How to connect a laptop to a TV, types of cables, laptop settings and wireless signal transmission methods
Nowadays laptops, netbooks, ultrabooks are so common, that they can be found in most homes and apartments. They are great for work, surfing the internet, entertainment. But not all consumers know about such a wonderful thing, as an opportunity to connect a laptop to a TV. It takes no more this process 20 minutes, and thanks to it you can enjoy watching your favorite movies or games on the big screen, not on a 14-17-inch laptop.
There are almost no difficulties in resolving this issue, just buy the necessary cable (it depends on the connectors, present on TV and laptop, usually, this is a VGA or HDMI connection, but there are other ports), connect them to both devices and make small adjustments. This article will help you cope with this task, without the help of expensive professionals.
Types of cables for connection
You can connect the laptop to the TV through the following connectors, as:
- VGA
- DVI
- HDMI (mini HDMI)
- Display Port
VGA
Connecting a TV via a VGA connector to a laptop is one of the most well-known and popular ways to solve this problem.. All you have to do is make sure you have such a connector on your devices, as it is already quite outdated and on modern TVs it may not be found. As a plus we can note that, that the cost of VGA cable is low, but the downsides are, that such a cable transmits only an analog video signal. This cable does not transmit sound. To transmit sound, you also need to purchase an RCA cable to connect external speakers (two "tulips", red and white) and use it to connect sound.
DVI
DVI technology has replaced VGA cable. The signal as a result of such connection becomes more qualitative. Depending on the connector option (DVI-A, -I or -D) only analog transmission is possible, only digital or digital and analog signal.
HDMI
HDMI cable is the most modern and popular way to connect a laptop and TV today. It provides the best digital video transmission, аж до Full HD 1080p, which means, which provides support for the now popular 3D. in addition, The HDMI port also supports audio transmission. Connecting your laptop to a TV via HDMI is the easiest way to connect these devices, since HDMI ports are now found on almost all modern laptops. Due to the shape of the connector, it is simply unrealistic to confuse or insert the cable upside down. And the excellent quality of the transmitted signal will not leave anyone indifferent.
Display Port
Is the most modern type of device connection. Allows you to transfer video and audio signals in the highest quality from a laptop to a large screen. Display Port є, essentially, HDMI's main competitor.
If the connectors on your devices do not match, you can use the necessary adapters or combination cables, such, як HDMI — DVI, HDMI mini HDMI, VGA — DVI, Display Port — HDMI, Display Port - DVI and others. Do not connect many adapters, because the more of them, the greater the loss of quality of the transmitted signal.
If, if the TV is very old and the three ports listed above are missing, then such connectors must be available, like S-Video (round black connector with four contacts), RCA, he is "tulip" (three round connectors - yellow (for video signal), as well as red and white (audio). It is possible to connect the TV to the laptop with their help, but adapters are needed, as such connectors are less and less common on laptops. In the case of S-Video, separate wires are also required to transmit audio. In both cases, the signal is transmitted in low resolution. A slightly better solution is the SCART connector (he is a "rattle" or "comb" in common parlance), which is already capable of transmitting an audio signal.
TV and laptop settings
After, as the cable type is selected and the devices are connected, you need to configure them, to see a TV signal from a laptop.
Everything is quite simple with a TV. You need to go to the list of signal sources and select the desired port, to which the cable is connected. There should be no confusion with VGA or DVI cables. But if the laptop is decided to connect via HDMI, then you need to know, that on modern TVs HDMI ports, usually, sprat, therefore, remember the number of the desired HDMI output, through which it was decided to connect a laptop, not to look in the list of signal sources required, including each port in turn.
After, as the connection is established and the TV "saw" the laptop, you need to do a few more steps on the laptop itself.
Laptop settings depending on the type of operating system
- If, if your laptop is running Windows 7. Right-click on the laptop desktop and select "screen resolution" in the window. In the "Multiple screens" window, select the option you want: display desktop only on gmail 1 or 2 screen, duplicate screens (the same picture on a laptop or TV screen) or screen extension (you get the opportunity to watch a movie on TV and at the same time work on a laptop). In the "screen resolution" field, you can try to choose the optimal image for yourself. It is enough to choose the available options in turn and watch how the image changes - for better or worse.
- If the operating system is Windows 10, the procedure is the same, only instead of "screen resolution" after clicking on the desktop you should select "screen settings".
- Windows 8 you can also move the cursor to the upper right corner of the screen, select "parameters" in the control panel, hereinafter referred to as "changing computer settings", then - "screen", then proceed to the above steps.
If it was decided to connect the device via HDMI or displayport, and after performing all the above steps with the image everything is fine, and there is no sound on the TV, you need to do the following:
Right-click on the speaker icon in the lower right corner of the screen and select "Playback Devices".. A list of devices appears. Here you need to select the TV and press the "default" button. Then "OK". The sound will appear.
Wireless laptop connection to TV
Intel WiDi
Modern laptops based on Intel processors have the ability to wirelessly transmit images to external screens. This requires, that the TV supports the possibility of such a connection. Otherwise you will have to buy an additional receiver. There will be no difficulties in connection. You need to enable Intel WiDi on your TV, and then run the broadcast on your laptop (as an option - phone or tablet) using a special program of the same name. The image will appear on the TV. The more well-known Miracast technology works in a similar way.
exept this, there is also DLNA technology, but its essential difference is, that the laptop in this case will be displayed as an external storage medium, you can only use files, located on your device's hard drive.
so, to connect the laptop to the TV, no special skills or abilities are required. All you have to do is connect the devices with cables (the most common option is to connect with HDMI or VGA cables ) or wirelessly, and then perform minimal laptop settings.
