5 surprising issues I found my good TV can do

Regardless of proudly owning a comparatively massive 55-inch

Sony 4K smart TV
, I am hardly a frequent shopper of films and reveals. The one streaming service I exploit every day is

YouTube
(primarily through my smartphone), and I most likely watch a mean of 10 full-length movies in whole per yr.

That being stated, my residing room-situated flat display does not sit idly. I repeatedly make the most of its high-resolution show and its

high dynamic range
(HDR) visible acuity in a variety of non-motion-picture-related methods. Listed here are the highest 5 issues I personally use my good TV for each day.

1

Charging up my tech peripherals

Sarcastically, one of the frequent issues I exploit my good TV for does not contain its show within the slightest. My flat panel

has three built-in USB-A ports
, that are able to delivering energy to externally linked gadgets. I hate the muddle of getting cables sprawled round my work desk, and so I decide to plug a lot of my peripherals into my TV to prime up on juice, as an alternative.

Mostly, I plug my sport controllers and my

Apple TV
distant into my TV, however the ubiquity of USB-C ports on my devices makes it straightforward to recharge something from my mouse and keyboard, to my wi-fi earbuds, and all the things in between.

2

Setting the temper for my residing setting

Serenity is a screensaver or soundscape away

I am an enormous fan of screensavers — a lot so, in actual fact, that

I wrote an entire editorial
concerning the sorry state of screensaver assist on Home windows 11. Fortunately, most good TV working programs (in addition to exterior set-top packing containers) supply a variety of photographs, patterns, backdrops, and landscapes to cycle by means of throughout system downtime.

Seeing how I hardly use my TV to, effectively, watch TV, you possibly can think about how continuously my flat panel switches into screensaver mode. I really like configuring

scenic nature shots and architectural landscapes
to slowly pan on display, as I discover them so as to add ambiance to my front room aesthetic. I will usually throw on some soothing music through the TV Spotify app, too, which solely provides to the calm and comfortable vibes.

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3

Casting my PC display

Presentation mode turns out to be useful when least anticipated

Underneath the correct circumstances, being able to solid my PC’s display straight onto my TV panel has confirmed immensely helpful. In school, I might apply displays on this means, casting my slideshows onto the large display throughout rehearsals. Extra not too long ago, I have been casting outdated images and residential films onto my TV, that are linked domestically to my PC through an

external hard drive
.

It’d definitely be potential to attach a tough drive or strong state drive on to my TV, however I discover my mannequin’s built-in

Android TV
working system to be considerably gradual and clunky to maneuver round. As an answer, casting my Mac show and working inside a well-recognized desktop UI paradigm has helped streamline my entry to recordsdata and different content material.

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4

Controlling my good house home equipment

TVs make for glorious widescreen good house hubs

I have been reluctant to leap head-first into the world of good house applied sciences, however I’ve gone forward and dabbled within the Apple HomeKit and

Philips Hue
ecosystems over the previous couple of years. Whereas it is easy sufficient to manage good house merchandise utilizing a smartphone or a devoted good show, I usually depend on my TV display for things like adjusting LED colours, tweaking the room temperature, and turning on my

doorbell camera
stay feed as wanted.

Is that this probably the most pragmatic strategy to constructing a centralized good house hub? For most individuals, the reply might be no. For somebody like me who hardly makes use of my TV for multimedia consumption, having it function a hilariously big good show (full with a far superior sound bar audio setup) has been a enjoyable and surprisingly efficient strategy to good house system administration.

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5

Displaying images

There is not any want to purchase a devoted digital photograph body

Along with displaying aesthetically pleasing screensavers on the common, I usually make the most of my good TV as a devoted digital photograph body. My Apple TV robotically synchronizes with my

Apple Photos
library, and presents reminiscences and snapshots on display in a superbly curated slideshow.

Normally, I’ve a behavior of snapping a ton of photographs, after which neglecting to return and recognize them sooner or later. By having a direct photograph feed displayed on the largest display in my house, I be sure that no photograph of a enjoyable social outing falls by the wayside or goes underappreciated in the long term.

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