Roger is a long-time tech journalist with many site credits including AppleInsider and Android Authority. His specialties include everything from Apple, Android, and Windows devices through to wearables, gaming, audio gear, EVs, and smart home platforms. In his free time, his biggest interests are weightlifting, EUCs, movies, and games.
With some gadgets, funneling things down to a single connector type can be a good thing. I doubt that many iPhone or iPad owners are upset that they can't use Lightning cables anymore when most other phones and tablets have been using USB-C for ages. That's often true with TVs as well. Routing everything through HDMI tends to simplify your setup, even if you do need to understand what different versions of the format allow.
"Tends to" is the operative term, though. Some TVs may have just two or three HDMI ports, in which case it's easy to run out of options. In other scenarios, the HDMI-equipped gear may be needlessly expensive, or you might prefer to go wireless. Below, I've gathered together some of the possibilities if you're open to other ways of expanding your home theater.
Wireless headphones and smart speakers
The cordless life
Bluetooth support is de facto on many TVs and media streamers now, which means you can pair just about any set of wireless headphones with them the way you would your phone or laptop. This is excellent for solo dwellers, or people trying to avoid disturbing a partner, child, or roommate. Generally you hold down a button on your headphones to initiate pairing, then complete the process in a TV's Settings app. Check instructions if you're unsure.
There are a couple of catches with this, beginning with the fact that as a rule, TVs aren't really built to handle multiple Bluetooth devices simultaneously -- you'll probably need to disconnect and use speakers if you're watching with someone else.
Some smart speakers can be paired directly with a TV or streamer sans wires, while still supporting high-end audio formats.
The other issue is audio quality. While it's sometimes feasible to deliver 3D sound standards like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X over Bluetooth, you probably won't be able to get that through your TV, nor will you be able to get lossless. It's also possible that you may experience lipsync issues, though that can often be fixed.
Some smart speakers can be paired directly with a TV or streamer sans wires, while still supporting high-end audio formats. If you've got something based on Amazon's Fire TV, for instance, you can pair a couple of Echo Studios and/or an Echo Sub. One of the best uses of Apple's HomePods is actually pairing them with an Apple TV 4K, though you can now set any AirPlay-compatible speaker as a default tvOS output.
Optical soundbars
A dying breed
Optical ports once represented the cutting edge of home theater audio. In recent years, however, they've been surpassed by HDMI, which offers not just more bandwidth, but compatibility with the ARC/ eARC standard that makes it easier for devices to share audio. If you want the best of the best, you need to choose HDMI. As a bonus, HDMI cables are a lot less fragile.
For me, the greatest issue with optical tech is the lack of CEC functions.
The secret, though, is that optical is still good enough for most digital stereo and surround formats, even if it can't do lossless or 3D audio. Assuming that's acceptable, you can potentially save hundreds of dollars versus other speaker options. Sonos, for example, sells its optical Ray soundbar for $219 -- a full $280 less than its HDMI-based Beam. Yet the Ray still sounds amazing to me, whether I'm watching The Fellowship of the Ring or just a PEV video on YouTube. I don't even feel the need for a subwoofer.
For me, the greatest issue with optical tech is the lack of CEC functions. These can automatically turn a speaker on or off alongside your TV, and let you adjust its volume without any special configuration or a separate remote. To control my Ray, I had to not only "train" the bar on my usual remote, but disable Bluetooth in my TV's settings, since the remote refused to use its IR blaster otherwise. I have to disable Bluetooth again every time I switch the TV back on and volume isn't where I want it.
USB drives
Be prepared for some conversion work
For a lot of people, I'd wager, the USB ports on their TV have been reduced to a way of powering streaming sticks. What you may not know is that most TVs can play music and video directly from a USB drive, or else browse photos. If you play your cards right, you can build a personal media library that isn't dependent on streaming services, or even an internet connection.
There are a few obstacles, beginning with the fact that TV makers don't invest much effort into their offline media interfaces. They're often simple and clunky, so don't expect dramatic photo slideshows or customizable Spotify-style playlists. You'll also need to format a thumb drive or SSD in a format your TV can recognize, most likely NTFS or FAT32.
You can't play anything copy-protected, so when it comes to video, you may have to rip your own discs or sail the seven seas.
The biggest problem tends to be obtaining and transferring media. You can't play anything copy-protected, so when it comes to video, you'll have to rip your own discs or sail the seven seas (ahem) unless you're purely interested in showing clips from your phone or camera. You may also have to convert some files into different formats. While some TVs (like Samsungs) may support niche filetypes like OGG and MKV, it's usually safest to convert into widespread standards like MP3 and MP4.
There may also be unexpected feature limitations. Cheaper drives and TVs may not be fast enough to handle 4K video, and I wouldn't expect to hear 3D surround. Subtitled movies may be a no-go if they rely on separate caption files.
Antennas, VCRs, and other relics
Keeping the old guard alive
If you've got a collection of VHS tapes that you're determined to watch, there's always some means of bridging a VCR with a modern TV. Typically this involves an HDMI adapter, but some TVs may support video through their 3.5mm ports if they don't have built-in component jacks. For 3.5mm, you need a very specialized adapter for the hookups on your VCR. With DVD and LaserDisc players, I'd just jump straight to the appropriate HDMI adapter.
A digital antenna with NextGenTV/ATSC 3.0 support can be connected to smart TVs for access to free broadcast channels.
Be prepared for questionable results, especially if you don't go through HDMI. Video is going to be extremely low-resolution, and even if it's upscaled, you can't add detail that wasn't already there. There may also be aspect ratio issues, and visual artifacts such as interlacing. Some people turn to third-party capture peripherals to improve things as much as possible.
A digital antenna with NextGenTV/ATSC 3.0 support can be connected to smart TVs for access to free broadcast channels. Combined with a DVR, this may actually be a great way of lowering your subscription costs...as long as you're not too picky about content or video quality. 4K and HDR broadcasts are rare, and of course, weather and range can disrupt any signal.