how do i connect my laptop to the tv ?

Forums › Home Theatre (incl HTPC) › how do i connect my laptop to the tv ?

TeeREX14

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

Topic # 95487 5-Jan-2012 22:07

hi there

I'm a relative noob at this but i have a Toshiba laptop which i'm trying to connect to my TV . i do have a hdmi cable but the laptop does not have a port for this . can someone please tell me what cables i need and what procedures id have to follow to complete this setup

cheers

Virgil

Dangerous Chocolate
160 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 38

Subscriber

Reply # 565055 5-Jan-2012 22:15

TeeREX14: hi there

I'm a relative noob at this but i have a Toshiba laptop which i'm trying to connect to my TV . i do have a hdmi cable but the laptop does not have a port for this . can someone please tell me what cables i need and what procedures id have to follow to complete this setup

cheers

Does the TV also have a VGA port? If so, you could then connect the TV and laptop with a VGA male-male cable, and you would need an audio cable also for the sound.

Cheers

tigercorp

620 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 54

Subscriber

Reply # 565060 5-Jan-2012 22:20

Post the exact models of the laptop and the tv (or tell us what ports are available on both).

TeeREX14

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 565068 5-Jan-2012 22:30

Does the TV also have a VGA port? If so, you could then connect the TV and laptop with a VGA male-male cable, and you would need an audio cable also for the sound.

Cheers

the tv that i have is a 42'inch full hd panasonic plasma TH-P42U30Z . the tv has a 15 pin pc connector .

Virgil

Dangerous Chocolate
160 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 38

Subscriber

Reply # 565073 5-Jan-2012 22:44

I believe something like this would do it -
http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/cables-adaptors/monitor/auction-436175568.htm

3m VGA SVGA Monitor Cable with 3.5mm Audio Cable

3m VGA SVGA Monitor Cable with 3.5mm Audio Cable

Totally random Trademe screengrab - I have nothing either for or against RobRocs (although 100% positive feedback over 8,700 trades is pretty impressive)

Cheers

Gadgetcity

26 posts

Geek

Reply # 565084 5-Jan-2012 23:09

Actually, I believe that you will need a stereo RCA to 3.5mm stereo lead if you want audio to come out of the TV instead of the laptop.

TeeREX14

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 565097 6-Jan-2012 00:02

is there anyway i can just get one cable so i can get audio and visual out of the tv ? for example hdmi to dvi cable ?

bfginger

929 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 39

Reply # 565099 6-Jan-2012 00:11

Actually, I believe that you will need a stereo RCA to 3.5mm stereo lead if you want audio to come out of the TV instead of the laptop.

Often, but it depends on the TV. Some have RCA inputs to go with VGA, some want stereo leads, some have none at all.

Plugging a computer into a TV via VGA is not as straightforward as HDMI. Most TVs won't accept 1080p, many won't accept 720p, some won't accept any 16:9 resolution. A typical situation is a TV will only accept the one 1366x768 16:9 resolution but the computer's video drivers don't list it as an option, necessitating measures like a driver update or the installation of something like Powerstrip.

TeeREX14: is there anyway i can just get one cable so i can get audio and visual out of the tv ? for example hdmi to dvi cable ?

Usually you won't find anything better than composite plus RCA stereo for video-out from the TV.

If you're talking about to the TV, the only way you can make sound and video go on the same cable is via HDMI. DVI is HDMI without sound so if your computer has DVI-out then you can use a cheap DVI to HDMI converter to send video to an HDMI TV but a second cable would still be needed for sound.