How to Connect a Hewlett-Packard Laptop to a Plasma TV

Laptops give you the convenience of taking work and play with you on the go. Unfortunately, the laptop user sacrifices the enveloping experience of extra-large screens. If you have movies, streaming video, games or other multimedia on your Hewlett-Packard (HP) laptop that you'd like to enjoy on a larger, higher-definition screen, connecting your computer to a plasma TV is relatively easy. Plasma TVs and all newer TVs are designed with the expectation that you will be connecting a computer at some point, so this really is more of a process of finding the right type of cable.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Hewlett-Packard laptop
• Plasma TV
• Media cables (RCA, VGA, S-Video or HDMI)

1. 
    
   RCA inputs

   Look for media input jacks on the plasma television, beginning with RCA jacks. These may be located on the back, along the edges or in both places, and they may be concealed by plastic panels. If you have the user's guide for the plasma TV, you can refer to the guide instead if you prefer.

2. 
    
   VGA input

   Check for a VGA jack on the plasma TV.

3. 
    
   S-Video input

   Check for an S-Video jack on the plasma TV.

4. 
    
   HDMI input

   Check for an HDMI jack on the plasma TV.

5. Look for output jacks of each of the above types on your HP laptop. RCA outputs are more common on older computers and less common on newer ones. VGA outputs are relatively standard. HDMI outputs will only be found on newer laptops.

6. Find a common jack type between the plasma TV and the laptop, and buy a cable with plugs that fit these jacks.

7. Connect the HP laptop to the plasma TV using the cable.

8. Use the plasma TV's remote to cycle through the multimedia inputs until the laptop's screen appears on the TV.

Tips & Warnings

• HDMI cables will provide the sharpest picture, followed by VGA, S-video and RCA, respectively.