Get it on your TV

Every night has two sides:

• The TV link is for the big screen. Find it on your host dashboard under Big screen: press Open TV, or Copy TV link to open it on another device.
• Guests’ phones are separate. Guests scan the QR code on the TV, or go to evi.pavilionlabs.io/join and type the code. They never need the TV link.

You can host from the same laptop that’s showing the TV: keep the dashboard in another window, or run the night from your phone. Keep the TV link to yourself, as anyone who has it can show your screen. If it gets out, make a new one from the same place.

• Laptop and HDMI cable

  Most reliable

  Plug a laptop into the TV with an HDMI cable (many newer laptops need a USB-C to HDMI adapter). Open the TV link and go full screen: F11 on Windows, Ctrl+Cmd+F on a Mac.

  Sound comes down the cable. If it still plays from the laptop, pick the TV as the sound output.

• Smart TV browser

  Open the TV’s own web browser and go to the TV link. Typing a long link with a remote takes a while, so do it before guests arrive.

  Older TVs can be slow with the animations. If it stutters, use a laptop instead.

• Chromecast or Google TV

  Open the TV link in Chrome on a laptop. Open Chrome’s menu, choose Cast, pick your TV and cast the tab. Sound goes to the TV as well.

  The laptop has to stay on and awake for the whole night.

• AirPlay to Apple TV

  On a Mac, open the TV link, then choose Screen Mirroring in Control Centre and pick your Apple TV or AirPlay-compatible TV. On an iPhone or iPad, open the TV link in Safari and use Screen Mirroring the same way.

  If you mirror your phone, host from a different device. Anything else you open on that phone shows up on the TV too.

• TV stick

  On a Fire TV stick, install the Amazon Silk browser from the app store and open the TV link in it. Other sticks with a web browser work the same way.

• Projector

  Treat it like a TV and connect a laptop with HDMI. Projector speakers are often quiet, so plug in a speaker if you have one, and dim the lights so the colours show up.

• Game sounds, and the words in Spelling Bee, play from whatever is showing the TV link. Check the volume before guests arrive.
• Browsers keep a page quiet until someone taps it. If the TV shows Tap to enable sound, tap or click it once.
• Casting and AirPlay send the sound to the TV. With a cable, make sure the laptop’s sound output is set to the TV.

Guests don’t have to be in the same room. The host shows the TV on a video call and everyone plays on their own phone.

1. On a laptop, open the TV link in its own browser tab.
2. Start your call and share that tab with its sound:
   • Zoom: Share screen, pick the browser window and tick Share sound.
   • Google Meet: Present now, choose A tab, pick the TV tab and leave tab audio switched on.
   • Teams: Share, pick the browser window and switch on Include sound.
3. Everyone goes to evi.pavilionlabs.io/join on their phone and types the code they see on the shared screen.
4. Run the night from your dashboard in another window, or from your phone.

Guests can’t join

Check they’re typing the code that’s on the TV right now. If you have more than one night set up, make sure the TV is showing the night you’re running.

The TV is stuck on “Reconnecting”

Refresh the page. The night is saved on our server, so the TV picks up where you left off and nobody loses their points.

The screen keeps going to sleep

Keep the laptop plugged in and turn off sleep while it’s charging. On a smart TV, switch off the screensaver or any eco timer.

The Wi-Fi is slow or busy

Guests can turn off Wi-Fi and play on mobile data. The game sends very little, so a steady connection matters more than a fast one.

The TV says the link is no longer valid

Someone made a new TV link. Copy the fresh one from your host dashboard and open it again.

Still stuck? Email us from the Contact link below and tell us which TV or device you’re using.