With all of the streaming media, and awesome games available via your computer, and TVs behind huge and HD, you are probably trying to figure out how to connect my laptop to my TV. There are some very simple ways to go about this, and also those that are a little more complicated, but still, none of it is really brain surgery when you break it down, and how to connect laptop to TV becomes a simple matter of a cable or two.
The easiest and best way to go about making this connection is to use HDMI. HDMI is a digital signal that carries both HD video, and surround sound. This easy connection will only require 1 cheap hdmi cable. Don’t go buying some extravagant $100 HDMI cable, as this is completely unnecessary despite what the people trying to sell you those ridiculously overpriced cables tell you. A $5 cable will do just as well as the $100 cable for use in your home theater.
If you don’t have HDMI output on your computer, perhaps you have a DisplayPort, or MiniDisplay Port. Mini DisplayPort are common on all newer Macs, and DisplayPort can be found on a variety of computers. This connection is very similar to the HDMI connection in that it carries HD video, and surround sound audio. It will require some sort of adapter cable to switch over to HDMI to plug into your TV (because TVs don’t generally have DisplayPort inputs). Since the signals are compatible, no expensive converter box is required, only the adapter (male Mini or Standard DisplayPort to female HDMI), and an HDMI cable. These & HDMI are going to give you the best sound and video possible.
The other digital HD video outputs you’ll find on many computers are in the DVI family. These connections carry video only though, so you’ll have to pipe in your audio using your headphone jack and a 3.5mm to RCA cable for stereo (not surround) sound. You’ll still get very high quality video through these connections, and like the DisplayPort family, you’re going to have to use an adapter to switch over to HDMI in order to plug into your TV (though that’s not always the case – some TVs do have DVI inputs, so you’ll want to check that out before buying the adapter).
Finally, if you only have VGA, S-video, or RCA (composite – the yellow one) outputs on your computer, these are all analog signals and incompatible with the aforementioned digital connections. If your TV has an S-video input, then this is going to be the best input to use, and a VGA to S-video cable will be required. If you only have RCA, then you’ll need a VGA to RCA. Again, you’ll have to use the 3.5mm to RCA audio cable for sound.
If you’re still wondering how to connect my laptop to my TV, please ask any questions below in the comments.