What Is the USB Port in My Digital Cable Box For?
The USB port in a cable box can have several uses. It can be used for connecting streaming sticks, such as a Roku or Chromecast, to your TV. These devices allow streaming of on-demand media from providers like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and Amazon. Many people use these devices in addition to paid cable to gain access to movies, music and television programming that would be otherwise unavailable to them.
For consumers who do not have smart TVs with a USB port, the cable box port can also be used to connect external hard drives or laptops to view pictures, videos and other files on a television. For the tech savvy person, cable box USB ports can be used for recording to or from separate devices, or extending recording time on a cable box or DVR system. Lastly, the USB port on cable boxes is commonly used for charging devices such as a cell phones or mp3 players. As technology continues to change and advance, especially where gaming and media consumption is concerned, cable box USB ports seem to be getting closer to being obsolete. In the mean time, there are still a lot of uses for the USB connector port.
