USB ports are a largely overlooked part of the TV, and are used for more than just connecting a hard drive.
It will come as no surprise to anyone that I have used the Smart TV’s USB ports mostly to connect a USB stick or hard drive to play music, TV series and movies, and I have been happy with that alone. I was wrong: USB ports are much more suitable, especially if you know what they are.
Because you can do a lot of things with the USB sockets on your Android TV, but when it comes down to it, theory is one thing and reality is another. It’s one thing to know, it’s another to put it into practice. Well, there are simple and practical ways to use USB ports that have saved my life in some cases (figuratively speaking).
In a room with few sockets, it is a lifesaver.
How many times have I been in a hotel room with only one or two plugs and they are in awkward places. The same is true in older housing. Here, the USB port on the TV on duty allowed me to charge my mobile phone and use the other one for other purposes. It charges slowly, but that’s no big deal.
Install apps that aren’t in the Google Play Store
One of the best things about Android TV is the large number of TV-compatible apps, but sometimes the app I want to install isn’t in the Google Play Store, and that’s not a problem: just like on Android mobiles, you can download APK files on the TV.
You can do this on my Smart TV using a web browser app and a file explorer, but I find it much quicker to download the app to my computer, load it onto a USB stick and transfer it to the TV.
Recording content
In the days of social networks and apps, it’s easy to find videos of what we’re interested in or shows we want to watch on a delayed schedule, but if we’re talking about DTT or directly on the screen (there are apps on Android TV that allow you to do this), there’s a quicker and easier way to do it: record it to a USB stick. However, not just any USB stick will do: it must have sufficient capacity, a compatible file system and be USB 3.0 or higher to ensure speed.
To update the software in the event of any problem or without internet
If you have an Android TV like mine, basic and entry-level, or just a veteran, you already know that the experience of using the interface can be hopeless. So my solution is to keep it to a minimum and keep using other devices as much as possible. This is a case of drivers, software, or, in short, a software upgrade. If you don’t have internet or it’s coming up badly, more of the same: download the file from your computer and put it on the USN memory stick, then transfer it to the TV and install it.
Everything is better with a keyboard and mouse
It is common practice to connect a memory stick, but it is not the only computer peripheral or accessory that can be connected, and some of them are very useful. For example, I have an old wireless keyboard that works with an adapter and I give it a second life on the TV. I don’t do much typing on the smart TV, but when I’m browsing or entering passwords, typing letter by letter is an ordeal, so the keyboard comes in very handy. The same can be done with a mouse.
