What do I need to set my laptop as a TV?

I want to connect my laptop to my tv...?

• Ok so i have a laptop and i want to connect it to my tv for gaming,movies etc i know i need a VGA cable which my tv is compatible with but on the back of my tv there's a little square that says RBG Computer then theres the place were my vga cable goes but beside it there's a whole that says audio only one whole what wire would i need to put audio on my tv and when i have all the cables how do i set up my laptop on my tv

• Answer:

  The VGA cable displays video only. The little hole is for the audio connector. What you want is commonly called a dual male-to-male 3.5 mm stereo audio cable. (3.5 mm = 1/8". Stereo cables are sometimes also more technically referred to as "TRS" for tip-ring-sleeve.) It has a plug on both ends that looks like the plug on a pair of headphones. One end goes into that jack on your TV next to the VGA connector, and the other end goes to the headphone output jack of your laptop. Be sure to get one long enough to easily reach your computer, probably 6 feet or 10 feet would be plenty. You can get one almost anywhere, usually WalMart or any office supply store (Staples, etc.) will have them or buy online from a site like Amazon. Once you've got the cables connected, start up the computer, select the "RGB Computer" input on your TV and see if you have a picture. If not, there's probably a function key on your laptop to enable the external VGA connector. (If I knew the make and model of your laptop I could tell you exactly.) On my Toshiba Satellite for example, it's Fn+F5. Pressing this key combination cycles the display through internal, external, and both simultaneously. If you have the audio cable connected, and the sound up on the laptop's volume control, you should hear it through the TV as well without having to do anything special.