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You might love watching your favourite shows and films on your smart TV, but what about getting some of your favourite music streaming on it as well? If you’ve got friends or family around that you’re enjoying a nice chat with, then you don’t want to get everyone distracted by a show or film on your smart TV. Instead, you might want to put on some music you both like, but you’re not too sure about the best way to get it on. Thankfully, this blog will look at the easiest ways to get music services onto your smart TV, as well as the best speaker accessories to get the party going in your living room.
Spotify
The easiest way to stream music to your smart TV is through apps that you can download like Spotify. That’s right, it can be done as easily as this:
- Go to the app store on your smart TV.
- Search for Spotify. If it’s not available, then sadly your smart TV is not compatible, and you cannot use this method.
- Download the application and install it.
- You can then login to your account using Spotify Connect to control the music on your smart TV with your phone.
While it may seem that easy to set it up, there are a number of issues and drawbacks with trying to use Spotify on your smart TV, with the biggest being that you need a premium subscription to use the app. Since Spotify Connect is a premium-only feature, you’ll have to pay for a membership in order to use it and connect your devices together. Several users online have also reported issues connecting their devices together, which can be rather frustrating and off-putting. To avoid this, make sure that both your smart TV and phone are connected to the same WiFi network as this is how Spotify Connect recognises potential devices that can connect to each other. As you can see, using Spotify on your smart TV might seem rather straightforward, but it requires a paid subscription and can be rather buggy at times which might turn you off using it in the future.
YouTube (Music)
Another option instead is to use the YouTube or YouTube Music apps if these are available on your smart TV. Surely by now, everybody knows what YouTube is and how to use it, right? These apps might even already come pre-installed depending on your smart TV, so why not check out if they’re already there and ready to use? Better yet, these apps don’t require an account to use meaning that anyone can use them immediately. All you need to do is open the app and you can start searching for whatever music you want. We’d recommend making an account however, so that you can build playlists of your favourite tunes. YouTube is also rather useful for finding live concert footage as well if that suits your fancy, making YouTube a good option for finding full concerts and music videos to stream as well.
The only issue which might get annoying with YouTube is the number of ads that can play in between the music. It can be pretty frustrating when you’re getting into the groove of a playlist but out of nowhere it gets cut off by an unskippable advert, killing the vibe of the party. If ads are too much for you, then you can pay for YouTube Premium which’ll get you ad-free access to both YouTube and YouTube Music. So, if you find ads interrupting the music on your smart TV too frustrating, then upgrading to YouTube Premium might be worthwhile.
Now that you’ve know how to stream music to your smart TV, let’s take a look at some of the best soundbars you can get to take your tunes to the next level.
Speakers
Depending on what smart TV you’ve got, you might be best getting a soundbar that’s made by the same manufacturer. This is because it’s been made to work together as part of a smart home entertainment system. So, make sure you get a soundbar made by the same company that made your smart TV to ensure they are compatible and avoid dealing with annoying tech issues.
If you’ve got an LG TV, then the US40T Bluetooth Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer is a perfect pickup for you, as you can control it directly through your LG smart TV using the WOW interface to complete your setup and tweak the audio to get your music sounding perfect.
Or if you have a Samsung smart TV, then the C400 2.0ch 270W Soundbar Speaker is recommended. With a night mode that reduces the bass and stops you from waking up anyone that’s went to bed early controllable directly from your remote, this soundbar is perfect if you’ve got a Samsung smart TV.
For those with a Sony smart TV, then the HT-SF150 soundbar is our recommended pickup. With a Bass Reflex speaker installed and the ability to connect directly to it with Bluetooth, this will complete your smart home setup and get your music sounding perfect!
As you can see, there’s a lot more ways to stream music on your smart TV than you might have previously thought. If you’ve already got Spotify Premium, then checking that your smart TV is compatible with the app is a good place to start. If you don’t have a Spotify account or a premium membership, then YouTube or YouTube Music is probably a better option that does not require an account and might even be preloaded on your smart TV. Still, if you find ads frustrating, then you’ll also have to get a premium subscription for this. Either option you choose, check out some of our recommendations above for the best speakers and accessories to pump up the party!