So here’s a quick walk-through of all the methods that I know (if
you know any more, please comment) to connect a laptop or PC to your TV:
1.
S-Video - This is probably the most common
method out there currently because an S-Video cable is cheap as heck
and just about every TV under the sun has a S-Video port. You’ll have
to make sure you laptop is equipped with this port. Remember, there are
two types of S-Video cables:
4-pin and 7-pin. Most
laptops and PC’s are equipped with a 7-pin port, so if your TV only has
a 4-pin S-Video port, then this method will not work.
2.
VGA - If you have a HDTV, then you will be
better off connecting using a VGA cable. It gives much better quality
than S-Video and as with S-Video, the cable is very cheap. You usually
won’t find a VGA port on regular TV’s though, so this option is if you
have an HDTV.
3.
DVI - DVI stands for
Digital Visual Interfacewith “digital” being the key word there. The digital signal will give a
higher quality picture than either S-Video or VGA. Of course, your
computer will need to have a DVI connection and your TV will need to be
an HDTV. This cord is definitely not cheap, it ranges anywhere from $40
to $80.
4.
HDMI - Using HDMI will give you the best quality
by far. No computers that I know of yet have HDMI ports, but you can
get a DVI to HDMI cable to connect it to your HDTV. HDMI is compatible
with DVI.
5.
Scan Converter Box - This is the last method
that I could think of and it involves using a scan converter box, which
takes a VGA signal and converts it into S-Video or component video.
Here’s a graphic I created with some pictures of the various cables:
Hope this helps someone! If you have any other ideas or suggestions, please feel free to comment!!! Thanks