best way to connect laptop to TV

[fabpozzi]

I have got a new laptop (Dell latitude d830). I have a lot of movies, mainly in DivX format, that I would show on my TV (a new Panasonic plasma HDready, 80 series). To watch the movies on my PC I am using KMplayer, that works pretty well. My laptop has the following I/O ports: USB, S-Video, serial, VGA, 1394 (is it a FireWire ?); my Panasonic has the following input ports: S-Video, Scart, Component, PC (looks same as VGA of my laptop) and HDMI. On your opinion, which should be the best way to connect my laptop to my TV, to watch DviX/avi files (including those labelled as "HD"), and standard DVD discs?
If there is no way to make such connection with quality high enough, which external DVD/DviX player (or conversion device) would you suggest to buy?
Thank you in advance.

[guns1inger]

You will get better quality from a good standalone that has a quality upscaler and HDMI output.

You should also be aware that most Divx/Xvid movies that have HD in the name are referring to the source, not the output. If they are less that 1200 pixels across, they are not HD. Most will be less than 720 - 640 pixels across, and your HD TV will show them for the over-compressed video that they are.

The best you will get from your laptop is through the VGA ports, which will bypass most, if not all, of the image processing your TV does to smooth out video and make the sub-HD stuff look passable.

[fabpozzi]

Sorry, but I am a newcomer to the HD video stuff...
For "standalone" are you meaning a DVD/DivX player or Blueray? Could yo suggest me some example that is worth the money?
By the side, to have a HD quality for a HDready TV, which kind of media should I use (DVD, BlueRay, or some compressed stuff better than DivX....)?
Have you any "tutorial" on those topics to suggest to a newcomer as I am?

[guns1inger]

There is a lot of HD ready material that will fit on a DVD. It is 720p resolution, but that is generally far better than DVD. Any movie you have that is 700 MB to 1.4GB Xvid or Divx avi format is not HD. Far from it.

I don't have any specific products to offer you, as I am still resolutely standard definition. When (if) the time comes to upgrade, my preference will be for Pioneer as I have always had good fortune with their products. They have always been superior in quality and longevity to other brands.

[DereX888]

If your tv has VGA input, you could try use the old-fashion monitor cable and connect your laptop same as you would connect it to any external monitor.
Assuming your tv allow it, and your laptop is capable of, you could set your display to 1280x720 or maybe 1920x1080 and play your movies on tv same as you would on external monitor.

I haven't try it at HD res, because my last laptop had only 1024x768 max res for external monitor, but I was able to hook it up using VGA<->VGA cable to my plasma's VGA input (that's the one you call "PC input" that looks exactly the same as on your lkaptop - the blue one usually). Problem was with sound, because there was only typical headphone jack output on my laptop with plain stereo, and probably it'll be the same with yours. Hence, even if you will be able to get HD picture on your tv, you'll still have 2.0 surround sound at best.

Any movie you have that is 700 MB to 1.4GB Xvid or Divx avi format is not HD. Far from it.

No doubt guns1inger is right. They are SD resolution or less.

Could yo suggest me some example that is worth the money?

Perhaps if you state your annual income and yearly expenses we could make a suggestion what may be "worth" for you (since you can't figure it out yourself) LOL
(in other words, if you didn't get it - whats "worth" to me, may not neccesarily be "worth" to you, so quit asking such questions)

[fabpozzi]

Wow, with "worth" I was only meaning some tool possibly costing much less than the TV set (that is about 1000 Euro!) and my income is not so high to make another big expense (otherwise I would have bought some good but expensive Home Theater with a 50" screen, a lot of BlueRay discs etc. and I would have not waisted time with DivX files).
Anyway, thank you for the suggestions, I will try!

[DereX888]

Wow, with "worth" I was only meaning some tool possibly costing much less than the TV set (that is about 1000 Euro!) and my income is not so high to make another big expense (otherwise I would have bought some good but expensive Home Theater with a 50" screen, a lot of BlueRay discs etc. and I would have not waisted time with DivX files).
Anyway, thank you for the suggestions, I will try!

No worries, I was just pulling your legs; anyways most of us happened to be on a tight budget at least once, obviously if you could afford whole MacIntosh or B&O set you wouldn't ask how to 'cheat' with laptop to tv

I'm pretty sure VGA<->VGA will work from your laptop to your tv, the only question is at what resolution, and will you be satisfied with only plain 2.0 surround sound...

Let us know how it went