After acquiring your new smart TV, you get home and mount the beast on the wall or place it on your entertainment center. The only thing you’re probably thinking about next is getting it turned on, calibrated, and loaded up with all your favorite streaming apps. It’s likely that you haven’t given a second thought as to what all of the inputs on the back of the screen are, aside from the HDMI inputs that you might use for gaming consoles, audio, streaming sticks, and other items. Strangely, many modern smart TVs are pretty good at hiding just how much they can actually do.
Smart TVs often come with a USB port that has a few obvious purposes. Flash drives are the most common use of these ports. Being able to open video, image, and audio files from a USB drive is almost a given. But flash drives are far from the only device that can be powered or utilized from a USB port. Countless devices, gadgets, extensions, accessories, and more are plugged into USB outlets every day as a source of power or to be accessed by a computer. But just because a certain item comes with a USB cable doesn’t necessarily mean you should go jamming it into everything with a USB port, like your TV. So, it’s important to understand to what extent your TV’s USB can be utilized.
You can use many devices that offer some utility
Some are more practical than others
Let’s get this disclaimer out of the way early. Not all smart TVs are equal. Some offer more capacity than others. So, don’t take the following information as a nice warm blanket that covers all smart TVs under the sun. With that said, flash drives may not be the only storage device you can plug into your TV. External hard drives, including SSDs that can store significantly more amounts of data/media, could feasibly be plugged into your smart TV. Now keep in mind that this might also depend on the specific storage drive and its power requirements. Some Smart TVs might even house a USB 3.0 port capable of handling larger 4K files. There are also some TV models that support PVR (Personal Video Recorder) through the USB port, allowing users to record output onto storage devices. Of course, there are restrictions depending on the output. Many streaming apps immediately shut down this capability. But this can be an avenue to capture live TV moments.
Believe it or not, some smart TVs can recognize input devices such as a keyboard and mouse. If you prefer using these options on a web browser or for typing passwords, this could be a handy tool. USB connected game controllers might also be an option. Though these are often more commonly synced with Bluetooth capabilities. If you wanted greater clarity and accuracy with voice commands, many TVs do support the use of USB microphones. Other accessories, including LED lighting, can utilize that USB port on the back of your TV. If you want to give your display colorful backlighting, this is a perfect use of the USB port. Any other low-powered options can typically use the USB port on the back of your TV. At my old office, we had USB Christmas lights that we’d decorate the TVs with. It can be a fun, quirky way to add some style.
Items that simply won’t work
Your TV isn’t a PC; remember that
Just because your TV has USB ports doesn’t make it a PC. There are many items and peripherals that desktop computers can utilize that a TV can’t. More sophisticated machines like printers, scanners, webcams, or WiFi adapters can’t be expected to function with your TV. Just think: if it’s a device that requires drivers or any kind of software setup or PC interaction, it’s a no-go. Backlights are a plug-and-go situation. Same with reading a USB drive. There’s nothing complicated or messy about these devices.
When in doubt, refer to your TV’s manual. It’s bound to have information on what sort of USB capabilities your specific TV can handle. If you no longer have the manual, most of this information is available from official/manufacturer sources online if you simply search for your TV’s model. If you’re ever in a pinch and the only USB charging port around is from a Smart TV, you may be able to charge your phone or other device, albeit very slowly. But I wouldn’t recommend it.
