Many laptops, and some desktop Windows PC’s include a special socket that connects to most TV sets.
If you have S-Video sockets on both devices, buy a cable. A 12-foot long cable sells for under $5 on eBay or Amazon.com. The cable will cost considerably more if you buy it at a local store ($20 to $50+).
The S-Video socket is round, has two pins on the left side, two pins on the right side, and keyways at the top and bottom. If you’d like to see a photo, go to images.google.com and search for s-video.
If you have a desktop PC, inspect the cards and sockets on the PC (front and back). If your desktop PC has a powerful video card, it’s more likely to have what you need.
Plug the cable into both devices. Turn on the TV and switch it to the Video Input that matches the socket (a label near the socket tells you which Input).
You must reboot the PC. Windows “finds” the TV during Windows launch. The TV may flicker a few times. You cannot usually add a TV or second monitor while Windows is running.
Next, we’ll configure the monitors so Windows has a Desktop that’s double the width of your current Desktop.
Right-click on a blank area of your Windows Desktop and you’ll get a menu. Click on Properties (or Personalize), then click the (Display) Settings tab.
Click on the icon of Monitor No. 2 and you should get a message asking if you wish to Enable it. Click Yes.
Change the resolution on both monitors to 800 x 600. You can try higher resolutions, but they may not work.
Enable the check box named “Extend my Windows Desktop to This Monitor.” Click Apply or OK.
If everything is in place, you should see your ordinary Desktop and icons on your laptop monitor, and a copy of your Desktop background without any icons on the TV set. Your Windows Desktop now extends across both monitors. Test by moving your mouse pointer to the TV set.
Simpler video cards don’t have the resources to carry colors, so the second monitor may be Black & White. Try another PC, or settle for B&W, or you can try choosing fewer Colors.
If the TV set is to the left of your laptop, click and drag the #2 monitor icon so it’s to the left of the #1 icon, just to avoid confusion.
Launch your internet browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome) and go to the Netflix (or other) website. Choose the movie you’ll Play online. Make sure your browser is not “full-screen” — click the little box/double-box at the top right corner to make your browser slightly smaller than full-screen. Now you can click and drag the top of the browser to one side and drop it on the TV set. Click the box/double-box and it will expand to full-screen on the TV.
Click “Full Screen” in the bottom right corner of the Netflix player to get rid of the menus and backgrounds. Click the center of the screen to begin Play. Move the mouse to the laptop Desktop to make the controls disappear. If you have nice speakers, connect them through the headphone jack of your laptop to obtain richer audio. You may also listen through headphones, or a double-headphone jack (Radio Shack, $5).
Enjoy your movie.
If the Screen Saver pops up, right-click on a blank area of the laptop desktop, click Properties, and set the screen saver to 200 minutes. Remember to change it back when you’re done.
To Pause your movie, point the mouse to the TV set. You’ll get a Play/Pause button on the bottom left corner, and a scroll bar that shows the film’s progress.
To drag the browser back to the laptop monitor, you’ll have to click the box/double-box to make it less than full screen. You can also launch another instance of your browser so you’ll have one on each Desktop/monitor.
Charlie Gosh has written lots of helpful articles that show anyone how you can save money, improve your life, save time, and other interesting topics.
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