On our old television set, we don’t have anything plugged into USB ports on back – actually I don’t even know if it has any. But I just ordered a new 65" OLED television from Samsung, to be delivered in a bit over a week. It has two USB ports, one of them rated for more electrical power. Since I don’t know if I’ll be able to reach them once it’s on the wall, is there anything I should put in them while I have the chance?
What do you think of as indispensable, or at least a good idea, as a USB-connected television accessory?
A high-capacity thumb drive can hold any number of ripped DVDs, so you can build yourself a little movie library that acts like its own channel of the TV without needing to haul out the DVD player.
The purpose of bias lighting is to reduce the perceived brightness of the display as a result of the contrast with the slightly illuminated area around it.[1] This reduces the eye strain and fatigue that occurs when viewing a bright display against a very dark background for an extended time,[1] and increases the perceived blackness, perceived highlights and overall contrast of the display.[1][2]
We had a Fire Stick plugged into one for a while (it used USB for power and also plugged into one of the HDMI ports). In all honesty, I’m not sure if the Fire Stick is still back there or not. We never use it.
In a situation where it wasn’t practical to run an HDMI cable between the TV and a source, I used one of these wireless HDMI transmitters that needs USB power.
If you go to the audio/videophile websites, you’ll find people who insist that the bias lights must be exactly a certain color temperature, and that the wall behind the TV must be a pure white or the color balance of the image will be ruined. Our TV is on a wood-paneled wall. We did not paint it white.
Then there are the bias lights that monitor the image and change their color based on the colors in the scene. Anathema to the purists, I’m sure.
This is the one I bought for my 77" Sony. I’m quite pleased with it.
One caveat: IME the USB outlets on TVs are somewhat unpredictable. You’d expect them to power down when you turn off the TV, and they usually do. Usually. But with the Sony, they don’t power down immediately. It sometimes goes off in a minute or two, but sometimes takes several minutes. And sometimes it powers up again a little later for a minute and goes off again. Minor first-world inconvenience, but it could be an issue in a bedroom with a sensitive sleeper.
This is what I do. I can play discs with my game console, but if I’ve previously ripped it and don’t feel like pulling the disc out of storage, I can play it from this library.
But I don’t use a thumb drive, I use one of those wallet-size SSD drives. Which means the USB cable is permanently plugged in, hanging, and I can easily detach the drive and take it upstairs to the computer if I ever want to add to the library.
One note if doing something like this - I’ve seen some TVs that only power the USB ports if the TV is on. This means whatever is connected has to boot every time you turn the TV on. You may loose state, and it may take time.
Other TVs seem to do an always-on option of the USB ports, so it isn’t always an issue.
Some TVs put the USB ports and HDMI ports in such a place that they get blocked when using the VESA mounting holes. At work we have both Samsung and LG TVs mounted using the holes. The Samsung is a huge pain, because the ports are right in between the upper and lower mount points, so the mounting bar makes it difficult to plug anything in. The LG has the ports a few inches closer to the edge of the TV, and they are easy to access.