Netflix instant viewing?

Question

I would like to connect my PC to my TV to watch the movies. However, I don't have the correct connections on my computer. When I bought it, I only got what I needed for work and didn't think of the media aspect. Anyway, what connections do I need and is it possible to upgrade?

I've seen several different ways to connect, but I want the easiest with the best picture. Would coax be the way to go?

Any other suggestions? Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

This depends on your TV.  If you have a regular TV, you'll be limited to S-Video, Coaxial, or RCA connections (and sometimes Component).  This is no good, in my opinion, due to the fact that the quality is quite lacking.  You certainly will NOT be able to read most things from your laptop.  Anyway, just get an adapter for the type you want to use, and go for it.

The same applies to HDTV's.  Just get an adapter for VGA to DVI, HDMI, etc, and hook it up.  You will probably be able to read your screen that way.

Priority list as I see it:

HDMI

DVI

Component

S-Video

RCA

Coaxial

Answer 2

All you need is a video cord.....and go to free movies on google, they post them there 2 months before they are released!

Laptops often came with different video outputs, mainly 2: VGA (for an external monitor) and S-Video (for a TV for ex.), what you will need is to covert the S-Video into a suitable input for your TV. The easiest way would probably be to buy a S-video to Scart adapter (if you TV has a Scart plug), or if your TV is quite new you might have an S-Video input in it, at which point you would only need a two way S-Video cable.

If you do not have an S-Video port on your computer, there are some VGA to S-Video converters.

Remember other 2 things: 1) both VGA and S-Video are video only ports, you will still need a cable for the audio (headphone jack to red and white RCA - the yellow RCA is for the video). 2) when you are all connected you need to set the primary screen to the TV (under control panel->display->settings->and the settings for your video card) otherwise you will get the picture on the laptop screen and just black on your TV

Hope this answers your question.

Additionally,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 Interface with “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.