connecting laptop to tv..

[HeartShapedSaw]

I bought a cable to connect my laptop to my TV so I can watch movies etc on TV instead of laptop, but my laptop does not have a HDMI port so cable would not work.

What kind of cable can I use? Is there such thing as a cable with USB and then the three coloured thingys?

I know nothing... please help me!

If there's no HDMI port then you probably have a tv/monitor 9-pin serial port. You may have the same type of input on your TV, or you may need to get a serial to VGA (the three coloured thingies!) cable.

I use a simple VGA to VGA cable as laptop has VGA out and TV has VGA In (what it calls Computer in).

What you need really will depend on what sockets are on the TV and on the Laptop.

I always go to youtube and type in the question. Always amazed at the amount of vids there are on most things. Just a thought.

If your TV has HDMI but no VGA you can use one of these

Thanks, both have VGA and just discovered through the joys of youtube that I need a sound cable too.

Not sure how many TVs have a sound input - some have a sound output to feed into an Amp and speakers (or a 3.5mm socket for headphones), but not all.

Also, in my (albeit limited) experience, some of the modern TVs will distort the sound if you have the volume up a bit... I have 42", 40", 32" and an assortment of 24" sets (that get used with various computers, plus Android tablet, PS3, FreeSat, Freeview HD, etc)

I'm using a separate hi-fi amp and speakers instead... but not one of the very costly amps at 700+ quid for AV... the setup cost me 250 for an Onkyo Amp, CD player, and Radio tuner and Wharfedale speakers (those alone would have been 100 quid).

Depends a bit on your laptop (some Tosh laptops are quite loud and have decent speakers in, like some Apple gear) but a 20-odd quid speaker system (2.1 so it has a sub-woofer for bass, and a pair of speakers) would probably do the trick and you could place the speakers either side of the TV.

There are some reasonable reviews of Logitech speakers... sometimes found in computer sections of Asda, Tesco but also:

Altec Lansing BXR1321UK on Ebay 27.00
(possibly only 1)

LOGITECH Z323 2.1 PC Speakers at PC World approx 31 quid

LOGITECH LS21 SPEAKER SYSTEM 19.99 on Ebay
(or make a reasonable offer - eg 17.50)