If you're like most people, you’re probably some distance, different city or country from some parts of your family, and relying on phone calls and video calls to stay in touch. But while Using WhatsApp or FaceTime from a phone or tablet is convenient, it’s not always ideal for larger gatherings—everyone’s squinting, audio is often difficult to make out, and you can’t see more than a few faces at once. Using your TV, the biggest screen in your house, seems like the logical next step. So what does it actually take to get there?

Facebook (now Meta) created the Facebook Portal device to help with this, but the Portal is now discontinued. What are some of the alternative to the Facebook Portal? What to do now that the Portal no longer works?

As things stand today, you three main routes:

1. Use the right set-to-box that has video call functions, combined with the right Webcam, to do calls right on your TV screen. (There’s 3 more popular options here, from Apple, Amazon and Google, we’ll talk through them)

2. Buy a TV with built-in support for video calling—plus a webcam. This isn’t very common, but Amazon’s Fire TV Omni lineup is one decent example (we’ll talk about this), and some other TVs support this, but it’s bit undocumented.

3. Get a specialized device, especially if you’re caring for elderly relatives who need an ultra-simple interface. We’ll talk about the top 3, Jubilee TV, ONSCREEN, and MECOOL.

Before we jump in, it’s worth noting you could also try connecting your laptop to the TV via HDMI cable and plugging in a webcam, but that’s clunky for everyday use, and doesn’t work that well for a bunch of reason: you need to manage cables, keep the laptop awake, and position a separate camera, controlling the laptop is difficult. It’s doable in a pinch, but the user experience is a headache.

So let’s explore the best currently available options, weigh their pros and cons, and see how they perform for family-to-family calls.

1. Streaming Boxes + Webcam

1.1 Apple TV 4K (With Continuity Camera)

What It Is
The Apple TV 4K is part of Apple’s broader “living room” strategy. It primarily focuses on apps like Apple TV+, Netflix, and Apple Arcade, but with iOS 16, Apple introduced Continuity Camera, letting you use your iPhone or iPad as a wireless camera for FaceTime or Zoom on your TV. Note the calling function is only available on the AppleTV 4K version.

How It Works

• Connect the Apple TV 4K via HDMI to your TV.

• Sign in with your Apple ID.

• Open FaceTime or Zoom on the Apple TV, which detects your iPhone/iPad camera on the same network.

Setup & Ease of Use

• If you’re deep in the Apple ecosystem, it’s quite straightforward. Just be sure your iPhone/iPad supports Continuity Camera.

• Using the Apple TV remote is simple, but less tech-savvy family members might still need a tutorial on choosing the camera source.

• You need to figure out a way to hold your Phone (that’s acting as the camera) in the right place. Some people use tripods.

Video/Audio Quality

• You get the benefit of high-quality video from an iPhone camera, which typically beats a standalone webcam. However, for a big living room, you’ll need to place the phone in a good spot—front and centre.

• Audio is channelled through your iPhone’s microphone, which isn’t always ideal if you have multiple people speaking from across the room. The TV’s speakers handle output fine, but capturing everyone’s voice can be a challenge.

Pros & Cons

• Pros: Easy to setup and use if you’re an Apple household, you already have some of the bits and pieces. Excellent camera quality. Works with FaceTime and Zoom.

• Cons: Locked into Apple’s ecosystem. Microphone pickup for a whole living room can be limited. Mounting the camera is challenging, and you have to give up your personal phone for a family activity.

  
  

1.2 Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen) with External Webcam

What It Is
As part of Amazon’s smart home ecosystem, the Fire TV Cube is a streaming device combining the features of a Fire TV Stick with Alexa-driven voice controls. The third generation allows you to plug in a USB webcam for video calls—thus bridging your TV and Amazon’s communication services (plus Zoom).

How It Works

• Connect the Fire TV Cube to your TV via HDMI and log into your Amazon account.

• Plug a compatible webcam into the device’s USB port (Amazon typically recommends brands like Logitech, though the camera selection isn’t ideal).

• You can make video calls using Alexa’s “Echo Calling” or the pre-installed Zoom app.

Setup & Ease of Use

• Physical setup is straightforward. However, configuring Alexa calling might require linking phone numbers or managing contact lists in the Alexa app, which can trip up some users.

• Zoom requires a separate account login, but the on-screen interface is familiar.

Video/Audio Quality

• Video clarity depends on the webcam quality. Some webcams have wide-angle lenses—helpful for capturing multiple family members, but there’s no automatic view adjustment capability, so things don’t always look great.

• Audio pickup typically uses the webcam’s built-in mic, which can be okay but not great for large living rooms. The TV’s speakers provide the output.

Pros & Cons

• Pros: Integrates neatly with Alexa. Zoom is built in. You can choose from several webcams.

• Cons: Ecosystem is Amazon-centric. Calling people isn’t seamless as you’re using platforms not intended for the TV. You’re relying on the webcam mic for audio, which may not be ideal for group calls. Difficult to get good video quality.

  
  

1.3 Google Chromecast with Google TV (or Google TV Streamers) + Webcam

What It Is
Part of Google’s hardware lineup, the Chromecast with Google TV is a small dongle that transforms any TV into a smart TV. While primarily for streaming YouTube, Netflix, and the like, you can connect a USB webcam to use Google Meet. Google TV Streamers works similarly.

