that page to the TV.

YouTube rooms

Music plays in the host browser. YouTube stops it if the player is covered, locked, or sent to the background. Open Big screen from the room. Leave that tab in front. That page is what you put on the TV.

HDMI

Best first try. Works when hotel WiFi blocks Cast.

  1. 1. Open the room on a laptop.
  2. 2. Tap Big screen. You should see the player, the join code, and the queue.
  3. 3. Plug the laptop into the TV with HDMI. A USB C to HDMI adapter is the same idea.
  4. 4. On the TV remote, pick that HDMI input.
  5. 5. Send laptop sound to the TV, or turn the laptop volume up.
  6. 6. Leave the laptop open and plugged in. Sleep stops the music.

TV browser

Some smart TVs can open a web page. Many cannot play YouTube in that browser. If it fails, use HDMI.

  1. 1. On a phone or laptop, open the room and tap Big screen.
  2. 2. Copy the address from the browser. It ends with /display.
  3. 3. Open the TV browser and paste that address.
  4. 4. Keep that page in front. Stop the TV from sleeping.

Cast, AirPlay, or screen mirroring

This copies the jukebox page onto the TV. Same WiFi. You should see the join code, not the TV YouTube app.

  1. 1. Put the laptop and the TV on the same WiFi.
  2. 2. Open Big screen on the laptop. Make that tab as large as you can.
  3. 3. Wake the TV. Open any app so the TV is findable.
  4. 4. Pick what the gear can do:
    • Chromecast or Google TV. In Chrome, Cast the tab (not the whole desktop if you get a choice). Pick the TV.
    • Mac and Apple TV, or AirPlay on a TV. Control Center, then Screen Mirroring, then the TV.
    • Windows wireless display. Press the Windows key plus K, then pick the TV.
    • Samsung Smart View. Start Smart View on the TV or the phone, then pick the laptop.
  5. 5. Confirm the TV shows the jukebox Big screen, including the code.

If the TV never appears: stay on the same WiFi, turn off guest isolation if you can, and open an app on the TV first. Hotel WiFi often blocks discovery. HDMI then.

No cable and no wireless

Play from the laptop for now. Or plug a cheap stick into the TV (Chromecast, Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV) and treat that box as the TV. Then use HDMI from the laptop, or Cast or AirPlay to the stick.

Spotify rooms

Playback goes to a speaker through Spotify Connect. The jukebox tab can sleep. The host needs Premium. Guests do not.

  1. 1. In the room, open Host settings.
  2. 2. Tap Connect Spotify and sign in with your Premium account.
  3. 3. Open Spotify on the TV or speaker and press play once so it wakes up.
  4. 4. Back in Host settings, pick that device under Play on.
  5. 5. You can lock the phone after that. The speaker keeps going.

If the TV is missing from the list, it is usually asleep. Wake it in the Spotify app, then reload Host settings.

Phones run the room

Adding songs and voting happens on phones. That is the remote. You do not pair a TV code in the YouTube app. Keep one device as the player: the laptop on HDMI, the TV browser, or the Spotify speaker. Everyone else uses the join code.

Quick picks by TV

Google TV, Android TV, Chromecast

YouTube: Cast the Big screen tab, or HDMI. Spotify: pick the TV in Host settings.

Samsung

YouTube: HDMI or Smart View. Newer sets may Cast or AirPlay. Spotify if the app is on the TV.

LG

YouTube: HDMI, or AirPlay on newer sets. Spotify if the app is on the TV.

Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, consoles

The box is the TV. YouTube: HDMI from the laptop. Spotify: pick the box in Host settings.

Hotel or locked TV

HDMI. Wireless discovery rarely works on those networks.

If the music stops

YouTube. The Big screen tab was covered, locked, or put to sleep. Bring it back and tap to start audio.

Spotify. The speaker went to sleep. Wake it and pick it again in Host settings.

Cast or mirroring can look softer than HDMI. That is normal. Use HDMI if you want a sharper picture.