Linking a Dell laptop to a Philips TV

u01jet4

Hi,

I am wanting to link my Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop to my Philips 26" TV monitor so I can watch things from Iplayer and so on on my TV. I believe I may just need something called an S-Video cable but I'm not sure if this is the right cable for my laptop model and which type I need to get. Can anyone help?

Thanks!

totalsolutions

In order of preference then, (1) a HDMI lead (<£10), (2) S-Video lead plus a phono audio lead, (3) 15 pin video cable plus a phono audio lead, (4) Scart lead (RGB) to 15 pin plus a phono audio lead

nembot

I'd be tempted to swap (3) for (2) as 15pin VGA is capable of displaying higher resolutions and quite possibly the native resolution of your TV, which would provide the best image quality.

s-video is for 576i and 480p resolutions only and designed for low resolution images going back to VHS video and the like.

If your laptop has component out, looks like s-video but more pins. This would also enable you to use the tv's native resolution - though component input is more rare on TV's.

familyfitz

I've just managed to link my laptop (same as OP) to my Tv (Hanspree - don't go there!) using HDMI lead and now can finally watch more than 4 (yes only 4) channels on Tv through 'TV catch up'.

So, my Dell Inspiron definately has an HDMI socket so I guess its a case of whether your TV does and if so, that, I believe, is the best route.

Oh, my lead was £3.50 ish from Tesco but was infact free using a £5 off voucher in the paper (obviously with other things bought too).

almillar

I have to guess from this that it's a CRT TV, since most LCDs or plasmas would have a VGA or DVI (or of course HDMI) plug for the computer to go into. If your laptop does have an S-Video out, this would be about the best you can expect from a CRT, but it'll be low res and horrible for menus and stuff as the screen will seem small. Videos etc will be fine. I've never heard of a laptop having component out (red/green/blue phono) and it would be rare on a CRT, but some laptops have composite (single yellow phono) which is lower quality than S-Video.
totalsolutions - I'd love to see that 15pin - scart lead you're talking about I've never seen them for sale. Assuming we're stuck with a standard CRT, with an RGB scart input, this would be the highest quality way of getting a signal from a PC into an 'old' TV.

u01jet4

My tv is lcd. So it sounds like I can just buy an HDMI lead? does it just automatically show up the monitor or do you need to change settings? does anyone have a link to the type of cable I need?

Thanks again

almillar

You need to make sure you have an HDMI out on the laptop, and a spare HDMI connection on the TV. If so, just go ahead and buy an HDMI cable. If it's a version 1.3 cable that's even better. eBay will be cheaper than supermarkets etc. It'll be AV1 or HDMI1 or something on the TV, and you may need to tell your computer to output to external monitor or similar.