Well if you ask me the question “How to connect laptop to TV?”
then I would say its really easy. Laptop to TV connections are not a big
deal and believe me there is no rocket science behind it. Connecting laptop to
TV is really simple and all you need to know is what kind of cable to use and
what configuration to be done.
There are different ways to connect laptop to TV but it all
depends on what type of ports you have on your laptop/computer and TV. So
before going into the details lets see what type of cables and ports are
available on your laptop and TV.
Possible Cables and Jacks
For Connection
Types of available cables/jacks
for connecting laptop to TV are given below with their images so that you can
detect the same on your laptop/TV.
1) Composite/Phono
plug (RCA)
2) S-Video
3) Video
graphics array (VGA)
4) Digital
video interface (DVI)
5) High-definition
multimedia interface (HDMI)
1) Composite/Phono plug (RCA)
An RCA connector or phono
connector is used in analog audio/video components. Genarally you can see 3
colored (white,red and yello) sockets in an RCA connector. Sometimes you
can find RCA connectors with only audio sockets and these are called RCA audio
connectors and here we will be using Mini to RCA audio cable.
2) S-Video
S-Video is a more
advanced analog video connector and uses a four-prong round plug, like
those used in TV cable installations. S-Video are commonly found in older TV
sets and older computers in some cases.
3) Video Graphics Array (VGA)
A VGA connector and cable are
used to carry analog video signals with display and graphics data. VGA is
commonly found in laptops and computers. You might have seen in your laptop
while connecting a projector. It is a 15 pin connector.
4) Digital Video Interface (DVI)
A DVI port is rectangular with
24 pins arranged in three horizontal rows of eight pins for digital video.
Mostly these DVI ports comes in MAC laptops.
5) High-definition
multimedia interface (HDMI)
HDMI is the widely used
interface now a days. It is a 19 pin arrangement ans provides digital audio as
well as digital video signals. Now a days almost all TV sets are having HDMI
ports. Even some of laptops are also having HDMI ports.
Procedure to Connect Laptop to
TV
As most of the laptops are
having HDMI or VGA ports and TV sets are having RCA or HDMI ports so we will
see how to connect for these types of laptops and TV sets. So here are the step
by step guide to connect laptop to TV.
You need to perform 2 things 1. Finding
and connecting cable from laptop to TV and 2. Tuning your
laptop.
Finding and Connecting Cable
from laptop to TV
First of all you need to find
what type of port does your laptop have, mostly it will have VGA. then find
what type of port your TV set is having, mostly it will have RCA or HDMI.
STEP1: If your
laptop is having VGA port and TV set is having RCA port the purchase a VGA to
RCA converter cable, these are very cheaply available in the market. If your TV
is having HDMI port then purchase a VGA to HDMI converter cable. If both the
laptop and TV set are having HDMI ports the purchase a HDMI connector cable. In
case of VGA to RCA or VGA to HDMI, you need to purchase a Mini To RCA audio
cable which will connect from the laptop speaker out to TV audio RCA port.
STEP2: Make
sure you shutdown both laptop and TV and then connect the appropriate cable
from the laptop to the TV.
STEP3: Connect the
Mini to RCA audit cable from laptop to the TV set’s RCA audio input. This would
be the red and white port. You need to purchase a 3.5 mm jack Mini to RCA audio
cable.
STEP4: Now
switch on both the laptop and TV sets.
Tuning Your Laptop
The second part of connecting
your laptop to the TV set is tuning of the laptop display panel.
STEP1: Open the
display settings of your Windows system and activate the output to External
display. Either you can mirror content of your laptop on TV screen or can
extend the display like dual monitor screen so that you can see on laptop
screen as well.
If you are using Windows 7
system then press the windows key + P on your keyboard and search for “connect
to external”.
STEP2: From your
TV remote switch to AV mode if connected using RCA or switch to HDMI if
connected through HDMI port. If you are using Windows XP on wards the
resolution will automatically set to correct value.
*Important Note: Make
sure that you connect all the cables before tuning the laptop else it may not
work properly.
