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How to connect devices to your Sony TV

Even with all the streaming media and fun apps offered on today's smart TVs, most owners will still want to connect at least one device to their TV, be it a cable or satellite box, a game console, or a Blu-ray player. Connecting devices isn't quite as straightforward on Sony TVs as it is on other brands, but the company has greatly improved the situation on its current Bravia smart TVs. Here's how to do it.

1. Find Inputs. Find the inputs row on the home screen to see which HDMI ports are still available to connect to. In the back of the TV, find the corresponding port and plug in the HDMI cable for your device.

2. Connect and power up. Once plugged in and powered on, the connected device should fire right up, and the Sony TV should automatically detect the new peripheral.

3. Check external input manager. If the new device is not automatically added to your input row, you may need to check the external input manager, which is found in the main settings menu.

4. Check individual port settings. Go to manage inputs to find the appropriate port.

5. Confirm which port is being used. Select the port that corresponds to the new device.

6. Adjust settings and label input. Here you can set the device to show up in inputs or remain hidden, along with the option to manually label the input.

Once you've done that, the device should show up in your inputs row without further trouble.

Brian Westover

Brian Westover is currently Lead Analyst, PCs and Hardware at PCMag. Until recently, however, he was Senior Editor at Tom's Guide, where he led the site's TV coverage for several years, reviewing scores of sets and writing about everything from 8K to HDR to HDMI 2.1. He also put his computing knowledge to good use by reviewing many PCs and Mac devices, and also led our router and home networking coverage. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he wrote for TopTenReviews and PCMag.