How to Switch to HDMI on a Toshiba Laptop
By Ken Burnside
All Toshiba laptops have a way to display the desktop on an external monitor or television; most now have HDMI ports, which can transport both the video and audio stream to an external television. Connecting your laptop to an HDMI television is straightforward.
HDMI Cable
Step 1
Plug the HDMI cable into your Toshiba laptop's HDMI port.
Step 2
Plug the other end of the HDMI cable into one of the HDMI ports of the TV or external monitor you're using. If you're using a TV that allows firmware upgrades, make sure you're using the latest firmware for the TV by going to the manufacturer's website, entering the model number of the TV and downloading it. Some TVs have the ability to connect to the Internet and download software updates automatically.
Step 3
Use the television's remote control to select "HDMI" as the source. If the television has multiple HDMI inputs, you may need to select "HDMI1" or "HDMI2," depending on which port you plugged the laptop into.
Step 4
Turn on the laptop if it hasn't been done already.
Step 5
Right-click on the desktop and select "Graphics Options." Then select "Output To" from the context menu that comes up, and choose "Digital Television." Your laptop's screen will go dark, and the television screen will show the desktop. If the desktop doesn't show on the TV screen, use the remote to cycle through the input sources until you find the one that's displaying the computer's desktop.
Step 6
Right click on the desktop once it's on the TV screen and select "Screen Resolution." A dialog box will show up; one of the options will be "Resolution." Select 1920 x 1080 or 1920 x 1200, whichever matches the resolution of your television. You can also configure the displays to keep your laptop screen active (for mirroring what you're doing on the laptop on a television in a conference room) or use the laptop and television as two monitors with a shared desktop for more screen real estate. When you disconnect the laptop from the television, the screen resolution will automatically reset to the resolution of the laptop's display.
References
Tips
- Several models of Toshiba laptops don't have HDMI ports; the feature only started becoming standard around 2010's models, and for older laptops, it mostly appeared on the higher end models, like the E205 ultraportable. Toshiba's netbook like (beginning with the NB prefix) still doesn't have HDMI output as of late 2012.
- On your laptop, use the "Windows-P" key combination to select various options for extending, duplicating or using "Projector Only" screen settings.
Writer Bio
Ken Burnside has been writing freelance since 1990, contributing to publications as diverse as "Pyramid" and "Training & Simulations Journal." A Microsoft MVP in Excel, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Alaska. He won the Origins Award for Attack Vector: Tactical, a board game about space combat.