Here’s a quick walk-through of various methods 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 and just about every TV under the sun has a S-Video port. You’ll have to make sure your 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 method
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:
Whoever controls the media, the images, controls the culture
- Allen Ginsberg
