Watching films from laptop on the tv...clueless!

shady63

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to buy films online (download) and then watch them through my TV but I have NO idea what I am doing!

Firstly: Is it actually possible to download films to keep and put on a USB stick? If I do that I can put the USB into the TV and watch the film.

Secondly: If the above is possible, where do I buy these downloads?

Thirdly: If the above isn't possible, how can I watch a film online (using lovefilm watch online or similar) through my TV? I'm guessing there must be a way to get it to play through the TV.

Any help would be MUCH appreciated!

movilogo

It depends configuration of your laptop and TV.

If they both have HDMI, then simply connect computer with TV using HDMI cable.

Some modern TVs do have USB ports and it may or may not read video files from USB.

scheming_gypsy

A lot of TV's have USB but it's just a service port and not for sticking a USB stick in and running things from it.

But everything depends on what ports you have on the laptop and TV.
HDMI & HDMI - a HDMI cable rom the laptop to the TV
if they're older you might have to use an S-Video cable from the laptop to the TV and then a 3.5mm jack to RCA for the sound (jack in speaker out and RCA into the TV audio in)

shady63

It's a crappy laptop, no hdmi port. I was told I could watch films using the USB port on TV by plugging in the memory stick. That's one of the reasons we chose this TV.

Thank you. *off to google S-video cable*

grumpycrab

shady63 wrote: »

It's a crappy laptop, no hdmi port. ...

What about VGA? Most laptops have these. And the TV?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VGA_connector

Note this just does the picture.

PS. what model is the TV?

neilwoods

Sounds like it will be a VGA to VGA with separate cable for sound 3.5mm to 3.5mm or 3.5mm to twin phono (red & white phono)

Do you an xbox in the house at all, can network that through the router and play all films and music via the tv then.

http://www.indiemoviesonline.com/

http://www.blinkbox.com

shady63

grumpycrab wrote: »

What about VGA? Most laptops have these. And the TV?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VGA_connector

Note this just does the picture.

PS. what model is the TV?

Yup laptop and the TV both have the VGA

The TV is a samsung PS51D450

shady63

neilwoods wrote: »

Sounds like it will be a VGA to VGA with separate cable for sound 3.5mm to 3.5mm or 3.5mm to twin phono (red & white phono)

Do you an xbox in the house at all, can network that through the router and play all films and music via the tv then.

http://www.indiemoviesonline.com/

http://www.blinkbox.com

We have an xbox but it's wrapped up for Christmas for my son haha!

So, from the links you've given me can I watch online, use the VGA and a 3.5mm cable and literally just plug it all together, set the source and it should work? Is there anything I need to do on the laptop settings or anything?

Thanks everyone for the help by the way!

grumpycrab

After connecting the VGA cable you will have to find the correct laptop key combination to activate the VGA outout. If you have Windows7 press "Windows key"+P to cycle through the display options. Will need a bit of playing around to get what you want. e.g. may be best to use "extended mode" where the TV gets the "extended page" which is set to a resolution to suit the telly.

PS Your Samsung may have "Connect Share Movie" via the USB port. May be of use but I know nothing about it.

TakeThis

grumpycrab wrote: »

After connecting the VGA cable you will have to find the correct laptop key combination to activate the VGA outout. If you have Windows7 press "Windows key"+P to cycle through the display options. Will need a bit of playing around to get what you want. e.g. may be best to use "extended mode" where the TV gets the "extended page" which is set to a resolution to suit the telly.

PS Your Samsung may have "Connect Share Movie" via the USB port. May be of use but I know nothing about it.

With this there is no need to use the laptop at all for downloaded films. Especially as it will potentially impact on the quality of the displayed images.

There are some samples here to help you test the capabilities of TV via USB.

hanwellmike

Alternative is to buy a media player. Plenty on the market and they are designed to work with video files stored on hard drive / flash drive. They can be as cheap as £20 but probably £50-70 for a good one. A lot simpler than trying to hook up your laptop to the tv. You could spend £20 on a cheap one and if you liked it, upgrade later.