The explosion of USB devices has not been limited to the personal computer or the smartphone. These days, even televisions are being designed and sold with USB capabilities. As this technology becomes more and more common, there will be more and more devices designed to take advantage of it. In fact, there are quite a few ways to do so already. Your television’s USB capability has made it possible to connect it in numerous different ways as well as to use it in ways you never thought possible.
USB Connects You to an Updated Television
One of the most important uses for your television’s USB port is to provide you with a way to update the machine’s firmware. These days, televisions that develop known issues can be easily updated with a downloadable patch. Simply download the patch and put it on a flash drive. When you plug it into your television, it will automatically be updated. Be careful not to update your machine unless instructed to by the manufacturer though. Unlike computers, televisions don’t have factory default settings and if something goes wrong, you may not be able to fix it.
USB Connects You Aurally and Visually
Some more entertaining ways to use your television’s USB capabilities are to take advantage of its unique features in to enjoy media in new ways. If, for example, you happen to have a movie on a flash drive, you can plug it into your television and enjoy it on a larger screen with better sound than what your computer offers by itself. You can also plug in your favorite music and take advantage of the television’s superior sound system. This is a great way to listen to your music without a dedicated stereo system and still reap the benefit of high quality sound technology.
USB Connects You to Programming Control
Of course, the most common way to use your television’s USB capability is with a tivo or other video capture device. This allows you to take control of your television viewing time rather than being at the mercy of having five hundred channels and nothing at all to watch.