How to Switch a Computer Screen on to the TV

By Christopher Kennedy

Integrating a computer's media functionality into your home theater system has become easier than ever with the addition of high definition television sets and their VGA and HDMI inputs. Users can surf the web, listen to music and stream videos all from the comfort of their living room couches, forever lifting the computer's restriction to home office use. With the ability to access the Internet and their entire music and video libraries with their home theater systems, an individual's choices for home entertainment have become endless.

Plug one end of the VGA cable into your television's "VGA In" port and the other end into your computer's "VGA Out" port.

Power on both your computer and television.

Switch your TV to the "PC Input" and ensure that a video signal is being broadcast from your computer. If you are using a desktop computer, this will be automatic.

Using a laptop, press and hold the "Fn" key followed by pressing the "F4" key to switch the video from your computer to your television screen. Depending on the make and model of your laptop computer, you may need to press it twice to completely switch the video over to your television.

You can also access these settings by right-clicking on your computer's desktop and selecting "Screen Resolution" or "Properties" from the right click context menu. Click the "Detect" button on the window that appears. Select your television set from the visual of the monitors and click the check box next to "Make this my main display." Click "Apply" followed by "OK" when you have finished.

×