How To Hook Up a TV
To A Computer

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 has an 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 using a VGA cable. It gives much better quality than S-Video and as with S-Video, the cable is inexpensive. You usually won’t find a VGA port on regular TV’s though, so this option is used 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 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.