Why Does my TV Have a USB Port?

If you own a relatively current flat screen and have ever plugged things into the back of it you've probably noticed a USB port amongst the other plethora of plug-ins. Now why the heck does your TV have a USB port? Well, we accidentally found out and it's blown our mind thinking about the possibilities.

While sleuthing around online for a solution for our Samsung LCD's muddled visuals (more on that in another post) we discovered that our TV had, not one, but two firmware updates since it was released. What? Our TV has firmware?

We know, we know. "You write about gadgets and you didn't know your TV has firmware?" Let us clarify. We know TVs have firmware, but it never occurred to us to check if our TV needed updating. Not wanting to be too behind the times (the update was from February 2008 after all) we got to work.

This specific update was said to correct, "Intermittent red blur when watching moving picture." The procedure was pretty simple: download zipped file, unzip it using Windows, drop the expanded folder on a USB memory stick, plug the memory stick into the port on the side or back of your flat screen and follow the onscreen instructions. Your TV restarts and you can only hope the mysterious red ghost has been exorcised.

While our first foray into the world of televised firmwares was relatively uneventful -- update 1006.1 has yet to change our viewing experience -- it did make us hopeful of what firmware in televisions, and making it easily updatable, could mean. As we all move towards using TVs with both traditional programming, as well as the web and video games, our TVs have a chance of advancing along with the software it currently displays.'

Whether or not manufacturers use firmware as an opportunity to improve their customer's long term experience with their products is up in the air, but we hope they consider it.

Comments (15)

Wow you have no idea.

Put a movie file on a thumb drive and plug it in. You can watch the movie. You can connect a large hard drive and load up a video library. Also play music and look at pictures.

Once in awhile you should read the manual : )

I think I have that same TV. And I see that I have an upgrade with the same issue fix. Had you noticed that problem? I hadn't but may install anyway.

Also, I had never used the USB port for movies, but I will now -- thank you for this post!

@funstraw: I knew about the movie and video options, but it seemed a bit gimmicky to me since I have a stereo to play music off of and my Mac Mini holds all the video content I would want to watch. It's the firmware options that seem unique and more useful for my particular Mac Mini to LCD setup.

@strudelganger: I never noticed an issue with the red blur, but I downloaded the fix just so I never had to. What I wish they did was release calibration profiles you can download and then upload via USB. That would make setting up your flat screen so much easier for those of us that don't know a ton about optimum brightness, contrast, etc.

Do NOT mess with your TV's firmware if your not already having problems. If you update incorrectly, you may ruin your television's motherboard; without an extended warranty this would be a costly mistake. If you decide to update regardless:

- Never try to update firmware directly from your computer. Always use a USB drive.
- You could risk erasing the firmware if you turn the TV off anytime during the update. Make sure the TV stays on.
- Always remove the USB drive after an update. Again, you may erase the current firmware if you leave the USB drive in and accidentally turn off the set.
- The only way to fix a TV without firmware is to completely replace the board. Be very cautious.

Still... If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

@varun I saw that! I sent it to my Linux and Python loving husband in the hopes he'd want to fool around, but he was worried about messing with firmware for products that can't be reset to default firmware settings. Would hate to start hacking the firmware and suddenly have our $1K TV go black and never come back. Have you had experience with this? Any tips?

I'm going to do the mac mini thing soon also, DO you have pictures or anything?

Not all tv usb ports allow for video/audio access. Some are just there for diagnostics and firmware updates. Your tv should clearly have told you if it can play files off a usb drive on the box or manual. Its not something the manufacturer wants to hide.

@funstraw I'll post a little tutorial about how we set up our media center soon. It's one of the best decisions we made.

We use USB Wireless Adapter that plugs in to stream movies (Blockbuster) as well as connect to other "Live" services.

We also plug our IPod into the television to play music as referenced previously.

Mine has an ethernet port, and a couple of USB ports. I could do youtube if I plugged in the cable, but I didn't like the interface. and I already have 1 ethernet cable running to the blu-ray. The USB port is handy for watching dowloaded things.

I was sad that I couldn't plug my iphone or an ipod in and have it play music through the tv speakers.

My new TV has a USB port, but can't play video files. It can do photo slideshows and update firmware. Luckily, my PS3 handles all my video file/Netflix streaming/Blu Ray goodness.

"""""We know, we know. "You write about gadgets and you didn't know xxxxxxxx""""""

At least you guys are starting to admit this :)

"""As we all move towards using TVs with both traditional programming, as well as the web and video games, our TVs have a chance of advancing along with the software it currently displays.""""

I started using my tv for more than traditional programming in 1977. It was called the Atari 2600.

As far as the web on your TV, I thought webtv and msntv type things died 10 years ago or live in hotel rooms.

The opposite of your statement could be true. People are using there computers/laptops more for these things including tv programming.

Have you updated that firmware yet?