Summary
If you want to watch YouTube videos on your TV screen, then don’t miss this post. Here we will show you the best way and some alternative ways on how to watch YouTube videos on TV, giving you an excellent viewing experience.

In the previous articles, we explained all the ways for downloading YouTube videos to your PC, smartphone. But watching YouTube on TV is more convenient than on a mobile phone or tablet. Especially when the grand live broadcast, sports event replay, 4K and HD video. We can say that YouTube is always better on the big screen, meaning your television. In this article, we will show you the different ways on how to watch YouTube videos on your TV screen, giving you a more immersive experience.

Part 1. Best Ways to Watch YouTube Video on TV

If you want to watch YouTube HD movies or 4k movies on your TV, you need a stable and smooth network. When the internet speed drops, the video quality will automatically drop, which will greatly affect your viewing experience. Therefore, the best way to view YouTube videos on TV is to download the YouTube videos to the desktop first, then you can move them to your TV for viewing without an Internet connection or Wi-Fi. To download and save YouTube videos, a powerful video downloader is required.

Online YouTube Downloader stands out among all video downloaders. This excellent tool allows you to download video and audio from 1000+ websites, including YouTube, Soundcloud, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Bilibili, Tumblr, Veoh, Vevo, Facebook, Niconico, etc. It lets you download online YouTube videos to computer, supports HD, 4K or even 8K quality, you can select the output format as MP4 without quality loss. Yes you can also download the video directly into MP3 format for your music devices. After which, you can move the downloaded MP4 files from your computer to your Apple TV or smart TV or other device for watching!

Steps to Download and Watch YouTube Video on TV:

Step 1. Copy & Paste the Video URL to Program
After installation, launch Online YouTube Downloader on your Mac or Windows computer. Go to YouTube and copy the video link in the address bar. Paste the link of the video into the bar of the program, and click “Analyze”.

paste youtube video link to the program

Step 2. Select MP4 Format and Resolution
It will pop up a window with MP4 and MP3 format. To enjoy YouTube video on HD TV, here you need to select MP4 format in HD resolution.

select output format

Step 3. Download YouTube Video to Computer
Simply press on “Download” button to get MP4 YouTube video on your hard drive. It supports batch download, you can add more video URL to the bar.

start to convert youtube video to mp4

After that, you can find the well-downloaded videos in “Finished” section, click “Open Folder” to watch it.

Open Downloaded YouTube Videos on PC Completed

Step 4. Watch Downloaded YouTube Video on TV
Here we will list 2 easy ways to help you view YouTube videos on your TV.
1) Use a HDMI cable to connect your computer with your TV.
Connect one end of the HDMI cable to the HDMI slot on the HDTV, and connect the other end to the slot on your computer USB drive. Then change your TV setting to HDMI, and then you can freely play the downloaded YouTube videos on your TV.

2) Use a USB drive to enjoy YouTube contents on your TV.
First of all, insert a USB drive into your computer, and move the downloaded YouTube MP4 files to the USB. After that, unplug the USB and plug it into your TV.

Part 2. Alternative Ways to Watch YouTube Video on TV

In the following part, we will list some alternative methods to help you watch your favourite YouTube videos on your TV screen. The following methods require you to have a smooth and stable Wi-Fi connection.

Way 1. Watch YouTube Video on TV under Computer Control

To enjoy YouTube on your TV, you can rely on a computer. What you need to do is to use a computer to control YouTube on your TV. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1. Launch YouTube app on your TV, and log in to your YouTube account.

Step 2. Navigate down to the settings icon in the lower left corner of the YouTube app on your TV, and pick “Link with TV code”. If you don’t have it, please download YouTube app on your Apple TV or smart TV before you start.

Step 3. Go to the website www.youtube.com/pair on your desktop or laptop. Enter the code displayed on the TV in the check box under “Link with TV code”.

Enter the code on YouTube page

Step 4. After that, you can watch your favourite YouTube video on your Apple TV or HD TV, and you can control each setting for your preference with computer.

Way 2. Watch YouTube Video on TV under Mobile Control

In addition, you can also control YouTube with your smartphone, tablet, such as iPhone, iPad, Android phone and tablets, etc. Follow the simple steps bellow:

Step 1. Firstly, launch the YouTube app on your TV, and select “Link with TV code” in “Settings”. Just same as the step 1 of way 1.

Step 2. Open the YouTube app on your mobile or tablets, click your icon in the upper right corner of the YouTube app home screen, and then click “Settings”> “Watch on TV”.

Set Watch on TV on YouTube app

Step 3. Enter the code that appears on the TV into the phone application. Then you can start to enjoy YouTube on your TV and control the video through your phone or tablet.

This method is actually the same as Way 1, except that the device that controls the video playback is different.

Way 3. Watch YouTube Video on TV via Apple’s AirPlay Feature

If you are using an Apple device, such as iPhone, iPad, etc., you can stream YouTube videos on TV through the AirPlay function of the Apple device. With AirPlay, you can wirelessly project audio or video from iPhone, iPad or Mac to Apple TV or Smart TV compatible with AirPlay 2. Just follow the detailed steps to do it:
Step 1. Connect your iPhone or iPad and your TV to the same Wi-Fi network. Open the AirPlay feature on your iDevice.

Step 2. Open YouTube app on your iPhone or iPad, and play a YouTube video. Then tap the “Cast icon”.

Cast YouTube on TV via mobile

Tip: For iDevices running on iOS 14 or later, you need to grant YouTube permission to connect to streaming devices on the local network.

Step 3. Choose the device you want to cast to and wait for it to connect. Once connected, the video will be played on the TV. To disconnect, click “Cast”> “Disconnect”.

Way 4. Watch YouTube Video on TV via Casting Tool

For Android device users, you can purchase a casting tool like Google Chromecast, Roku Box, Amazon Fire TV Stick, etc. Just plug one them into the HDMI output of your TV, then use your phone or computer to play YouTube video on your TV. Here we take Google Chromecast as example, follow the simple steps:

Step 1. Plug the Google Chromecast into the HDMI output of your TV, then connect your mobile device/computer and Chromecast to the same Wi-Fi network.

Step 2. Open the YouTube app or YouTube.com on your mobile or computer.

Step 3. Tap on the “Cast” button on your device.
On the YouTube app, the Cast button is located at the top of the home screen.
From YouTube.com on your computer, it is located in the lower right corner of the player.

Step 4. Click the Chromecast device you want to cast to, and then click “Play”. Your content will start playing on the TV connected to the Chromecast device. To stop casting content, click “Cast”> “Disconnect”.

Conclusion

Hope this post will help you play YouTube videos on your smart TV or Apple TV with ease. If you don’t use Apple device, or you hesitate to buy a physical device or not, just give it up! We recommend you try the Online YouTube Downloader which only costs $29.95 for Personal License with lifetime update and technical support. After owning it, you can download online videos from popular sites, then you can enjoy online videos on your Apple TV, HD TV, PSP, MP4 player, Xbox, MP3 playe, etc. What a good deal!

Watch YouTube Videos on TV