What are the USB “extension ports” on the Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player used for?

Question by saintsantiago: What are the USB “extension ports” on the Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player used for?
I flipped open the front panel on my Toshiba HD-DVD player and found 2 mysterious USB “extension ports”. The manual does not mention a use, nor does the Toshiba website. Are they for future upgrades or accesories?

Best answer:

Answer by Bob W
I think the answer is “nothing yet and probably nothing ever.” The HD-XA2 manual says only “The EXTENSION ports may be used in the future for additional control options.”

Unused USB ports seem to be common on digital video gear. My Comcast Motorola cable box has them, for example. (By contrast, the Moto box has working FireWire ports, but the USB ports are disabled.)

My theory is that these boxes are based on circuit boards which provide USB, like standard computer motherboards. The manufacturers figured they may as well provide USB jacks as long as the hardware supports them. But they haven’t quite figured out what to do with them yet.

What do you think? Answer below!