3 Free Ways to Turn Your TV into Photo Storage
Turn your TV or tablet into a photo storage place with three free solutions that support NAS and 4K video.
Google Photos has long allowed you to turn your Android TV or tablet into a digital photo frame, displaying beautiful moments right on the screen. But not everyone wants to store photos in the cloud, many people prefer NAS (Network Attached Storage) to manage data themselves.
Here are 3 free solutions to turn your Android TV or tablet into a large photo frame, getting data directly from your NAS.
1. Kodi
Kodi is a quick way to set up a screensaver that displays photos from your NAS. All you need to do is share your photo folder over SMB or NFS – most NASes support this.
Basic steps:
Install Kodi on Android TV, Raspberry Pi, tablet or iPad (sideload required).
Go to Settings > Interface > Screensaver > Screensaver Mode.
Select Add More → download Picture Slideshow Screensaver.
Add image network links, customize timeouts, and transition effects (including Ken Burns).
Disadvantages:
Must open Kodi for screensaver to work, cannot set as system default.
Long-term use can cause memory to fill up (it took the author 4 years to experience this on Nvidia Shield 8GB).
2. Immi
Immich is a self-hosted photo/video solution that runs on your computer or NAS via Docker. In addition to backing up photos from your phone, Immich also has an unofficial Android TV app to install screensavers.
Advantages over Kodi:
Set as default screensaver, works even when other apps are open.
Support playing videos from gallery, with or without sound.
Completely free, with the option to purchase a license to support your project.
The downside is that the installation is more complicated, requiring setting up the Immich server first.
3. Aerial Views Screensaver
Originally designed to play 4K videos like Apple TV screensavers, the app now supports fetching photos/videos from SMB shares and Immich servers as well.
Highlights:
Free, open source on GitHub.
Display overlay information: music playing, location, date taken, clock.
Protects against burn-in for OLED TVs when using overlays.
No need for complex server configuration.
