Thinkpads Forum

I frequently use my T-43 after hours to watch movies on HULU. That works fine. Can someone explain how I can wire the T-43 to our Mitsubishi TV (WS 55315) so I can watch on the BIG screen? I am a old geezer, so be gentle with terminology. Suggestions for alternatives welcome also. Thanks.

Hi there beekeeper42, welcome to thinkpads.com

The T43 has an S-Video out jack, so one option would be to connect it to your TV with an S-Video cable. Another option would be to use a VGA cable. What inputs do you have available on your TV?

I used to have a T42, which also had S-video out. I hooked that up to an old TV once and the image was very blurry. My Dell Inspiron 7500's S-video out is just as bad when viewed on my current TV, a 27.5" 1920x1200 HDTV.

Neil wrote:Another option would be to use a VGA cable. What inputs do you have available on your TV?

I looked up the specs for this Mitsubishi TV and learned that it only has these:

S-Video,
Composite,
Component

There are VGA-to-component cables but I don't think they would work, e.g. read the reviews for this cable: http://www.amazon.com/HDE-Adapter-S-Vid ... roduct_top . I think S-video is the only viable option. Why don't you just buy a 23" or 24" LCD monitor and hook up your T43 to it via VGA? These monitors have gotten really cheap. Another idea is to upgrade your Mitsubishi to a new HDTV that has VGA input. HDTVs in the 50-inch range are quite expensive although they consume much less electricity than your old-school TV.

looking at the TV specs, it looks like it has a DVI input - someone else will have to chime in on this, but I believe that the docks for the T4* have DVI output, but I'm not sure if there are any resolution limitations or video card requirements (I know some models didn't support DVI with intel graphics).

if thats true, then a dock may be the easiest way to connect.

EDIT: if you can live with the quality of the Svideo output, that would be the easiest (its not too bad, I've used it for presentations before)

Some places claim it even has a VGA input, in which case a dock might not be required.

Whether DVI or VGA are used, the audio will have to be routed separately. Most TVs who have DVI/VGA inputs will have a separate 3.5mm minijack input for audio, but this needs to be verified. Otherwise, a 3.5mm to RCA will be needed.

Thanks to all for your time and information. I have not yet fired up the boiler on the stream-driven Mitsubishi, nor looked through my collection of cables, but I have looked at the connections, read the manuals again, and learned this: 1) The Mitsubishi does not appear to have a VGA input connection, 2) It does have a DVI input, but warns that it is "not intended for use with personal computers..." (I'm not sure if that translates as "don't" or "try, if you want, stupid."), and 3) there are two places for S-video inputs with separate RCA inputs for audio (one place on the front for camcorders, two more on the back panel). It appears that S-video is the route to go. I may try later today, especially if the game in New Orleans turns out to be a bummer. Thanks again to all.

Just a thought. You can buy a two to three year old used 27" to 32" LCD or Plasma TV pretty cheap. People want 50" or larger, 3D (even if they'll never use it), and other newer bells and whistles. Plus manufacturing improvements are bringing down the prices all this year.

A used, "old" tech modern TV would be excellent for you as they have VGA, Composite, S-Video connectors. TVs with only one HDMI port and no USB go seriously cheap. I'd look on Craigslist to get an idea just how cheap you can get one. Here in nearby Ann Arbor, folks are giving away older LCD and Plasma TVs @ some offer (via Craigslist) to pay people to take their heavy fine condition projection TVs (Green city ordinances are such that residents must pay to have such things hauled away and disposed of). I've suggested to young couples on tight budgets that they call residents listing projection TVs for sale after a week or so and politely offer to relieve them of their disposal problem for $25. Works every time. The owner saves $50 & the caller gets paid $25 to take away a nice TV.

Tube TVs go for nothing. I see the last generation of major brand name larger screen tube TVs with RCA, VGA, & other connections all the time at our Goodwill store ---all priced the same $14.99...

Excellent suggestion. Thank you!