# LapTop Q about video

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-q-about-video/351935>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 9, 2006, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-q-about-video/351935 "2006-04-09T08:08:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-q-about-video/351935/1 "2006-04-09T08:08:53Z")

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looking to get a laptop capable of playing video via rca (as in s video to rca) or somthing simmilar and I am just wondering if anyone out there has any experience with a set up like that.

the reason being I teach multiple locations and have big tv’s at each location. I will only be running video and I dont need amazing quality or anything.

and any suggestions on what I need as a setup?

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**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-q-about-video/351935/2 "2006-04-09T08:41:11Z")

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I do that once in a while.

All you need is an S-Video to RCA cable (for the video). Optionally, you can also get a 3.5mm stereo minijack to RCA cable (for the audio). Typically, the video RCA end is yellow and the stereo audio is separated into red & white RCA ends.

RCA quality isn’t very good, though. It’s fine for movies and graphics, but text may be hard to read unless you enlarge it.

A lot of projectors and big TVs also accept S-Video input, which would be a much better choice. Even better would be VGA (“monitor cable”), if your laptop and the TVs support it.

Once you connect the buttons, look for a keyboard key (you’ll probably need to hold down the Fn button) that toggles between the built-in LCD display and the TV.

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**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-q-about-video/351935/3 "2006-04-09T08:42:41Z")

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Once you connect the **cables** , that is, not buttons :smack:

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**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-q-about-video/351935/4 "2006-04-09T08:46:38Z")

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(Sorry, missed this the first time)

So you don’t currently have a laptop that can do this, right? If you’re looking for a new one, just about anything with an S-Video port will do, but I’d suggest a notebook with an ATI or NVIDIA graphics card because they typically have better drivers that offer more control over your TV output.

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**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-q-about-video/351935/5 "2006-04-09T16:39:24Z")

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thanks for the tips,  
I figured it wouldnt be to hard but you never know with these things.