What do all of the ports in a TV do?
Have you ever wondered what those red, blue, black wires at the back of your television do? And what are those holes (called ports) there for? If you have, we've got all the answers for you today. Even if you haven't, no harm in reading on! If one of those nasty wires comes off just five minutes before your favourite show, you'll thank us.
What will this be about?
The focus of this article will be the different ports used in television these days. Over the years, many ports have been replaced by better ones, to offer a better experience in terms of sound and picture quality. So, let's get right into it!
HDMI
You've probably heard of this one, haven't you? HDMI stands for 'High Definition Multimedia Interface'. This port allows the transfer of both sound (Audio) and pictures (Video) to the TV with the help of a cable. If you connect a device capable of receiving such Audio or Video signals (like your set-top box, Apple TV or Chromecast TV), the Audio/Video data can be played on TV with the help of a HDMI cable.
In the latest TV models, we also have a specialized HDMI port for gaming purposes. You can connect your Play Station, or even the laptop to it. Most of the present-day televisions have three to four HDMI ports.
HDMI-ARC
HDMI-ARC stands for 'High-Definition Multimedia Interface-Audio Return Channel'. Sounds scary, doesn't it? Well, ‘Audio Return’ here simply means that this port allows your television to play its sound using another device (like speakers).
You only have to connect your Speaker or Home Theatre systems to this port. And that's it. Nowadays, we have HDMI-eARC (e means enhanced) which can be thought of as a slightly upgraded version, that can give you the best sound quality.
Composite Audio/Video Ports
These are the Red, White and Yellow colored circular ports, which typically look like headphone jack (those ports your mobile phone’s used to have where you insert the headphone leads). The yellow one is for video and the ones in red and white are for audio signals. These are used to connect those devices (outmoded now) which lack HDMI ports, through a cable known as an RCA cable. A good example of those devices is an older DVD player.
Component Audio/Video Ports
These are the ones in Red, Blue and Green colors. They are generally found right below the Composite Audio/Video Ports. These offer better quality of picture and sound compared to the Composite Ports, but nothing beats HDMI.
Digital Optical Audio
These are used to connect your TV and an audio device using optical cables. It is a cable which uses light to send signals – fiber optic- and, unlike the HDMI cable which uses copper wires. However, the HDMI-arc option is better in terms of quality.
Other Ports
AUX Port
The AUX Port, also known as the auxiliary port, lets you connect the sound bar to your television, by using AUX cables. AUX cables are double-ended cables that let you connect a device to a speaker. We can also connect our mobile phones to the speakers using AUX cables – the headphone jack.
USB
USB ports connect pen drives, keyboard, mouse or hard disks to the TV. They can also be used to load media, such as photos or videos from a trip away, or an audio file.
Ethernet port
It is the wire method to get a stable internet connection. Usually, however, you’ll use your wireless connection to get internet.
Conclusion
These are the ports that one can see in the television models available at present. There were a few more ports in the past which are not in much use anymore. We at Greyology hope that you enjoyed learning about all these ports behind your TV, that always intrigued you. For any other technological support you might need, visit us at Greyology. And we will be more than happy to help!
