Connecting Laptop to Television

I have a laptop that I want to use as a DVD player.

It will be hooked up to a brand new HD TV, however I don't yet know the make / model of the television.

I'm assuming that I should be able to hook the Laptop to the TV, so I can use it as a DVD player,

Any idea what kind of cable I'll need?

reply to post by elevatedone


Hooking up laptop to TV

I looking at the same thing, and this article helped a bit.

I use an HDMI cable to connect the two if I want to do that.



Real easy. One cable.

Yeah use a hdmi, if the laptop has s-video don't even bother with it, i tryed that with my computer a while back and the picture was shocking.

Failing the laptop having a hdmi port you'd have to prey to whatever deity you happen to subscribe to that your tv has a dvi input.

Your TV (being HD) should have a "monitor input" Meaning it should have an nput on the back that is the same as a video card/monitor to a desktop. Go to radio shack and ask for a computer projector cable and it should be a male "monitor" to male "monitor" plug. Connect that to your female external monitor port on your laptop. Run the other male end to the female receptacle on your TV. You should then be able to kick it over to that input using your AV in selection switch. You may also have to activate your external monitor port on your laptop as well. This is usually accomplished by using one of the function keys. In my case its FN+f4. Took a lot of research for me to figure that one out. Hope that helps.

Thanks guys...

My lappy doesn't have S-Vid or even HDMI...

I guess I'm going to have to go with VGA / RCA .

We'll see.

Do as I do and grab a DVI to HDMI cord. Your laptop most likely doesn't have HDMI port, so this is probably your best bet for quality.

VGA cable converters.

cables.cablesunlimited.com...

VGA to RCA is listed.

Plug a scan converter into the VGA port. The picture quality is not as good as a native DVD player, however.

If it's an HD set, it will likely already have an SVGA port on it. In which case all you need is an SVGA cable (standard for computer monitors) and an audio patch cord.

It might have a DVI port instead, which is the new monitor standard. In which case the adapters are dirt cheap.


Ultimately, it will be pretty obvious when the TV arrives. One look at the back will give it away.


But yeah, S-Video is garbage. If you have to chose between your laptops S-Video port or your laptops VGA port with an adapter... use the VGA port with the adapter.

I really can't express to you just how bad S-Video is... you'd have to see it to believe it.

[edit on 6-3-2009 by johnsky]

A VGA cable is definitely the way to go on this one. There is no reason at all to use any kind of a conversion cable as most often when doing this you will experience some loss of quality. If you have yet to purchase your TV as you say, then just make sure it has a VGA input (most do).

I do think its funny though that you want to use your laptop as a DVD player. I long ago abandoned DVDs when I was looking to make the same switch you are. Instead now all a use are digital copies. There are so many services out there now that allow you to purchase a digital download of whatever movie/show you want. The quality is great (especially if you invest the money into a computer just for the TV that has HDMI out). Then you get full HD for your videos and never have to worry about loosing/scratching discs again. I also ripped my entire DVD collection to digital, and then just stored the discs away. It took a long time, but the end result of every movie I own being available at my fingertips (USB RF Remote Control), is so worth it.

Also if you go this route you can have a built-in DVR. No more paying your cable company just to record your favorite shows.

I highly recommend Yahoo Go for TV (yes I know about ALL the other alternatives). This is VERY easy to set up, has a built in DVR functionality (although the list video cards supported is kinda short, but if you end up building a system for this that doesn't matter), has the capability of playing back video files off your PC (all those movies!), and also has mp3 playback, and photo sharing. The downside is that there is no support for playlists yet.

Its free, and super easy to set-up (I even set it up on my fiance's laptop so she would have an easy way to watch the movies I ripped over the network), and even has DVD playback if you insist on your disks

Its not often that I would recommend something from Yahoo!, but after trying every other solution out there, this one is definitely worth a look.

reply to post by elevatedone


does your lappy have DVI? or mini DVI? you would need some connectors to make it all work.