How to Connect a DVD to a Projector & Monitor
By Solomon Poretsky
It used to be that while it was easy to connect a DVD player to a projector, connecting it to a computer monitor was impossible without buying an additional adapter box to transmit DVD signals over a standard 15-pin video cable. Thanks to the rapid adoption of the High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) cable standard, though, many monitors feature an HDMI port that allows you to directly connect a consumer video product like a DVD player.
Turn off your DVD player, projector and monitor.
Plug one end of the HDMI cable into your DVD player's HDMI output and connect the other end of the cable to your monitor's HDMI input. The HDMI plug is a very thin trapezoid and will only go in the correct way, so you should not need to force it.
Determine which video connection format your DVD player and projector share. The best option is component video, which is a connection that has three color-coded phono jacks -- red, green and blue. The second best is an S-Video connection, which uses a round connector with four pins. The poorest-quality option is a composite video connection. Composite video uses a single phono jack and is usually color-coded yellow.
Connect the appropriate video cable between your DVD player and your projector, being careful not to disturb the HDMI cable that you already connected. Note that if you use an S-Video connector, it is important that you orient the cable in the right direction before installing it. If you force it, you could break the pins in the connector.
Turn on your devices on with their respective power buttons.
Use your projector's "Source" or "Input" button to select the input to which you connected the DVD player.
References
Writer Bio
Solomon Poretsky has been writing since 1996 and has been published in a number of trade publications including the "Minnesota Real Estate Journal" and "Minnesota Multi-Housing Association Advocate." He holds a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from Columbia University and has extensive experience in the fields of financial services, real estate and technology.