There are many things you can do with a laptop computer that
you can't easily do with a desktop computer. Because a laptop is
smaller and lighter it is well suited for many tasks. One of my
favorite things to do is to hook my laptop up to my TV for playing
games or watching a movie. Many laptop owners I have spoken with do not
realize that you can easily hook most laptops up to a TV or HDTV. This guide will help you get your laptop connected to your TV or HDTV.
First you will need to purchase a few cables. If you have a lot of
audio/video equipment already then you may already have some or all of
the cables needed to connect your laptop to your TV. But before you run
to the closest Radio Shack or go scrounging through that box of cables
your wife keeps nagging you to get rid of you need to know exactly what
cables to get.
Plain old TV
Most newer laptops have an S-video output built-in. You have
probably guessed already that these video outputs send the video signal
to your TV. You guessed right. The cable you need depends on your TV
and your laptop. Newer TVs usually have an S-video input so if you have
an S-video output on your laptop
and an S-video input on your TV then you will need an S-video cable.
These can be found in varying lengths and qualities at Wal-Mart, Radio
Shack, or any other electronics store.
Some older laptops may have the older video output that is typically
yellow. If you have an older laptop and an older TV you will probably
need a standard video cable which usually has yellow connectors at each end.
You may have a newer laptop that has the S-video output and an old
TV that doesn't have an S-video input. In this case, you will need to
buy a connector that connects to the S-video output of the
laptop allowing you to attach a standard video cable from the connector
to your TV. Depending on the converter cable you may be able to hook it
directly to your TV if it is long enough, otherwise you will need a
standard video cable to make up the additional distance from the
converter cable to your TV.
HDTV
If you are the lucky owner of a TV that is capable of displaying high definition
content or HDTV you may have some options that will give you a higher
quality image than you would get with an S-video cable or a yellow
composite video cable. To get the highest quality video from your
laptop/computer to your HDTV your computer/laptop needs a video card
that has a DVI output terminal and an HDTV that has either a DVI input
terminal or an HDMI input. If both devices have DVI capabilities then
you just need a DVI cable to connect the laptop and the TV. If the TV only has an HDMI
input then you will need a DVI to HDMI converter cable. Again, this
option gives you the best quality. Another option you might have is
SVGA or RGB. If your computer/laptop does not have a DVI port then it
probably has the blue SVGA output used to connect an external monitor.
Some HDTVs have an SVGA input so you could just use an SVGA cable to
connect your devices. Most HDTVs will have a component input and if
this is the case, buy an SVGA to RGB component converter cable. This
option still gives great image quality but trails behind DVI and HDMI
somewhat.
There are now some laptops/computers that come with an HDMI output
port built-in. If your HDTV has an HDMI input then all you would need
to connect the two devices would be an HDMI cable.
If you need a VGA to Component cable adapter Amazon has a number of them like the following:
Dayton HD15-RGB-15 VGA To Component Video Cable
If your laptop has a DVI output (usually white) you can get a DVI to
HDMI cable which will give you better image quality. Again, Amazon has
a number of them available such as the following:
Cables To Go - 40320 - 2M (6.5ft) Velocity HDMI to DVI Digital Video Cable
Conclusion
So, you've got video from your laptop showing on your TV, now what?
Well, you probably don't want to listen to your game or movie on those
tiny laptop speakers that are barely audible. If you want the audio to
be pumped into your TV or stereo system you are going to need an
additional cable. Pretty much every laptop has a headphone jack on it
somewhere. The cable you need for audio connects to this headphone jack
and converts to the standard red and white "RCA" cables which your TV
probably has inputs for. In most cases you will need to turn the volume
all the way up on your laptop in order for the audio to sound good
through your TV or stereo. You will more than likely have to tweak the
audio to get it at the right level. Here is some additional information on laptop volume.