Think about the endless possibilities of connecting your computer or laptop to your TV screen. You can use it as a primary screen for enjoying HD games and movies or as an extension to the laptop screen for using multiple applications without any clutter. Doing this is simple and you don’t need much, except for the right cable for the task.
Selecting the right ports and cables
Before you connect your TV to your PC, you need to be aware of the all the video portspresent on them. If you’re using a relatively new laptop and TV, then chances are that both your devices will have an HDMI port. In such a case, you will need an HDMI cable. This is the most preferred option, as it can carry both high-quality video and audio. If any of your devices don’t have an HDMI port, then the next viable option is the VGA (D-Sub) connector. Most TVs, older laptops and PCs have these ports. The downside of VGA is that it can only carry video and the image quality isn’t as pristine as HDMI. You will need a separate cable to stream audio to your TV. You can use an audio cable that connects to the RCA port on the TV and to the 3.5mm headphone jack on your laptop or desktop.
Connecting the TV to the laptop
Once you have the ports and cables figured out, you can connect your laptop to the TV. Setting up HDMI is straight-forward – simply plug either end to the devices and you’re good to go. Be sure to buy a cable that’s long enough to run the distance between your laptop / PC and the TV. Both HDMI and VGA cables are available in different lengths.
Configuring the additional screen
Once you have the cables connected, you can start using your TV as a monitor by the press of a shortcut key on your laptop. You have the option to choose between different modes. The Duplicate mode replicates the laptop screen on the TV. The extend modes creates an additional workspace so you can drag and drop windows from one screen to another. The third mode lets you use the TV as the only display. All these modes can be accessed by holding down the modifier key (Fn) and a function key (for example, F7) present on the laptop. This may differ from laptop to laptop. You can also configure most of these modes using the display drivers on your laptop or PC.