How It Works

• Plug the Chromecast into your TV’s HDMI port.

• Attach a USB webcam using a USB-C hub or cable (compatibility can be finicky, so pick from Google’s recommended list if possible).

• Download or open Google Meet on the device and sign in with your Google account.

Setup & Ease of Use

• Requires an extra step of a USB hub (because the Chromecast itself has limited ports). Not as straightforward as Apple TV or Fire TV for webcam usage.

• Interface is standard Google TV, which is intuitive if you use Android or other Google services.

Video/Audio Quality

• Like the Fire TV approach, the webcam’s resolution dictates video clarity.

• Sound pickup relies on the webcam mic, which usually works fine for a smaller space but can struggle with bigger living rooms.

Pros & Cons

• Pros: Good for families who use Google Meet (common in educational or corporate settings). Familiar Android-like interface.

• Cons: Fewer “officially supported” webcams, making setup trickier. The calling platform being Google Meet isn’t ideal for most families. Same mic challenges as other webcam setups.

  
  

2. A TV with Built-In Calling Capabilities

Amazon Fire TV Omni (with External Webcam)

While a handful of TV manufacturers have dabbled in built-in calling features, the Amazon Fire TV Omni is one of the more prominent ready-made TVs that supports direct video calling. It essentially has Fire TV OS as its default interface.

How It Works

• Because it’s an actual TV running Amazon’s Fire OS, you don’t need a separate box—just a USB webcam.

• Sign in with your Amazon account, and you can launch Alexa Calling or Zoom for video chats, same as on a Fire TV Cube.

Setup & Ease of Use

• Even simpler than the Cube; the Fire TV interface is part of the TV itself.

• You still need to manage webcam placement. Check compatibility lists for recommended models.

Video/Audio Quality

• Similar to the Fire TV Cube scenario: dependent on the webcam for capturing video and audio.

• Audio output is through the TV’s speakers.

Pros & Cons

• Pros: Fewer devices to clutter your living room. Easy to navigate if you’re an Amazon user.

• Cons: Tied to Amazon’s ecosystem (Zoom/Echo calls only). The webcam mic’s range may be limited for large family gatherings. No advanced video processing to make sure everyone’s in shot.

  
  

3. Specialized Devices for Elderly Users

Sometimes, the main hurdle is to help grandparents or other less tech-savvy relatives join a call without confusion. A few companies target this demographic with set-top boxes that aim for a “push one button, see the family” approach. While they solve some usability problems, they often have their own limitations, but let’s look at the top 3 in this category.

3.1 Jubilee TV

• Designed specifically for seniors: large icons, minimal steps to answer calls.

• Family members typically install a companion app on their phones to call into the Jubilee box.

• Ideal if you have an older loved one who struggles with phone interfaces.

• Downside: Everyone must buy into Jubilee’s ecosystem; you won’t easily use Google Meet or Zoom from it.

3.2 ONSCREEN

• A camera-equipped device that hooks up to the TV with a simple remote.

• Allows direct Zoom integration or proprietary calls for easy usage.

• Has a subscription model for some advanced features.

• Main perk: straightforward interface that’s less daunting than a standard streaming box.

3.3 MECOOL

• An Android TV box with an integrated or optional camera, marketed for family calls.

• More flexible than Jubilee TV or ONSCREEN in terms of installing various apps.

• Quality varies across MECOOL’s product range; updates might not be as consistent as from major tech brands.

Key Considerations and Challenges:

Across almost all these solutions, a recurring challenge is audio:

• With general-purpose boxes (Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast) plus a webcam, you’re often relying on a tiny webcam mic to pick up voices in a larger living room. This can lead to echo, poor volume, or difficulty capturing multiple people talking from different seating positions.

• The same is true for TVs with built-in calling. Unless the TV has advanced microphone arrays (rarely seen outside of specialized video-conferencing equipment), you’ll likely face limitations.

Secondly, almost all solutions, only offer a basic video of family:

• The capability to automatically fit everyone in the shot doesn’t really exist across these devices.

• Specialist solutions can improve matters slightly by using wide-angle cameras with built in processing, but these are hard to find and expensive.

Not the ideal platform for the TV:

• Often these devices are repurposing calling platforms like Zoom, or Google Meet, which are good for work and business, or using from a laptop to be used from the TV, and the interface, and the way to setup and join calls is not intuitive for the family-to-family use case.

Final Thoughts & Introducing Higlo

After exploring all these options, one thing becomes clear: while you can put together a solution, none of these solutions is truly designed from the ground up for seamless living-room family video calls. The general-purpose streamers (Apple, Amazon, Google) each introduced video call functionality as an add-on, and it shows—there are hurdles and ecosystem limitations at every turn. The specialist devices address many of those usability issues, especially for elderly users, but they often miss the mark in other ways, as they’re really intended for use by elderly exclusively.

The result: many families still haven’t found that perfect, effortless “video phone for the TV” that they dream of. However, a new entrant promise to change that.

Higlo is an upcoming solution that promises to take lessons learned from all the above and deliver a better family video calling experience, building something from the ground up for communication between the whole family, multigeneration, easy to use, with audio and video quality designed in from the start.

You can sign up for the waiting list to get updates and be first in line when it officially launches. If you’re tired of settling for “good enough” solutions, Higlo might make your next family video call the easiest one yet.