Screen Mirroring to TV: The Complete Guide
Screen mirroring copies your whole phone screen to the TV — useful for apps and photos, but soft, laggy, and battery-hungry for video. This is the overview for every platform: what mirroring is, how it works on iPhone and Android, which TVs accept it, and why, when you just want to watch a web video, casting the stream with CastBrowser is the better tool.
What is screen mirroring?
Screen mirroring sends a live, exact copy of your phone's display to the TV — interface, notifications, everything — using Miracast or Smart View on Android and AirPlay on iPhone. Because the whole screen streams continuously, it drains battery and can look soft or laggy.
Casting is different: it sends only the video stream, so the TV plays it at full quality and your phone becomes a remote. For web video, casting with CastBrowser is the smoother choice.
Skip laggy mirroring — cast web video to your TV at full quality with CastBrowser, free.
Screen Mirroring vs Casting: The Key Difference
These two words get used interchangeably, but they work very differently — and picking the right one is the difference between a crisp picture and a frustrating one.
- Screen mirroring copies your entire screen to the TV in real time. The phone has to stay awake and keep rendering, so battery drains fast, notifications pop up on the big screen, and video often looks softer than the source because the whole display is being re-encoded on the fly.
- Casting sends only the video stream to the TV. The TV plays it at its own native quality, your phone turns into a remote you can lock or use for other things, and nothing private from your screen ends up on display.
Mirroring is great for showing an app, a presentation, or photos. For watching a video from a website, casting wins on quality, battery, and privacy every time.
How to Screen Mirror an Android Phone to a TV
In short: same Wi-Fi, then Quick Settings → Smart View (Samsung) or Screen Cast (Pixel and near-stock Androids) → pick your TV. Which TVs you can reach depends on the phone — Samsung phones speak Miracast and Google Cast, Pixels are Google Cast only, and many other brands include a Miracast-style Wireless Display option.
Android has enough brand-specific detail — Smart View, Google Cast screen sharing, Miracast, and mirroring to Roku and Fire TV — that it has its own step-by-step guide: mirror your Android phone to a TV, every method. If the goal is just a web video, you can skip mirroring entirely: open the site in CastBrowser, start the video, and cast only the stream — see casting from Android to TV.
One app for Roku, Chromecast, Fire TV, Samsung and DLNA — cast web video with CastBrowser.
How to Screen Mirror an iPhone to a TV
- Connect your iPhone and TV to the same Wi-Fi network.
- Open Control Center and tap Screen Mirroring.
- Select an AirPlay-compatible TV or Apple TV from the list.
- Your iPhone screen appears on the TV. Open the video you want to watch.
iPhone mirroring only works with AirPlay-compatible TVs. To reach Roku, Chromecast, Fire TV, or DLNA TVs — and to send just the video instead of your whole screen — cast with CastBrowser instead. See casting from iPhone to TV.
When Mirroring Falls Short (and Casting Wins)
- Battery drain: mirroring keeps your screen and radio working hard the whole time. Casting lets you lock the phone while the video plays.
- Picture quality: a cast stream plays at the TV's native quality; a mirrored screen is re-encoded and usually softer.
- Privacy: mirroring puts your notifications and everything else on the TV. Casting shows only the video.
- Device support: mirroring needs matching tech on both ends (Miracast, AirPlay). CastBrowser reaches Chromecast, Roku, Fire TV, Samsung, LG, and DLNA from one app.
CastBrowser is intentionally a casting app, not a screen-mirroring app: it detects the video on a web page and sends just that stream to the TV. For a deeper comparison, see casting your phone to TV and casting a website to your TV.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is screen mirroring?
Screen mirroring sends an exact copy of your phone's display to a TV in real time — everything you see on the phone, including notifications and the user interface, appears on the screen. It uses technologies like Miracast or Smart View on Android and AirPlay screen mirroring on iPhone. Because the whole screen is streamed continuously, it drains battery and can look soft or laggy. Casting, by contrast, sends only the video stream and lets the TV play it at full quality.
How do I screen mirror my Android phone to a TV?
On most Android phones, open Quick Settings and tap Smart View, Cast, or Screen Mirroring, then pick a Miracast- or Chromecast-compatible TV. Samsung phones use Smart View. Both the phone and TV must support the same mirroring technology and be on the same network. If you only want to watch a web video, casting it with CastBrowser is usually smoother than mirroring the whole screen.
How do I screen mirror my iPhone to a TV?
Open Control Center, tap Screen Mirroring, and select an AirPlay-compatible TV or Apple TV. The TV must support AirPlay. This mirrors your entire iPhone screen. If your goal is a single web video, casting it with CastBrowser sends just the video and also works on Roku, Chromecast, Fire TV, Samsung, and DLNA TVs that may not support AirPlay.
What is the difference between screen mirroring and casting?
Screen mirroring copies your whole phone screen to the TV in real time, so the phone must stay awake and keep working, which drains battery and shows notifications on the TV. Casting sends only the video stream to the TV, which then plays it at its own quality while your phone becomes a remote you can lock or use for other things. For web video, casting is almost always the better experience.
Can I screen mirror to a Roku?
Roku supports Miracast screen mirroring from some Android and Windows devices, but not from iPhone, and mirroring web video this way is often laggy and low quality. Roku does not support Google Cast at all. For web video, casting the stream with CastBrowser over Roku's native protocol is more reliable than mirroring.
Does CastBrowser do screen mirroring?
No — CastBrowser is a casting app, not a screen-mirroring app, and that is deliberate. Instead of copying your whole screen, it detects the video on a web page and sends just that stream to the TV at full quality. The result is sharper video, much less battery drain, no on-screen notifications, and support for more TVs than mirroring reaches.
Cast Web Video — No Mirroring Needed
Download CastBrowser for free and send web videos to your TV at full quality from Android or iPhone — sharper than mirroring, with far less battery drain.