How to Connect Your Laptop to Your Television

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Tired of squinting over your laptop? There are several ways to turn a big-screen TV into your new computer monitor and enjoy video games, web content, and photos like never before.

Step 1: Connect with S-Video
First, connect a video cable – you've got several choices. For PC users, an easy option is an S-Video cable. Most PCs and digital televisions are equipped with an S-Video port.

Tip
The ends of S-Video cables usually feature either four or seven pins and pinholes. Check your TV and laptop ports to make sure they match.

Step 2: Connect with VGA
If you have an older HDTV, try a VGA cable, which produces better picture quality and works with both Macs and PCs. To connect, turn off your laptop and your TV. Find the trapezoid-shaped VGA outlets on the TV and on your laptop. Once you're connected, power everything back on.

Tip
Macs need a DVI- or mini-DVI-to-VGA adapter to connect the VGA cable.

Step 3: Connect with DVI
You can also connect with a DVI video cable. A DVI connection is a step above VGA in picture quality, but only newer computers and HDTVs come with DVI ports. Connect as with a VGA cable.

Tip
Some Macs require a mini-DVI-to-DVI adapter for DVI connections.

Step 4: Connect with HDMI
If your HDTV doesn't have a DVI connector, use a cable that is HDMI on one end, and DVI on the other to connect to your laptop.

Step 5: Connect audio
Hook up the audio. After you've connected your laptop to the TV via video cable, connect the mini-to-RCA cable from your computer’s headphone jack to your TV.

Step 6: Use a wireless converter
A final PC option is to go wireless, using a converter box and the software that comes with it. Using a VGA cable, plug the box into your TV and install the software onto your computer. The box will then convert your computer's VGA signal to the TV, and transfer both video and audio.

Step 7: Adjust display settings
If you have a PC, go to the Control Panel and adjust the display settings to accompany double display on both your monitor and TV set. Mac laptops should automatically adjust for double display. If yours doesn't, go to System Preferences, click on Display, and then Detect Displays.

Step 8: Find your laptop
Click your TV's video source – usually a button called "input" or "TV/Video" on your remote – until your laptop comes up. You're set!

Did You Know?
According to one industry prediction, by 2015 the average European household TV will measure a whopping 60 inches.

[skill_buddy]

hi, You are doing great work!
i want to know that i have 2 camera with avi/rca (red, white & yellow) & i want to connect them to my laptop dell latitude e7240 with windows 10 for live streaming.which one is the device to connect them with laptop??

[goatersears]

Thanks for the turning the tv off first tip!!! I was beginning to think I had a faulty wire!

[spoonerdee]

@galeonartillado While VGA has endless resolution possibilities, DVI is better in most cases because the signal is digital to digital. Where as VGA goes from digital to analog back to digital again and loses some quality.

So to answer your question DVI is better.

[AxelFuentesMusic]

Yes, it's a converter box that can be used as a VGA-to-HDMI, or HDMI-to-VGA.
You can probably find one on amazon.com

[noregrets]

I love Howcast! They give such helpful tutorials but also rediculously pointless ones too. Its brilliant!

[ipodssuck]

@SesameCubing Yes. I believe I said this in my previous comment (if it was directed to you, I can't remember), but your laptop is the provider for whatever it is you want. Your tv will display anything on your laptop screen and play any sound on your laptop through your tv. Hope this helps :)

[huz]

Thanks just connected my laptop, using the VGA to VGA cable.

Just ordered the cable to hopefully the sound from my TV

[MegaCherryCat]

FINALLY for the first time ever how cast make a video too complicated for me!
I thought this day would never come!

[chandrahasv]

I think you have good knowledge about several ways of connecting the computer to tv using different types of adopters with various options. Thats what your video explains. But you could have said option 1 or option 2 etc (instead of saying step 1, next step 2 etc which is confusing the viewer. Please try to edit this and it would be appreciated).

[joekilbreth]

Excellent video. I recently bought a desktop PC to be my entertainment solution for my home HDTV. I have a question: I know of need a DVI-to-HDMI adapter in order to get the video from the PC to the TV, but to get the audio, what kind of cable do I need? I have the three colored inputs n the back of both my PC and HDTV, so do I just need a cable for those? Or do I need some kind of 3.5mm-to-colored cable adapter...?

Thank in advance!

[jonathangonza]

I think you should to and buy a DVI through HDMI cable, that is if you have an HDMI port on your TV. it all depends on what TV you're using, im hoping you're using a current HDTV

[AxelFuentesMusic]

@MineCrashed
You can use a Mini-to-RCA audio cable or a Mini-to-mini audio cable. And by "Mini, " I mean the 3.5 mm cable.

[Flinklehurst]

@mjlpr0ductionz Find a hole in your laptop that matches a hole in your television, find a cable that fits those holes, join holes with cable. If you can't find matching holes, there's stuff you can do but it's not really worth the expense or effort so just forget about it.

[AxelFuentesMusic]

this video isn't really confusing. It actually taught me lots of things.

[FelixMarshFTW]

You know how the VGA cord has those screwy things at the sides? Those are for screwing into the two outer cylinders to secure the cord and to make sure it doesn't fall out. You don't need them, but they're helpful.

[journeyforyourhealth]

Extremely helpful. Thank you. Now I know what cables I need for my specific equipment

[TechTidyBroadcast]

@ciaawsome3 Unfortunately, there isn't because VGA is an old standard and because of this it uses an analogue signal that can't be converted into digital signal which is what HDMI uses and other digital standards such as DVI and Display port. Although we can change digital into analogue using things adaptors such as dvi to vga. Hope this helped you :)

[StupidSkateboarding]

@SeattleBeaver: you get rid of the ads by highlighting the url and pressing the enter key.

[queenlaker]

@MoooonshoesPotter you can run svideo cable from laptop to tv and 3.5mm audio cable from laptop to tv. You can buy the cables from ebay.

[AxelFuentesMusic]

the box at 0:31 and 2:04 isn't wireless. It converts a VGA signal into a standard TV signal with S-video or Composite. And VGA only transmits video.