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Feature: Connecting Your Notebook to a TV

Lighten up, already. Most current-model notebooks allow you to mix pleasure with business by watching videos on DVD. And with the right setup, you can hook your notebook to a TV in your hotel room, at a friend's house, or wherever you happen to be staying. You could also see how your Microsoft PowerPoint presentation looks on TV--but there you go, obsessing about work again.

Connecting your notebook to a TV for watching DVDs is relatively straightforward, though not without potential bumps. This week I've got tips on making the connection as smooth as possible. I've focused on the connections most common today; the new DVI (Digital Visual Interface) and S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) connections are by no means widespread on today's notebooks and TVs. Also, I haven't included tips on connecting Windows Media Center notebooks to TVs, as those heavy computers (often nearly 10 pounds) aren't designed with frequent travelers in mind.

Step 1: Insert the DVD

With your notebook running Windows, insert a disc in the DVD drive. Though some multimedia notebooks enable you to play DVDs without launching Windows, I think it's easier to test everything and change display settings while in Windows.

Step 2: Make the Video Connection

To play a DVD video from your notebook on a TV, your computer must have a TV-out port. As its name implies, such a port allows you to use a standard TV as your notebook display. Many of today's notebooks feature TV-out ports, with the exception of some ultraportables such as IBM's ThinkPad X40. With space at a premium, TV-out ports are often sacrificed on super-small notebooks.

A notebook's TV-out connection is usually an S-Video-out port. S-Video provides higher image quality than traditional composite video connections, also called RCA connections.

To connect your notebook's S-Video-out port to a TV's S-Video?in port, you need an S-Video cable. Since most notebooks don't ship with the cable, you'll probably need to buy one. For the best-quality signal transfer, get an S-Video cable that's not too long (6 feet or less is best) and has gold connector tips. Monster Cable is among the companies that make these cables; they're widely available online and at electronics stores.

But here's a heads-up: While many notebooks support S-Video output, most older TVs have only composite video inputs. Adapters are available that convert S-Video to composite video, with some image degradation. One example is Radio Shack's RCA to S-Video Signal Converter.

Here's another potential gotcha: Some hotel-room TVs don't offer video inputs at all. Why not? I'm guessing that hotel management would prefer you watch their pay-per-view movies than your DVDs. They probably don't want you monkeying around with their TVs, either.

However, this scenario is beginning to change, as more hotel chains replace old CRT televisions with more advanced flat-panel screens. For instance, Marriott International plans to roll out 50,000 high-definition TVs in selected properties within the next four years. The HDTVs will include connections for notebooks, PDAs, DVD players, camcorders, and other devices, the company says.

Step 3: Connect the Audio

For audio, you'll need a cable that connects your notebook's headphone jack to a TV set's left and right stereo sound inputs. Fortunately, such cables are inexpensive (though there are high-end versions for audio purists). Radio Shack's 3' Gold Series Stereo Cable is available for $6.

Step 4: Set Up the TV

At this point, you may need to select the appropriate video input on the TV to view what's playing on your notebook's DVD drive. If you have a DVD player connected to your TV at home, you're probably already familiar with the idea of changing video inputs on the TV.

For example, I plug my HP Pavilion Dv1000 notebook into my Sony TV's front-panel input video and audio jacks. The 32-inch TV includes four video inputs, and the front-panel jack is designated as video input number two. So to watch what's being fed through that input, I click the TV/Video button on the TV remote until the title "Video 2" appears on the TV screen.

Step 5: Tweak Your Notebook Settings

To watch a DVD from your notebook on a TV, you'll most likely need to adjust your computer's display settings. On my notebook, for instance, I have to fiddle with the Intel Extreme Graphics 2 for Mobile utility in order to get the video to show up on a TV. To open the utility, I right-click the Extreme Graphics 2 icon in the system tray (the bottom right corner of the notebook screen). Then I choose Graphics Options, Output To, Television, and what's playing on my notebook is now displayed on the TV.

One More Thing: A Remote Control

Once you're on that couch or hotel bed watching a video, you'll wish your notebook DVD drive had a remote control. Most standard business notebooks don't come with one, but you can accessorize. The IWand 3-in-1 PC DVD Remote Control ($40) lets you play, pause, stop, advance, mute, and select chapters using the standard DVD player applications on Windows PCs.