tech question

[Rooster95]

I have a fairly cheap laptop that i use for general useage around the house, and what i'd like to do is to be able to connect it to my TV through a USB port into the RCA jacks on my TV. mainly i want to be able to play a DVD on the laptop but view it on the TV, or watch a flick on netflix like this. in a nutshell, play the media on the comp but view and hear on the TV. Do i need any special software or hardware for this? hopefully it's somthing simple.

 

[Kkthnx]

An X-Box 360 works

 

[Rooster95]

true, but i don't want to have to sign up for X-Box live lol. Netflix needs that.

 

[Kkthnx]

Well thats gay, i didnt realize you needed live for that shit

 

[htw]

Yep, xbox live gold or higher.

I think the wii will do it for free though won't it? Not sure about PS3.

There are also bunch of blue ray players (esp. samsung) that will do it.

htw

 

[jjmanfdl]

I have a fairly cheap laptop that i use for general useage around the house, and what i'd like to do is to be able to connect it to my TV through a USB port into the RCA jacks on my TV. mainly i want to be able to play a DVD on the laptop but view it on the TV, or watch a flick on netflix like this. in a nutshell, play the media on the comp but view and hear on the TV. Do i need any special software or hardware for this? hopefully it's somthing simple.

I've never used usb to connect my computers to my tv. For my laptop i just use the external video port for a direct connection. I think a lot of laptops have vga ports so if you have an hd tv you can just get a vga/dvi converter to plug it into the tv.

If you do need the connection to be RCA you can also buy adapters for vga to rca. Most adapters can be found at newegg. I'm not sure if that was any help, just what I use when I connect my pc/laptop to my tv.

 

[tinytim]

i use my ps3, and my wireless network, i set up the media centers on my computers on my network and can play most media files from any of my computers on my ps3, i can also download videos and files directly on to my ps3. works great

 

[burntbulb]

i have a Samsung blue-ray player that i picked up on black Friday... it wasn't a black Friday sale item but it was suppost to be $168.00 but the printer did not print the 1 on the sticker... there were 2 on the shelf with the same sticker. My gf works at wal-mart so i offered a woman $10 if she could get it through the register at the listed $68.00 so i basically got my $168 player for $78 it plays netflix and can connect to my network. the box said wireless ready but that requires an adapter but i had plenty of cable any way. of corse you could always use a avi, or s-video cable and plug directly in to the tv.

 

[BuffBot]

I just download what I need from torrent sites and stream it through my 360 via Windows Media Center. Don't need XBox live, but you do need to be connected to the internet. This won't help you with Netflix though.

 

[EverquestBB]

Couple options

Sounds like it must be an older (non-HD) TV so a VGA in does not exist as an input option on the back.

Here is the cable you will need assuming your laptop has a VGA out:

Adapter

You will also need an adapter for the 2.5 mm earphone port of the laptop if you want the sound to come through your TV:

Adapter

As stated above, a PS3 or a Wii can stream netflix for free if you have one of those. Or finally, Netflix makes a box that does this for you called the Roku. Personally if you are gonna go that option I would spring for a DVD/Blu Ray player with Wifi or an ethernet connection and skip the laptop option entirely (they are about the same price).

If you plan to watch the DVD or Netflix on an older CRT (tube type) television, however, I pity you as the screen on your laptop is almost definitely higher resolution. Might be time to spring for some newer technology . . .

 

[Rooster95]

Well, i set up my Wii to be able to stream the netflix stuff like i wanted, so i have that part pretty well whipped. The quality is about average.

Thanks for the links EQBB ... i'll get those ordered and check em out. And yeah, it's past time to spring for some new technology, but i gotta play santa to a wife and three kids, so its just not in the budget right now lol.

 

[twizzops]

I use my Wii to stream netflixs also. I think the Wii remote is perfect for it. It's about as close to a mouse as you can get.