How to Play Movies on a Hard Drive on TV
If you have movies stored on the hard drive of a computer, you can watch your films on a larger TV with a cable jack, transforming your laptop or PC into a home theater for watching movies from your hard drive.
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Things You'll Need
- USB-HDMI digital cable, or USB/S-video cable
- Television with HDMI or S-video input jack
Instructions
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1
Connect the USB cable to a port on your laptop or PC.
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2
Connect the HDMI jack on the other end of the cable to the HDMI input on your television. If you are using an S-video connection, plug in the S-video cable to the TV's input jack.
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3
Boot up the computer or laptop, and turn on the TV.
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4
Set the signal input, using the TV remote control, to the jack connecting your computer. For example, if you have connected the computer to TV input 2, make sure the setting is for input 2 so you will be able to see and hear the signal from your computer.
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5
Launch software for playing the movie on your hard drive and start playback.
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Adjust the volume on your television to a comfortable listening level. If you plug audio-out cables from the TV's audio output jacks into the audio input jacks of a home theater receiver, you can listen to the movie through your surround sound speakers. Although you can listen to the film through your full speaker package this way, only movies recorded in surround sound will give true surround sound playback.
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Tips & Warnings
Connecting cables are available at computer and electronics stores. Buy one long enough to make your connections without having to rearrange a lot of equipment in your home. Place your laptop or PC on a small stand near the TV. It's easier to bring the laptop to the television than the other way around.
Turn off all equipment while making the connections.
