Thursday, March 29, 2012

Connect HDMI Laptop to VGA TV

Your Laptop (HDMI Out)
Your TV (VGA In)
If connecting your laptop to your TV directly with an HDMI cable or with an HDMI to DVI converter cable isn't an option, the next best option is to use an HDMI to VGA converter. While VGA is not a digital signal like HDMI or DVI, and therefore will never be quite as crystal clear, it does allow for higher resolutions than its component, S-Video, and RCA counterparts.

Using an  HDMI to VGA converter to connect your laptop to your TV will allow for 1920x1080 resolutions (the same pixel resolution as 1080p), but when viewing the same picture at the same resolution through an HDMI cable, the trained eye will notice a slight difference in quality. In order to successfully connect your laptop's HDMI output to your TV's VGA input, you'll need the following items.



HDMI cable

First, you'll need a standard HDMI cable. Nothing fancy is necessary; a simple, $3-$5 cable with good reviews is all you need. Don't get tricked by a salesman at Best Buy into buying a $200 "guaranteed for life" Monster cable that carries the exact same 1's and 0's as a $5 BlueRigger cable.

One end of this HDMI cable will attach to your laptop's HDMI OUTPUT and the other end will attach to your HDMI to VGA converter's HDMI INPUT.

HDMI to VGA Converter

Since HDMI carries a digital signal and VGA carries an analog signal, a converter is necessary to connect your HDMI laptop to your VGA TV. In addition to converting video, this adapter also will take audio from your HDMI cable if you so desire and output it to an analog 3.5mm audio format.

To use this adapter, simply plug the HDMI cable originating from your laptop into the adapter's HDMI INPUT port and plug one end of your VGA cable into the adapter's VGA OUTPUT slot.

VGA cable

Lastly, you'll need a VGA cable to carry the analog signal from the adapter to your TV. A VGA cable is your basic monitor cable and usually has a blue colored plug on each end. If you have a spare montior cable lying around (make sure it's VGA and not DVI) that will work as well.

One end of your VGA cable should already be plugged into your adapter's VGA OUTPUT port, so simply plug the other end into your TV's VGA INPUT port, change your TV's input to VGA, and you should be up and running!

HDMI to VGA Audio Options


While HDMI cables have the ability to carry audio, VGA cables, being analog in nature, do not. There are several options you can pursue when connecting your laptop's audio to your TV's speakers. However, considering the build of the HDMI to VGA converter listed above, your best bet in my opinion is to simply buy a 3.5mm analog audio cable and connect it from your converter directly to your TV. Check to make sure your TV accepts 3.5mm audio input first, but chances are if it accepts VGA video input it does. Then, set your computer to send audio over HDMI and you're in business!

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