How to Show Google Slides or PowerPoint on a TV
You already made the deck. Here's how to get it on the screen, looping, without babysitting it.
The deck exists. The question is how to put it on a TV in the shop, the lobby or the staff room so that it loops, stays current and doesn't die when someone closes the laptop. Three options, from quickest to most reliable.
Option 1: a laptop on HDMI, set to loop
PowerPoint: Slide Show → Set Up Slide Show → "Browsed at a kiosk", tick "Loop continuously until Esc", and set automatic slide timings under Transitions. Google Slides: start the presentation, open the menu in the bottom-left, Auto-play → choose a duration and tick Loop. Plug the laptop into the TV, press play.
Fine for a day. Over a week the laptop sleeps, updates, shows a notification over the slide, or gets borrowed.
Option 2: publish the Google Slides deck to the web and show that page
In Google Slides: File → Share → Publish to the web → choose auto-advance and "restart after the last slide". You get a URL that plays the deck in any browser. Any device that can show a webpage full screen can show it: a TV's own browser, an Android box, a Raspberry Pi. Edit the deck and the page updates. The weak points are the device's browser going to sleep, no offline playback, and nothing to tell you when it stops.
Option 3: a player that shows the deck as a zone, with a schedule
A digital signage player runs the published-to-web URL as a webpage zone, or you export the slides as images (File → Download → PNG, one per slide, in PowerPoint File → Export) and upload them as a playlist. The player caches images and plays them offline, restarts after a power cut, loops forever, and switches decks by time of day on a schedule rule. You still edit in Slides or PowerPoint; the screen just stops depending on a laptop.
- Webpage zone: the deck updates itself when you edit it; needs a connection.
- Exported images: plays offline and looks identical on every screen; re-export when the deck changes.
- Both can share a screen with a ticker, a clock or the weather in other zones.
Setting up option 3
- Put an Android TV box, a Raspberry Pi or a spare computer behind the TV and install the free CastWize player. Pair it with a code. Hardware: Set Up a Screen for Under $200.
- Either add a webpage slide with the published URL, or upload the exported images to the Media Library and add them to a playlist.
- Assign the playlist to the screen, preview, publish. Add schedule rules if different decks should show at different times.
First screen free for 30 days, $5 per screen per month after. Related: how to play a slideshow on a TV and how to make a digital menu board.
Frequently asked questions
Will the deck update on the TV when I edit it?
If the screen shows the published-to-web URL, yes, on its own. If you uploaded exported images, re-export the changed slides and replace them in the playlist.
What slide size should I use?
16:9. Google Slides' default is 16:9; in PowerPoint set Design → Slide Size → Widescreen. Export at 1920×1080 if you go the image route.
Can I show two decks at different times of day?
Yes, with a player: put each deck in its own playlist and add schedule rules by time, for example a staff deck in the morning and a customer deck during opening hours.
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Set Up a Digital Signage Screen for Under $200
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