# How do I watch YouTube on TV? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 23, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875 "2019-11-23T16:22:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/1 "2019-11-23T16:22:49Z")
We have a Vizio and a Sony BluRay player. There _should_ be an app somewhere to watch YouTube on TV, but I can’t find it. The TV remote looks like [this](https://www.amazon.com/Original-Compatible-Televisions-Universal-098003062670/dp/B079K13493). The DVD player looks like [this](https://www.amazon.com/Universal-RMT-VB100U-BDP-BX150-BDP-BX350-BDP-BX550/dp/B07G4FMS3K). I tried the DVD player. When I clicked the ‘+’ icon, there was no YouTube option. I tried Featured Favorites, and there was no YouTube Option. Instructions online for the TV said to press the VIA button. As you can see from the first image, the remote control is very simple and does not have a VIA button. . ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/2 "2019-11-23T16:30:55Z")
Never mind. I found a different remote control. ---
**Author:** ![HotDogWater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/35a633/32.png) [@HotDogWater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HotDogWater)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/3 "2019-11-23T18:59:14Z")
The SDMB comes up with another answer! In only 8 minutes! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/4 "2019-11-23T21:20:29Z")
Alas, we do not watch YouTube on TV. Our TV is fundamentally an Android device, and when YouTube abandoned their original App API, our TV lost it’s YouTube App. Sucks. Don’t buy a Smart TV – get a dumb TV and one of those Amazon/Google/Apple/Whatever streaming devices, unless you want to replace the whole TV every few years. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/5 "2019-11-24T12:19:36Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Alas, we do not watch YouTube on TV. Our TV is fundamentally an Android device, and when YouTube abandoned their original App API, our TV lost it’s YouTube App. > > Sucks. Don’t buy a Smart TV – get a dumb TV and one of those Amazon/Google/Apple/Whatever streaming devices, unless you want to replace the whole TV every few years. Sadly, non-smart TVs are getting rarer and more costly than smart ones. (The various services subsidize the manufacturers to pre-install the stuff to run those services.) So the long term option is to buy a smart TV and assume you will eventually have to buy a streaming device when the smart TV is no longer supported. (And hope that nothing goes wrong with the electronics of the “smart” part of the TV which kills the whole thing. Like those crappy old VCR/TV combos.) In the case of YouTube, another option you might have in some cases is to use Google’s casting function. I can find the video on YouTube using Chrome browser, for example, and cast it to my TV. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/6 "2019-11-24T18:04:03Z")
When I read the thread title I thought you were asking about YouTube TV, which is a low-cost streaming service that allowed me to cut the cord from my expensive satellite service. It has almost all of the channels I care about and an unlimited DVR in the cloud. I also finally got rid of my landline and all of the robocalls I was getting, but that’s a different story. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/7 "2019-11-24T19:38:41Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > When I read the thread title I thought you were asking about YouTube TV, which is a low-cost streaming service that allowed me to cut the cord from my expensive satellite service. It has almost all of the channels I care about and an unlimited DVR in the cloud. I also finally got rid of my landline and all of the robocalls I was getting, but that’s a different story. When our cable/Internet/telephone bill reached $230/month, I cut back our service. It’s now $175/month ($10 extra so that we could get TCM), and it’s still bloody expensive. Mrs. L.A. is finding out channels she sometimes liked to watch are no longer available. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/8 "2019-12-01T04:39:31Z")
I’m pretty sure the underlying strategy is that when you call them to complain, they’ll try to sell you more stuff. However, IME they usually will be able to lower your rate, and without the loss of any services. I just got our internet/home security/landline knocked down from $228 to $163, and without having to give anything up, other than the time it took me to call. As for YouTube, I use the YT app on my Android phone to find the content I want, and then cast it either to my Roku stick or the TV itself, depending on which TV I’m using. Once the video is running on the big screen I don’t have to keep it going on my phone. I don’t suppose that’s possible with an iPhone, though. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/9 "2019-12-01T06:49:41Z")
Chromecast. A $35 device that lets you send anything from your laptop or smartphone to your TV, whether it be a dumb or smart TV. All you need is a WiFi network in your home. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/10 "2019-12-01T07:43:19Z")
