"Toolkit" for using a laptop to play video and audio onto a tv

[bobogs]

I want to play a dvd or mp4 video from my laptop on a hotel tv (soccer tournaments...keep the girls occupied). I can figure out which connectors and cables I'd need for the various video connections on the back of most tvs (hdmi, vga, component, rca) (you never know what quality of tv will be in a hotel). What are my options for audio? I'd like to pass the laptop's audio into the tv's speakers.

Would a DisplayPort-to-HDMI connector for my Macbook Pro also pass audio through the hdmi cable into the tv, or is DisplayPort limited to video? If I use a DisplayPort-to-VGA connector and a vga cable into the vga/pc port on the back of the tv, what could I use to send audio from the laptop to the tv? A simple 1/8" rca cable out of the laptop could work, but where would it go in the back of the tv...red/white rca?

Thanks!

[yoda313]

A simple 1/8" rca cable out of the laptop could work, but where would it go in the back of the tv...red/white rca?

If you mean the analog out then yes it goes to the red and white input on the set. Just make sure you have the audio output on the laptop set to speakers not hdmi. That will make them output to the headphone jack out on the laptop (I'm assuming, thats how it works on a desktop anyway).

[Ai Haibara]

Some hotels may also have security measures in place to keep you from doing anything with the cables or connections. I don't know if they'd have anything that would possibly set off an alarm if you plug a cable into an open plug, but it's probably a good idea to ask the hotel's staff whether or not they have any security measures in place, anyway.

[yoda313]

Chances are if its a "modern" tv but not hdtv it probably will have front audio/video input jacks. Assuming thats the case it shouldn't be a problem. Worse comes to worse you could run the audio through the laptop speakers and crank it up.

But ai haibara does have a point - ask first.