The Good ol’ USB port on your TV. The unsung hero of your entertainment setup! Wouldn’t you like to know why you need one there?
You may have noticed that USB port in your TV, but then again, when was the last time you check behind there? Probably never. What you don’t know is that this tiny, minuscule piece of equipment is something like a Swiss Army knife for your entertainment setup.
If you realize their value, be sure to take advantage of them, as they are a hidden treasure that is waiting to be discovered. If you unlock their potential, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without them.
– If you have a smart TV with built-in applications, you can connect USB port devices such as the keyboard and mouse.
– One of the most important advantages of modern TVs is that they involve more and more applications such as Google, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and the list goes on.
– Just connect a keyboard and mouse to the TV, and you’ll see how smooth and fast it would be to navigate between apps as if you were using a computer.
– If your TV support keyboards, then typing has now become a lot easier for you.
– Similarly, when you connect a mouse, it will allow you to scroll the web more easily and quickly.
– In the same way, you can also connect a webcam via a USB port to your Smart TV, and it will make video calls with relatives and friends much easier and simpler.
– When you know that your TV has built-in firmware (firmware that runs your device), you will understand the importance of a USB port behind there.
– Through the firmware update, you can expand the capabilities of your entertainment setup and give your TV the gift of new life.
– So, to be able to update your TV software, you can do it via the internet by downloading the target firmware version and then installing it.
– The second method (if you don’t have Wi-Fi hardware) is to take advantage of the USB port by connecting a flash drive from which you transfer the new software version to your TV, and then you choose the software update on the window that appears, and your TV will be updated shortly after that.
– This is a very useful technique (without an internet connection) to update like the professionals.
– Once your TV is connected to the power supply, you can take advantage of it to charge your devices (smartphone, PlayStation controller, tablet, …).
– You just have to plug the wire of the charger into the USB port of the TV after connecting it to the device in question to charge it.
– In this way, you can also connect a device or any item that needs to be connected to a power source, for example, LED ribbons.
– This technique is a practical solution for PlayStation or Xbox players who suffer from the problem of controllers that discharge quickly, allowing them to play and charge them at the same time.
– Please note that depending on the manufacturer and model, the TV can provide up to 5V and 500mA of power to small devices.
– Connecting a multimedia device (hard drives, for instance) to play its content, may seem to be the most familiar purpose to why the USB ports ever existed in the first place.
– For example, if you have movies stored on a hard drive or USB stick, plug them into a USB port behind the screen.
– In the same way, you can read books and listen to audio files (songs, recordings, …).
– To look at your photos, you just have to connect your USB reader and launch the slideshow of the photos (it is also possible with the Chromecast if you have it).