Blink cameras are quite popular and offer a good balance between the price and their features such as the high resolution, long battery, remote viewing, voice control, etc. Many people want to view their camera straight on the TV screen. Is it possible?
Yes, it is possible to watch the live camera on your TV and there are various methods that can be used. You can view Blink camera’s live feed on a Fire TV or Fire Stick and both the Blink camera and Fire TV have to be connected to Alexa. Additionally, you may cast the recording or the live feed from the Blink app to the TV.
The most important thing to understand is that you need to link the camera and the TV to your Alexa app. There are more methods that are explained below.
Read them carefully and see which ones work better for your situation. Moreover, you can check this article as well: How to view an IP camera on Smart TV.
Methods to View Blink Cameras on TV
View Blink Cameras through Fire TV
The first thing you need to do is link the Blink camera and your TV to the Alexa app and then use the Fire stick/TV to cast the live feed. All these devices (and apps) are owned by Amazon and are designed to work properly and smoothly together.
(Note: If you don’t already own a Fire TV, you can purchase a Fire Stick and plug it into your current TV, which will turn it into a smart TV).
Follow these instructions to connect your Blink cams to Alexa and then use voice commands to call the camera’s live feed on the TV screen.
- Launch the Alexa app on your phone (or tablet)
- Tap the three lines icon in the top left corner and select Settings.
- Scroll all the way down and select TV & Video.
- Then choose Fire TV (or Fire Stick, whatever you’re using).
- Select Link Your Alexa Device and then follow the on-screen prompts.
When both of these devices are connected to the Alexa app, then you can watch the live feed on the Blink app and use the voice commands to show up the image on the TV (via the Fire stick).
For example, you can use these voice commands:
- “Alexa, show me my “Backyard” (This will show on the TV the camera named “backyard”).
- “Alexa, ask Blink to get my status” (Alexa will list the status of your cameras).
- “Alexa, ask Blink when was the last motion clip”
- “Alexa, ask Blink to disarm” (Alexa will prompt you with the PIN).
- “Alexa, ask Blink how many motion clips I have”.
Note: If you’re using Firestick, you can access the footage via Alexa (by calling the voice commands). If using Fire TV, you can only see the live feed (but there are other methods that enable you to playback as well).
Mirror the screen of your iPhone (or tablet) on Apple TV
Another method you can use is by mirroring the screen of your iPhone (or iPad) to your Apple TV. This method works if your TV is using Apple TV box, Airplay 2 (compatible with TV models such as Sony A9S series, LG OLED+, Samsung UHD 8, 7, 6 Series, Roku TV, etc).
The basic idea is pretty simple, using the AirPlay proprietary wireless communication protocol you can mirror the screen of your phone or tablet (iOS) on the TV.
Whatever you play on the phone, it will show on the big TV screen. The Apple TV, and the iPhone/iPad needs to be on the same WiFi network.
Follow these steps to cast the iPhone on your TV screen:
- Open up the Control Center on your iPhone or iPad. You have to swipe down from the upper-right corner of the screen and a few extra settings will appear.
- Tap on the Screen Mirroring (the icon looks like two screens).
- Select your AirPlay 2 compatible TV or Apple TV (see which options show up).
- If the TV asks you for a password, enter the passcode of your phone or tablet.
- Next, open up the Blink app on your phone and you can either go to the live view, or playback, and whatever you see there will be mirrored on the TV. Basically, the phone will “cast” its screen on the TV.
To stop mirroring: Open the Control Center and tap the Screen Mirroring. Choose the Stop Mirroring option. Additionally, you may use the Apple TV remote to stop casting.
Use Chromecast to watch your Blink camera
If you have an Android phone, you can use Google’s Chromecast device to cast the image on the TV. This is a toggle that hooks up on a TV and allows the user to better manage the TV apps.
Same logic as with Apple, you can cast your phone’s screen to the TV (that uses Chromecast) as long as all devices (the camera, the phone, and the TV) are on the same network.
Keep in mind, that you need to turn on the microphone permission on your Google Play Services, otherwise, the phone is not able to share the screen with the TV. On the Chromecast, use the Cast Screen/Audio option.
Follow these steps to cast your Android screen to Chromecast (and eventually mirror the Blink app live view or playback).
- Open up the Google Home app on your Android phone (or tablet).
Select the device (TV, in this case) that you want to cast the screen on. Then hit “Cast my screen”. - Go to the Blink app and watch the live view, and playback, the screen will be mirrored on the TV.
- To stop casting, go again to Google Home app, select the device and then hit “Stop Mirroring”.
Conclusion
There’s no direct way to see the Blink camera on a TV, you need to use a smart stick such as Fire stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, etc, that allows the user to mirror or cast the phone screen on the TV. Whatever you see on the phone screen, will be mirrored on the TV (including the footage).
Another way is to place the footage on a USB stick and plug it on a TV, but this doesn’t make any difference.
