Connecting a laptop to a TV

Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

This content is related to the Faculty of Dance

Related Faculty of Music content: n/a

Equipment needed

Laptops can be booked out in the Faculty of Dance through the eQuip online booking service.

Cables can be borrowed from the Faculty of Dance library’s enquiries desk. If you are using audio, please ask for Cable #18.

If you don’t need audio, please ask for Cable #17.

If connecting to a TV using HDMI, you will need to ask for Cable #13.

If connecting to a Mac, you will need to ask for an Apple Mac Adaptor #01.

Steps to take

Using the remote, turn on the TV and change the source input to ‘VGA’ or ‘HDMI 2‘ if using a HDMI cable.
Connect one end of the VGA cable to the VGA port on the back of the TV, or ‘HDMI 2′ if using a HDMI cable.
If you wish to play audio from the laptop through the TV’s speakers and have Cable #18 – connect the audio cable that is attached to the VGA cable to the AUDIO IN socket on the back of the TV near the VGA port.

If using HDMI, the cable will already send the audio through the TV and requires no extra steps.
To connect a Windows laptop to the TV, connect the other end of the VGA or HDMI cable to the Laptop. If you have Cable #18 and wish to play audio through the TV, please connect the corresponding audio cable that is attached to the VGA cable to the laptop’s headphone socket.
To connect a MacBook you will need to connect the VGA cable to ‘Cable #01 Apple Mac Adapter’ before connecting to the thunderbolt socket on the laptop.
You may want to duplicate your screen on the TV, to do this with a Windows laptop press the Windows key and the P key on the keyboard, and select “Duplicate”.
On a Mac, open System Preferences -> Displays -> select Arrangement tab -> tick the “Mirror Displays” box.
The volume is controlled through the TV’s speakers, so use the VOLUME buttons on the remote (or the physical buttons on the rear of the TV) to turn the audio level up or down.

Video Tutorials