What do you need to play movies and videos with a projector?

Some projectors have their own smart functions, which allows you to stream movies, series, and videos without the help of extra devices. Sometimes, your projector even has direct access to apps like YouTube. All you need is an internet connection. Most smart projectors have to be connected to the internet via WiFi, and some projectors via an Ethernet cable. Smart projectors have varying smart platforms, each with their own apps and functions. So when you choose a smart projector, carefully check which functions the smart projector has.

If you connect a media player to the projector, you can quickly and easily stream movies, series, and videos from your favorite apps. You connect media players like a Chromecast or Apple TV via an HDMI cable. That does mean that your projector needs to have an HDMI input. With these compact devices, you get direct access to apps like Netflix and YouTube. Most media players also need to be supplied with power. So some media players also have to be connected to a USB input that supplies power.

If you want to watch your own videos and photos on a projector, a USB flash drive or hard drive is the solution. You can use the remote of the projector to navigate the menu and to determine what you watch. If you want to play content from a USB device, it's important for the projector to have a built-in media player. Keep in mind that if a projector has a USB input, that it doesn't necessarily mean it has a media player.

A different way to play something on your projector, is to connect your laptop or PC to it. This way, you can watch your own movies or stream from you internet browser. With the mouse and keyboard, you can control all the functions. With most new devices, you can connect via an HDMI connector. Do you have an older laptop or PC? Connect it to the projector with a VGA cable.

You can easily connect a Blu-ray player to your projector as well. To reach the best image quality with your Blu-rays, you need a projector with at least a Full HD resolution. If you have an Ultra HD Blu-ray player, you need a projector with a 4K resolution. You can easily connect a Blu-ray player to a projector via an HDMI input.

If you play movies or series on your projector, it's important to have great sound as well. Most projectors have no speakers, or mediocre ones. That's why you usually need extra speakers to play sound. How you can connect these speakers depends on the connectors of your projector and speakers. Some projectors have built-in Bluetooth. If your speakers also have Bluetooth, you can easily connect them to your projector wirelessly.