How to Configure Your Laptop to Connect to Your TV

Getting your laptop to connect to your TV with the proper cables and converters is one thing. Actually telling your laptop what outputs to use in order to send the proper signals to your TV is another. Have no fear though, as using the following directions (or watching the video at the end) should make the process quick and painless.

Setting Up Video Output

If you're still not viewing your computer's desktop on your TV, follow these directions for any Windows 7 machine:

1. Right-click your Windows desktop and select 'Screen Resolution'
   
2. At the following dialog, you should see two screens. One is your laptop's screen, and the other is your TV. If you don't see two screens, ensure your cable is properly plugged in, your TV is powered on and switched to the correct input, and your video card drivers are up to date.
   
3. Under the dialog box that says Multiple Displays select Duplicate These Displays
4. Click OK
5. Your screen and TV may flash for a second, but when they come back they should be showing the exact same picture. Your screens are now set up -- time to check the audio.

Setting Up Audio Output

If you attempt to do something that would naturally carry audio (like play a YouTube video) and don't get any results, it's likely that your sound card is not configured properly. To properly configure your sound card, simply follow these steps on Windows 7:

1. Go to Start -> Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Sound
2. Select the Playback tab
3. Click on the proper icon for your audio output. If you are sending audio through a 3.5mm jack, select Speakers. If you are sending audio through an HDMI cable, select HDMI. Optical/Coax, select SPDIF and so on...
4. Click Set Default
5. Click OK

Both your audio and video should now be configured to run through the proper cables to your TV. Don't forget to switch the audio back after you're finished connecting your laptop to your TV!