What Connections Does a TV Have?

Modern Connections

On a modern smart TV, a few versatile connections handle almost everything. These ports operate digitally, transmit high-quality picture and sound, and are usually small but clearly labeled, allowing external devices and speakers to be connected quickly. The trend towards fewer and fewer ports is noticeable. Nowadays, a single HDMI connection can play both picture and sound. In addition, much is now wireless. What constitutes standard equipment today can be narrowed down to a handful of connections.

HDMI

HDMI is the most important connection. Picture and sound travel together over a single cable, digitally, which is why almost all modern devices connect to the TV this way, from game consoles to receivers, Blu-ray players, and streaming sticks. Most TVs have several of these ports, so you don’t have to constantly switch cables. For most devices, a regular HDMI cable is sufficient; a special one is only needed for very high resolutions. Some HDMI ports also send audio out again, for example, to a soundbar. The abbreviations for this are ARC and eARC. There are also several versions of HDMI, which are primarily noticeable with high resolution and gaming.

Optical Output (Toslink)

The optical output, usually called Toslink, sends audio via fiber optic cable to a soundbar, stereo system, or home theater. The optical output transmits audio not electrically, but via light in a thin fiber optic cable. This makes the connection insensitive to electrical interference, but the cable should not be sharply bent. It can transmit multi-channel audio up to 5.1; however, the bandwidth is no longer sufficient for newer uncompressed audio formats, for which HDMI with eARC is intended.

Headphone Jack (3.5mm)

Wired headphones connect to the analog 3.5mm jack. This is the same port as on headphones for a cell phone. It’s beneficial if its volume can be controlled separately from the TV speakers. However, the jack is increasingly absent on new devices. Those who still prefer wired connections can use a small converter on the optical output, which converts the digital signal back to analog.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is the wireless alternative to the jack. Bluetooth connects headphones or speakers wirelessly to the TV. This is especially practical if the device no longer has a headphone jack, which is often the case with new models. A disadvantage can be an audible delay between picture and sound; how pronounced it is depends on the TV, headphones, and the Bluetooth codec used.

USB

USB ports on a TV function similarly to those on a computer. USB sticks and external hard drives can be connected, occasionally even a keyboard or a gamepad. Older ports use the USB 2.0 standard, newer ones use the approximately ten times faster USB 3.0, recognizable by the blue interior of the port. Many TVs can also record live broadcasts via USB, provided the hard drive is connected to the designated port with sufficient power. On some devices, the port also supplies enough power for a streaming stick.

Older Connections

Older televisions come with a second world of connections. These date from the era before HDMI and still transmit picture and sound analogically, meaning via separate lines and with somewhat fluctuating quality. On current devices, they have almost disappeared and are appearing less and less frequently. If such a connection is needed, you should check before purchasing whether the TV still has the port.

Scart

The wide, 21-pin Scart connection used to transmit analog picture and sound in both directions. For a long time, it was the most important connection between TVs, VCRs, and game consoles. With the shift to digital technology, HDMI has almost completely replaced it, which is why it is rarely found on new televisions. If you want to connect an old VCR or an older game console, you will need an adapter that converts the analog signal into an HDMI signal. Such adapters are available, but they do not always provide a flawless picture.

VGA

The VGA port was long used to display a computer’s image on a TV. It transmits purely analog and exclusively picture; a separate cable was always needed for audio. On modern devices, it has practically disappeared, as computers and notebooks are now also connected via HDMI.

RCA, Component, and Composite

The colored RCA jacks also date from the analog era and come in two variants. With Composite, a single yellow jack transmits the entire picture, which provides the simplest but also the weakest picture quality. With Component, the picture signal is distributed over red, green, and blue jacks, allowing for a sharper image, while audio runs through two additional red and white RCA plugs. On current televisions, both variants have become rare and can usually only be used via an adapter.

TV Connections and Their Current Relevance

In everyday life today, only a handful of connections truly matter. HDMI covers almost all playback devices and also carries audio to the soundbar with ARC or eARC. Via the headphone jack or Bluetooth, audio can be heard through headphones alone, without using the TV speakers, and a USB port accommodates storage or recordings. The old ports are only relevant if an older device still needs to be connected.