How to display a PowerPoint presentation on a TV screen
Last updated August 28, 2026
You can put a PowerPoint presentation on a TV by casting from a laptop, exporting it to a USB stick, opening it in the TV's browser, or connecting it through digital signage software. Only the last one runs unattended: the deck loops and advances on its own, edits you make in PowerPoint show up on the screen automatically, and on a dedicated player like Amazon's Signage Stick, the screen recovers by itself after an outage.
With Screenbird, for example, you connect your Microsoft account or paste a public OneDrive or SharePoint link, pick the presentation, and set how fast it advances. Once your screen is paired, the whole setup takes about two minutes.
The end result, live on your TV.
What you need
- A TV or monitor with an HDMI input
- A media player: Amazon's Signage Stick and the Fire TV Stick 4K are the simplest plug-and-play options; smart TVs and Windows, Mac, or Linux devices work just as well
- A Screenbird account (free trial, then $18 per screen per month)
- The PowerPoint file you want to show, saved in OneDrive or SharePoint under your Microsoft account, or shared as a public link
Can't I just cast it or use a USB stick?
You can get a presentation onto a TV in a few quicker ways, but they all break down for a screen that has to run unattended:
Casting from a laptop or phone works for a quick meeting, but the source device has to stay on and connected. Close the laptop, and the screen goes dark.
A USB stick in the TV means exporting the deck to images or video first, because TV media players do not open .pptx files. Every edit means exporting again and walking to the screen with a new stick.
The TV's own browser needs no extra hardware, but TV browsers do not advance slides on their own, fall asleep, and cannot be managed remotely.
Digital signage software exists for exactly this job: it connects the deck once, keeps it cycling on its own, picks up your edits from OneDrive or SharePoint, lets you manage the screen from anywhere, and on a dedicated player like Amazon's Signage Stick, recovers on its own after a reboot or an outage. That is the route in the steps below.
Step-by-step with Screenbird
For the full click-by-click walkthrough, see the Screenbird Knowledge Base.
Create your free account
Sign up for Screenbird in your browser. No installs needed on your computer, and the trial starts right away.
Pair your screen
Install the Screenbird player on your TV or stick. It shows a 6-character pairing code. Enter that code in your dashboard to connect the screen.
Add the PowerPoint app
In My files, click New and choose New app. Then pick PowerPoint from the app browser.
Connect your account and pick the presentation
Sign in with Microsoft, or paste a public OneDrive or SharePoint link. Then choose the presentation you want to show.
Check the live preview and set the pace
The setup form shows a live preview of exactly what will appear on screen. Set how many seconds each slide stays up (1 to 60), pick a transition, and set how often Screenbird checks for a new version of the file. Then save.
Send it to your screen
Click push, choose the screen, and the presentation appears within seconds. It keeps cycling through the deck on its own from here.
The result
Your presentation is now a live screen. Anyone who edits the deck in PowerPoint updates what is on screen at the next refresh, without anyone touching the screen itself.
Team & company updates
Weekly wins, KPIs, and announcements, cycling on the office screen or in the break room.
Menu & specials board
Update the specials deck in PowerPoint, and the menu screen updates on its own.
Reception & welcome screens
A welcome deck for visitors or new hires playing in reception, straight from the file your team already maintains.