Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with TV and laptop

Help me find a laptop to match my TV.

markblasco — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:05:22 -0800

Help me find a laptop to match with my TV. More inside. We are looking to run a laptop along with our TV as a sort of media center. It would need to have component (RGB) output, not HDMI. We have a tuner it would plug into, which would route the sound and video to our TV. When not in use with the TV, we would use it while sitting around the living room, so a desktop media center PC is not an option.

We do NOT need to record video on it, since we don't have a cable subscription. What we are looking to do with it is to watch hulu and other online shows, as well as do some web surfing. We would also watch HD videos from the computer, so the computer needs to be able to support HD output, which the currently available netbooks don't seem to do (and they also don't have component output connections).

Can someone help me find a solution?

Someday we'll find it, the USB connection...

Doctor Suarez — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:21:59 -0800

Help me build a laptop puppet My friends/coworkers and I are about to start a video project and our idea involves a talking laptop puppet. Not an animated screen, mind you, but a mouth-flapping laptop.

Here's what I have figured so far:

-Buy a plastic dummy laptop like they use in furniture stores/model homes. (actually, buy two)
-modify/replace the hinges so that it moves really quickly. This would either involve new hardware or simple tape-hinges.
-mount on a cheap, thin coffee table (or substitute)
-drill through both laptop base and table
-mount push-rod through hole and connect to upper "jaw" of laptop
-hide puppeteer under table.
-install two blue LEDs to top front of laptop for eyes. (I was lucky enough to work with Muppeteers in the past, and I learned that puppets need eyelines)

Is there anything I'm forgetting? What is the best color laptop body for filming? I was thinking the silver model.

Currently, I can buy the dummy laptop at this site, but if I could buy one locally that would be a big help as time is short. (I live in LA. Does anyone know a local shop where such a thing could be purchased?)

Connect Intel Macbook to basic TV?

AONeal79 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:24:43 -0800

Even after reading these forums, I still can't get my head around exactly what I need to connect my Macbook to my basic, non-HD TV. What I would love is if someone could give me specific product ID numbers from Monoprice for each cable/adapter that I need. Here are photos of my Macbook and the back of my basic, 5-year old Toshiba TV. Thanks so much!

Windows Vista Doesn't Work with VGA to HDMI Converter Box

ao4047 — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:46:02 -0800

We have an HP Slimline machine running video with an Nvidia Geforce 6150 SE graphics card. We are wanting to use a VGA->HDMI box to convert the video output of the desktop and connect it to our television: 1) We know the VGA->HDMI box works correctly.

We tested with an Asus EEE Laptop running Windows XP and the video successfully outputs to the TV.

We tested with a Macbook Pro laptop and the video successfully outputs to the TV.

2) We know the HP Slimline desktop works sometimes.

When we boot up the desktop the 'HP INVENT' splash screen shows on the tv.

Then, the green status bar with 'Microsoft Corporation' displays.

Then, something happens to the video and the signal stops. I'm guessing that once the boot begins and then Vista settles in something is interfering with the signal being sent to the the VGA->HDMI box.

Any ideas? Thanks!

I found this previous thread but I think we're a bit further along in our testing.

How to show computer desktop and video on LCD TV

atm — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:40:53 -0800

Hi, I'm looking for a way to show my computer's desktop on my large LCD TV so my wife and I can both see it. I have a used an s-video cable (along with an audio cable) from my laptop to the TV, but there are three problems with this method. 1) requires a reboot of my laptop to make it recognize the TV and play to it 2) text is blurry on the TV due to TV's unsuitability for acting as a computer monitor 3) requires the s-video cable to be plugged into the otherwise wirelessly connected laptop So I'm looking for a solution that will eliminate these problems. Like maybe something that will just play my desktop as a video signal to the TV and not try to make the TV into another monitor of my computer. Also, I'm not looking for HDTV quality, just watchable video (internet quality would be fine.) Thanks!

Run a laptop while it's closed?

trip and a half — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:50:23 -0800

Can I make my Dell laptop keep running when it is closed? I recently bought this Dell laptop. Don't ask me why -- I needed a laptop right away and it looked like the best thing at BestBuy at the moment. Anyway, I'm mostly happy with it, but I want it to run when it's shut.

As I announced in this AskMe answer, I have a new tv tuner that plugs into the usb port. Thing is, I also often have the laptop connected to an external monitor. For purely aesthetic reasons, I want to be able to close the laptop and still have it output the video to the external monitor. Is this possible? I've looked at the manual and googled but I can't find out how to do this.

Big Screen Blues

Glitter Ninja — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 08:09:19 -0800

How can I play things like movies from my laptop to my TV? I have a Compaq PC500 Notebook with an S-Video port, and an RCA HDTV that has one also, as well as an s-video cable. I figured that would be pretty straightforward, and that I could just plug them both in, unplug the dvd cables (both the s-video spot and the red/yellow/white cables are located on the front of the tv, because it's kind of big and bulky.) However, when I turn it on, and switch the input to front, nothing happens- are there extra steps I need to take that I've missed?

Using my TV as a monitor

Juicylicious — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 06:44:50 -0800

Can I use my TV as a monitor for my laptop while doing other work on the laptop? I have an S connector for my laptop. I would like to watch ITunes movies on my TV while doing email, etc. on my laptop. Is that possible?

Using laptop IR to control TV

punishinglemur — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 13:47:01 -0800

How can I use the IR port on my Windows XP laptop to control my television?

Now you're playing with power

kensanway — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 17:44:19 -0800

I have DVDs that play on my laptop but not on the standard DVD Player. Short of buying a cheap DVD player from an Asian grocery store, is there a way I can use a cable to play it on my laptop but watch the result on my big fat TV? My laptop's an inspiron 1100--by Dell. (I know, I'm sorry.) It doesn't seem to have the sort of audio-out hole that most digital cameras have.

TV on a lap through router?

PigAlien — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 11:05:46 -0800

I want to watch TV on my laptop via wifi. Does anyone know how I can do this? For example, Toshiba's new Qosmio laptops come with a 'Wifi TV Router'. Does anyone else make a WiFi TV router? Or, alternatively, I have another computer with a TV card in it. What software could I install to stream the live TV signal from my server? I know there are streaming video products, but I don't know if any of them can also handle changing channels on a live TV stream. Any helpful suggestions appreciated. Thanks! I have been doing research, and I see some of the software, such as shoutcast's server, will accept live video feeds, but they won't let you change the channel. The same is true of Microsoft's Media Encoder. I am thinking perhaps of using something like PCAnywhere to change the channel and using the server to stream the video. Also, most of the streaming software is not free. Are there any free or OSS streaming alternatives?

Can my laptop with DVD player serve my in-car TV/DVD player needs?

Sean Meade — Fri, 12 Dec 2003 12:56:57 -0800

I'm in the market for an in-car DVD player and tv. Can a laptop with a DVD player fill this role well? This would be my preferred solution for some obvious reasons. Is there any problem with skipping?

(I have Googled this some and couldn't find good info...)