My somewhat smart DVD/BluRay player (Sony) does have a YouTube app. My new DVR from Dish, also smart, does not. I suspect it might be considered competition. It does have a Netflix app. My wife called Dish to complain about the prices and got a reduction if we took a Hopper DVR. Which might or might not have been worth it. The DVR was free, but I’m not too pleased with it. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/11 "2019-12-01T14:08:38Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Chromecast. A $35 device that lets you send anything from your laptop or smartphone to your TV, whether it be a dumb or smart TV. All you need is a WiFi network in your home. Right now it’s on sale at places like Walmart for $25. But first check to see if your TV already does this. E.g., my Sony does. (Does anyone remember “RTFM”?) Re: Calling the cable company for a better deal. Sadly, this is the norm now. We do this for the gas company as well. Used to do it for the garbage company (now it’s set by the county with no choice of company) and the newspaper (now they no longer care if you threaten to stop). ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/12 "2019-12-01T16:40:58Z")
We got a Samsung TV a year or two ago, and when we took it out of the box, our Samsung phones immediately detected it and gave us a menu of options–including put phone on TV and TV on phone. The fact that it is incredibly easy to cast your phone onto the TV bothers me a little, and I am very boring person, in terms of shit that’s likely to show up on my phone. I imagine there are people who have a lot more to worry about. One thing infuriates me: the other built in feature is that the phone is a remote for the TV. But all it does is imitate the minimalist physical remote exactly. Here’s this wonderful opportunity to give me a keyboard for search functions, and it just . . . doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/13 "2019-12-01T20:43:34Z")
Mrs mallard & I each have our own “dumb” Panasonic TVs with inexpensive Panasonic DVD players that have USB for playing video from external hard drives, has a thing to select YouTube & Netflix. Works quite slick actually. (Those road rage videos are hilarious) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/14 "2019-12-01T22:57:50Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > Mrs mallard & I each have our own “dumb” Panasonic TVs with inexpensive Panasonic DVD players that have USB for playing video from external hard drives, has a thing to select YouTube & Netflix. Works quite slick actually. (Those road rage videos are hilarious) That’s the thing. My [Sony DVD/Blu-ray player](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TYFCJ8S/r) doesn’t offer a way to choose YouTube. (Or Netflix, for that matter.) The description says: > [@](#): > > 300+ streaming apps: Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video & more, Mirror your Android compatible mobile devices screen on your TV with Miracast technology But I don’t see how to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/15 "2019-12-02T01:22:42Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Alas, we do not watch YouTube on TV. Our TV is fundamentally an Android device, and when YouTube abandoned their original App API, our TV lost it’s YouTube App. > > Sucks. Don’t buy a Smart TV – get a dumb TV and one of those Amazon/Google/Apple/Whatever streaming devices, unless you want to replace the whole TV every few years. Can’t you just go to the Google Play store and download a more recent app to your TV? I have an Android TV and can download apps from the Play Store/ ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/16 "2019-12-02T01:28:16Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > That’s the thing. My [Sony DVD/Blu-ray player](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TYFCJ8S/r) doesn’t offer a way to choose YouTube. (Or Netflix, for that matter.) The description says: > > But I don’t see how to do it. If your TV is a smart TV, turn on your TV. Make sure your tablet/phone is on the same wifi network as your TV. Bring up your Youtube app on your phone or tablet. Look for the [chromecast symbol](https://www.xda-developers.com/files/2015/11/Chromecast_cast_button_icon.svg_-400x306.png) on your phone/tablet. Click on the symbol and select your TV from the menu. It should immediately start mirroring on your TV. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/17 "2019-12-02T01:55:07Z")
No pad. Phone has nothing to do with anything. ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/18 "2019-12-02T02:03:46Z")
@ Manda-JO > [@](#): > > Here’s this wonderful opportunity to give me a keyboard for search functions, and it just . . . doesn’t. Samsung is just waiting for Apple to do it, then they’ll copy it. Not much original creativity there. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/19 "2019-12-02T02:11:10Z")
> [@GMANCANADA](#): > > @ Manda-JO > > Samsung is just waiting for Apple to do it, then they’ll copy it. Not much original creativity there. The Roku app does that. Very handy. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875/20 "2019-12-02T02:22:39Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > That’s the thing. My [Sony DVD/Blu-ray player](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TYFCJ8S/r) doesn’t offer a way to choose YouTube. (Or Netflix, for that matter.) The description says: > > But I don’t see how to do it. I found [this](https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/home-video-blu-ray-disc-players-recorders/bdp-s3500/articles/00167097) after poking around on the Sony site for your DVD player. I don’t know if it affects your situation or not: > [@](#): > > Termination of the YouTube App on Certain Televisions and Video Products > > Some models also include the New YouTube™ for TV app. You may experience a black screen, an error message appears, or videos stop playing, when you use the New YouTube for TV app. > > These symptoms are not a failure of your TV. YouTube made specification changes that cause these symptoms, which led us to decide to remove the New YouTube for TV app and its functions, starting September 30,2016. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-watch-youtube-on-tv/843875.md?page=2)