Connecting my laptop to my TV

I would like to connect my laptop to my 46' HDTV and use the TV as my monitor. My TV has nearly every type of input except HDMI. Any advice as to what type of connector I should use would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

 

Well if you TV doesn't have HDMI you're easiest solution is S-video

 

Or if your TV has a VGA port that would be easy also

 

What outputs does your laptop have, thats the most important question that nobody has asked yet.

 

To answer your questions, I have a new Dell Vostro 1500 and there seems to be an S-video output on the side (it has a TV icon next to it). As for the TV, it seems that I have 3 S-video options (not sure why I would have 3), a bunch of open 'component connections...red, white, yellow) and something called monitorlink(?).

 

it's gonna look like crap anyway

 

Laughing...I guess I never thought it would look like crap!!!! I play lots of online poker and my thought was I could more easily view multiple windows with a VERY large display. So, I'm not trying to watch movies, just see my cards, bets, etc. Am I just gonna waste my money...on a connector (not on the poker

 

S Video cables are cheap, why not just give it a shot and see how it goes.

 

Svideo output on the laptop, svideo input on the monitor. So its a no brainer to go with S-Video.

S-Video if I remember off the top of my head (correctly) can support all the way up to 1080i or 720p so it should look pretty good depending on the quality of your monitor and its inputs.

edit: 576 seems to be the max for s-video so 480p is the highest standard you will be able to use.

 

Well if you check to see what that monitor link indeed is it could very well be a VGA port in which case you can hook your laptop up through that using a VGA cable. You could use S-Video but it will not look very pretty.

 

monitor link... sounds like that new dell tech that is supposed to replace hdmi for computers.

It is probably hdmi or dvi tho as that tech is not out in public yet I dont belive.

 

S-Video doesn't go that high, I think 480p is the best I've gotten on my HDTV. If you can hook in from a VGA output that would be best, otherwise you'll be stuck with S-Video. An S-Video from the laptop composite breakout cable might work though, not sure.

 

VGA would be your best bet here...i've seen it attempted through s-video or even USB..but VGA should provide you the cleanest output hear since I don't believe the 1500 has DVI or HDMI

 

DONT GET SVIDEO
I hooked my 42" plasma up to my computer and max resoluton was 1024 x 768. The resoultion was bad and the picture had streaks running through it, it was terrible. I bought a generic HDMI cable and could get 1920 x 1080 crystal clear. Since you dont have HDMI I would suggest VGA.

 

what resolutions are available through VGA?
my current laptop has a VGA out and my 50" plasma has a PC input and will accept a 1080P signal, but I dont know if my laptop (Radeon 9200) will output 1920 x 1080.

 

does your TV have DVI?
If your laptop has HDMI you could probably pick up an HDMI to DVI cable.

 

I hooked up my laptop to my TV last night with a VGA cable. The picture looked pretty good, but my video card will not allow me to change the resolution from what is being displayed on the laptop. (1280 X 800 laptop, 1920 x 1080 TV) the video card is ATI Radeon Mobility 9200, which is pretty old I know, but I was hoping it would allow me to output a higher resolution to the TV.
(According to ATI, the cards maximum resolution is QXGA 2048 x 1536, so I should be able to get 1920 x 1080 right?)