How to Connect a Laptop to an Analog TV

By James Clark

VGA port on a laptop for hooking up a monitor or TV.
i vga image by MATTHIEU FABISIAK from Fotolia.com

Hooking up a laptop to an analog TV is not significantly different from connecting to any other external video device, such as a monitor. The 15-hole video output on the side or back edge of the laptop for connecting a monitor is the same port for hooking up an analog TV. Connecting the cable to the TV requires an adapter to convert the signal to an S-video plug that can hook up to the television.

Shut down the laptop and turn off the analog television.

Push the 15-pin plug on the adapter cable into the corresponding VGA port on the laptop and tighten the bolt on each end of the plug.

Connect the round plug on the other end of the cable to the S-video input on the analog TV.

Switch on the laptop and the analog set.

Press the function (Fn) key on the laptop along with the numbered F key printed with a small screen icon to change the video output to the analog TV. The correct F key to use differs among laptop models. Acer laptops use the F6 key for example, and the Sony Vaio laptop uses the F7 key.

Press the input button on the analog TV remote control to activate the S-video connection and view content from the laptop.

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