New Game World

Opinion and advice from a star technician:

TV's + Computers = Loads of Fun?

By: Richard Macias

Connecting a PC to a TV may seem easy for some and daunting for others. This is for those in the daunting category. We'll show you, step by step, how to correctly connect a PC to a TV and shed light to some of the cooler things you can add for personal or business use.

The first step is simple.

Become familiar with your available ports as seen below. Look at the back and side of your TV and laptop to see if you have HDMI, VGA and/or DVI and component ports available. You will also want to locate your audio out that connects with a 1/8 inch audio cable. Once you have it all down you can now make better decisions as what to purchase.

Let's talk about the cables you may or may not need.

Depending on your computer and TV, you may use one of the following video cables: S-Video (not recommended), VGA (most common), HDMI or DVI with an HDMI or VGA converter. You will also need a 1/8 audio cable and you may need a 1/8 Y splitter depending on your laptop. By the way cables are very very expensive at your local retailer, so shop around online (try mycablemart, Amazon, Best Buy or EBay) and see what good quality cables you can get. Remember HDMI is also the main problem for connecting audio-video device especially those supporting HDTV of 1080i or 1080p...so before you call your cable company, CE manufacturer make sure you have a standard component cable to test your system.

Now for peripherals.

You will need a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, otherwise you will not have the distance you need (I personally like Logitech MX5500). A wireless or network printer is quite handy, along with a NAS or External HDD. Now you need to decide what you'd like to do on the TV. Is its primary use for business, movies, games, music, internet or some combination? If you or a family member are visually impaired, don't try to use a huge TV. It's better to stick with a 24" monitor on a desk that can be pulled forward and clearly seen up close, unlike a large TV on a wall. Depending on the severity of impairment, you should consider getting Jaws, Kurzweill and a Brail Note accessory.

Desktop or laptop?

Now that you have decided on its primary purpose it's time to pick the type of PC... desktop or laptop? If you have the space, a desktop is most suitable for gamers. You can purchase a brand name PC or build one yourself. Just make sure that it has a wireless internet card, is blue tooth capable, has ample ram based on the OS whether its Mac or PC, and has a decent video card, preferably with HDMI outputs. Choose a sound card based on what your plans are regarding your audio entertainment system.

If you love DVR-R's, stop paying your cable provider, get a built in TV Tuner for your PC and start the DVR. Once you have it all in place connect all your cables in their appropriate locations and get ready. Now for the fun part I will just explain some of the fun things you can do with a system of this type on a TV that will maximize its use, but there is much more than one article can explain. Since you now have a PC on your TV, grab those XBox or PlayStation remote controls and start using them on the PC. If you have the wired models you will have to buy an adapter to go USB but it is worth it for the best controls. If you want to do Karaoke and already have Rock Band or Guitar Hero World Tour you can connect your microphone via USB and sing away with Karafun or PCDJ Karaoke Software . If you're into watching TV and don't want to spend money on a Sling Box make sure you have a TV tuner get Log Me In Pro and watch your shows remotely just remember it's not as good as a Sling Box and you need a good internet connection. Turn your system into a professional DJ mixer with Virtual DJ. Download Firefox and start saving all your favorite flash video offline. Get all your family photos and save them in the folder "My Pictures" then use the My Pictures Slide Show screen saver and enjoy. Set up an account with Pandora or Slacker radio and start streaming the music you want to hear without the hassle of downloading. As I mentioned there is so much that can be done this could go on forever.

Laptops are great on a TV, they don't take up much room and have everything built right in but they aren't as easy to upgrade and may be very limited so choose wisely. Depending on the lap top you may need a couple of different items. First a question, will the unit only be used on the TV or will it be used for other purposes like travel? If it stays put you'll want to buy a cooling pad for the unit and make sure an air can is always handy for cleaning. If it travels you'll want to consider buying a docking station for the unit so you don't have to worry about plugging and unplugging everything and once again a cooling pad and air can doesn't hurt. Regardless of the laptops use you should remove the battery when it's plugged in for an extended period of time on the TV to prolong battery life. Know your connections, if the laptop has the audio split in two different channels like the Vostro line from Dell get use the Y cable splitter. If HDMI is available don't use a VGA cable like most people do to connect.

Well I don't want a crazy computer I just want it to work for my business applications, what do I need?

Well you will still have the option to do any and all of the above but the location of your office TV can dramatically change how you use it. If it's located in a reception area you can run ads on the unit either through a PC or a DVD player. If it's a touch screen TV consider setting it up as a kiosk to provide access to information, registration, your website etc. Now if the TV is in a conference room and you are in the process of building the room out make sure your run any and all wires pre-furniture installation and give yourself some cable access holes otherwise you'll run into problems later. So here you want to have a large KVM set up for however many computers you would like to have displayed on the TV. You may consider getting one access line per chair so you may display both video and audio on the TV. You may also split the channel to desktop monitors that retract into the table. Controlling the unit can be done any number of ways from touch pads, track balls, mouse, wacom, touch screen you name it you can do it but each one has its ups and downs. My favorite is a combination of a built in table Wacom and a mouse. Normally this unit should not be used for work but as presentations however you will still need a Bluetooth keyboard. If you can set up RDP within your network it can also become even more powerful by accessing other computers directly.

Can I use a tablet PC?

Yes you can but don't buy one for the sake of connecting it to your TV. If you have one sure go right ahead and connect it but don't expect it to make your TV touch screen. However you can continue using your tablet in injunction with your TV to make for better presentations but make sure you clone the screen and you have a good pen application to highlight or draw over any application. There are some free screen drawing software's out there like Desktop Pen but consider some of the paid apps like Ultimate Pen they have free trial versions so give it a shot. Now if you have to have a pen to work your computer consider getting a Bluetooth Wacom Tablet and scribe away. Because traipsing a cable across a living room or office works but it is very unsightly and can be hazardous.