5 tips to take advantage of it and make the most of it

In recent years, we have seen a transition from dumb to smart devices in the consumer electronics industry. This has happened with smartphones, watches but also with televisions. These devices They are no longer the main screen on which we consume contentbut they continue to be a key part of the audiovisual experience in homes.

No more crazy audience figures for public or private channels, and currently the use of televisions is also shared with video streaming applications, game consoles, etc. Furthermore, Mobile phones are positioned as the main screen of daily life many users, who use them even when watching TV, movie, etc.

Although their use is much more versatile, There is one element that we generally don’t take much advantage of. We are talking about USB ports which the vast majority of models usually have. Moreover, there are usually several. Although not as important as other ports, such as HDMI used for consoles or external streaming devices, USB ports can be very useful.

Use it as a charger

One of the most common uses for this port is to charge an external device. This is evident when setting up a Chromecast, which sometimes comes with the USB-A port so you can use that TV port as a charger. But even if we don’t use an external device, it can be used like this. Using a USB-A to USB-C charging cable We can always have a USB-C port next to the TV to charge any device, from cell phone to tablet, and even headphones

. This is convenient at meal times, or when watching a movie, when the cell phone is not in use.

Another option is to place a wireless charger next to the TV. connected to this port. If our cell phone has this charging system, it is very simple to leave the charger next to the TV as an additional item and support the cell phone when it is not in use. Plus, grabbing it and putting it on is much more comfortable than with cable and leaves no visible loose cables.

The only drawback of this use is that, logically, the loading speed will not be the fastest. USB ports on TVs don’t always deliver power, that’s something to take into account, but even when they do, it’s not at high speed. However, it is not about charging the phone quickly, but doing it while we are watching TV, for example, without rushing.

Offline content

Even though it is now much more common to consume content on the Internet, it is still possible enjoy videos on device offline to see them on the big screen. They don’t have to be movies or series, but they can be videos recorded by ourselves.

It is very common to make more and more videos and photos of everyday events or moments, but then we don’t see them. In this way we will have an excuse to enjoy, also in a grandiose way, moments that remain from the past. For that you only need a storage system, it doesn’t matter if it’s a USB stick or a portable hard drive. This also requires us to have a backup copy of our files outside of the cloud, which is a good idea in case of problems with our online account.

Save content

Many televisions have the ability to use the storage system installed on the television to record what is broadcast on the various channels available. This way we have a recording system without having to purchase other devices.

This, yes, It depends on the TV model, not just whether it has a USB port or not.

, although it is normal that most televisions have this option. If so, a record button should appear on the remote, usually in the form of a red dot. In this case, it is good that the storage disk is of large capacity, since saving the content usually takes up a lot of space.

Connect accessories

Finally, it is possible to use this port to connect some accessories by cable, sometimes wirelessly, which is usually also possible with Bluetooth connectivity. In this case perhaps a webcam oh one keyboard be useful for certain uses, which do not necessarily have to be daily.

Perhaps to resolve a TV configuration problem it would be interesting to have this option, or to connect a mouse or a wired keyboard if the remote control was lost and can configure another one. Of course, this depends on each television model since some are not compatible with this use, even if most current ones are.

System updates

In the event that a TV can be updated using a new firmware version, this will likely be done via Wifi. But if due to a fault it does not work, or if we have connection problems, Sometimes it is possible to download the update from elsewhere and put it on the device using a USB stick.

As you can see, TVs have a lot more usage potential than we usually give them, and this is partly due to the USB ports. They may not be used for all of these functions, but it is very likely that some of them will be useful in every home.