Does anyone know a good way to connect a computer to the tv and get decent sound?

Question

We sometimes watch stuff from the laptop on the tv (from iTunes, Hulu, netflix etc) using an S-video cable. Currently we use the cable that came with my camcorder to connect the headphones jack on the laptop to the a set of sound connectors on the surround sound reciever (the ones that are red and white, i don't know the actual name). However, there is a constant hum under the sound. Is there a better way to set up the sound to get rid of the hum?

I have the volume on the laptop and the program all the way up and try to minimize the volume level on the reciever. That helps some, but the hum is still there.

Answer 1

The external USB sound device may fix the problem - but the hum *might* be due to that camcorder A/V cable you are using!

A camcorder's A/V cable has a 4-conductor mini-phone plug, instead of the 3-conductor plug the laptop's headphone jack is designed for.  This could be mis-connecting the audio contacts and causing the hum.  Try using a cable with a 3-conductor ("stereo") mini phone plug (it will lead to two RCA plugs instead of three.

The cable will cost around $10 ($5 - $15 below), vs $30 for the USB device.

Links to a few models can be found in "sources" below...

Answer 2

The trouble is electrical interference with your internal soundcard.  What you need is a USB soundcard like the one in the resources below.

The sound card in your laptop is probably integrated into the motherboard somewhere and shares connections with all sorts of noisy devices and such.  It probably also uses cheap components (it's designed to be used with headphones and tiny laptop speakers).

Getting an external soundcard gets the soundcard outside of the electrical interference inside the case of your laptop.  They'll also probably be of higher quality since the primary audience for these USB sound cards are people like you that want better sound.