What Is the Samsung TV WiseLink USB Connection?

Your Samsung LCD TV containing Wiselink technology lets you access JPEG photos and play MPEG-3 music files from a Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drive. If your Samsung television contains Wiselink Pro technology, you can also view videos from the USB drive. Wiselink connects to any FAT16 or FAT32 flash drive, as well as flash memory card readers.

Samsung LCD and DLP televisions manufactured between 2006 and 2008, for Series 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, have Wiselink technology. But not all Samsung television models include the technology. Consult your television's owner's manual to see if your television contains Wiselink or Wiselink Pro. Samsung models manufactured after 2008 contain MediaPlay, a similar USB technology that also allows you to view photos and listen to music from a USB flash drive or flash memory card reader.

Turn off and unplug your Samsung television. Locate the Wiselink USB port on the back of your television. Connect a USB flash drive or flash memory card reader to the USB port. Plug in and turn on your television. Wiselink will automatically detect the drive. Push the "Wiselink" button on your TV's remote control to access the technology. Use the remote control's up and down arrows to navigate the Wiselink menu to play music, or to view other media files.

The Wiselink USB connection works with any USB Mass Storage Class device, but doesn't work with USB hub devices. The connection doesn't work with USB drives that use the New Technology File System (NTFS), or with drives that contain Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) technology. MTP is a type of technology that transfers music files to your computer from USB music players.

Photos on your USB drive must be in JPEG format, with a resolution of at 15,360 pixels by 8,640 pixels. Wiselink cannot recognize TIFF, BMP, PNG and other image file formats. File names can only contain alphanumeric characters. Wiselink can access and display 4,000 JPEG images. If your USB drive contains more than 4,000 files, Wiselink will not display the files beyond the 4,000 limit.

Music files on your USB drive must be in MP3 format, with file names containing only alphanumeric characters. Wiselink cannot recognize WMA, FLAC, AAC, OGG and other audio file formats. Wiselink can only access and play 3,000 MP3 files. If your USB drive contains more than 3,000 files, Wiselink will not play the files beyond the 3,000 limit. If your Samsung television contains Wiselink Pro technology, the device can access and display AVI, MP4, MPG, VRO and VOB video file formats. Higher resolution video files take longer to load and display. You have no set limit on the amount of video files you can have on a USB drive.

Wiselink may or may not detect a USB digital camera or portable music player. The Wiselink USB may not recognize a USB flash drive or flash memory card reader that requires the installation of a device driver from a CD-ROM or from the Internet. Wiselink is not capable of loading device drivers or accessing the Internet to download drivers.