How Do I Connect My Laptop To My TV

Nowadays, all of us want to view our laptop’s screen content on our TV screens. This could be for reasons as simple as watching a movie or home video. Or even for zooming in on homework assignments and complicated office spreadsheets. Luckily, there are a number of inexpensive ways in which you can make this happen. Some of them require the services of a high-speed internet vendor.

Personally, I always make use of Chromecast to link my laptop to my 5-year old Sony television. Here, I share with you the easiest ways to connect the Laptop to the TV. I even manage to watch high-quality HD streams using the device, because of my Charter Spectrum Packages deal. A surprising feat; considering the fact that my TV doesn’t support HD viewing directly.

Casting Your Laptop Screen to Your TV Screen 

All in all, you can either choose to go:

•         the wired route (using HDMI, VGA, and Audio Cables)

•         or the wireless route (using transmitting/receiving adapters) to cast your laptop screen onto your TV.  

A third, even simpler, method involves loading all your desired media files on a USB or flash device. And then plugging it into a corresponding port on your Smart TV. But this, as you may already be aware (or may have guessed), requires your TV to be compatible. Also, by connecting your laptop screen to your tv you can binge into Netflix or watch and download online movies. You can Something which most sets, unfortunately, are not – other than those that have been sold in the open marketplace within the last decade or two.

The Wired Route

This is as simple as it gets. If you’ve got an HDMI cable to fit into your laptop and a corresponding TV port, then you’re all set.   

All you need to do is to:  

1.       Connect one end of the cable to your laptop, and the other to the TV

2.       Switch to the TV mode/screen that is linked to the concerned HDMI port

3.       Play the multimedia file on your laptop

4.       And watch the action unfold on the big (or small – it depends on what you’ve got) screen  Pretty easy, right? You can enjoy the whole procedure that I am going to share with you. But some of the older TV sets don’t have HDMI capability. What most of them do have, however, are VGA ports on their backsides. And using a VGA lead, you can still connect your laptop to your television.

However, there is a small catch to this approach which is used by wedding photographers for using camera settings adjustments. VGA doesn’t support audio. So you’ll need a separate audio-only wire running from your laptop to your TV for getting the whole multimedia experience.  

To make a VGA link, proceed as follows:  

1.       Locate the VGA ports on your laptop and TV

2.       Insert one end of the VGA lead into each placement

3.       Insert one end of the audio lead into your laptop’s headphone slot, and the other in your TV’s ‘audio in’ slot’

4.       Load the corresponding VGA mode on your TV

5.       Play the multimedia file on your laptop

6.       Enjoy!

The Wireless Route

This is one another procedure that really helps you to connect through wireless. Its easier than the other process I have a share. If you’ve got a compatible TV and laptop, then I don’t think you’ll need to resort to wires and cables. And why should you?  

As mentioned above, I like to broadcast my laptop screen to my LED TV set using a Chromecast device. Another good option is to use a Roku attachment. In the few easy steps listed below, I’ll detail how to use Chromecast to get going.  

1.       Simply connect the device to the HDMI port of your television set

2.       Connect the device to your home’s WiFi network, or connect your laptop to the network set up by the device

3.       Open the Google Chrome web browser on your laptop

4.       Go to the settings drop-down menu on the extreme right of the browser’s taskbar

5.       Click on ‘cast…’

6.       A pop-window will appear.

7.       Simply select your TV’s name as it appears on the window

8.       Your browser window will appear on your TV screen   Once you’re connected, you can stream all kinds of online content from your browser window to your TV viewing. A lot of people (like me) watch a lot of YouTube and Netflix videos on the larger screen in this way.  

You can also use wireless transmission devices to turn your television sets into big speakers for your Zumba (or other) music sessions. I know, based on a friend’s testimony, that the Spectrum TV Select plan is a great resource to pair off with these gadgets.