Many people find it overwhelming to get started to use a media center PC or other computer to enjoy their media files such as photos, music and videos from their TV. More and more people would like to be able to view their photos from their digital camera on TV.
Further to our popular guide to play HD video with your old laptop, this guide explains in 4 easy steps how to convert your old laptop as a media center laptop.
Do you have a old laptop that you could turn into a versatile home theater PC? The easiest way to get started is simply to connect your existing laptop to your TV and download some suitable HTPC software. In this article, you will learn to connect your laptop to your LCD TV and then we’ll find some suitable software to get you started.
1. Connect laptop to TV with a video cable
If your laptop is a bit older model, it is probably equipped with a VGA socket. Some LCD TVs allow you to connect your computer using a VGA plug to TV, so you should first check if you can find a blue connection slot as displayed in the picture. However, when using a VGA connection, your TV converts the analog video signal from your PC into a digital signal, which causes some loss of quality.
If you are lucky to find a white connection socket as show in the picture, you can enjoy a sharper and better image quality in your TV. This so called DVI socket on your computer can be connected to TV with a HDMI socket, but you will need to use a DVI-to-HDMI cable. Please note that only image signal is transmitted to your computer, so you will still need to make a separate audio connection to your A/V receiver.
2. Connect laptop to A/V receiver with an audio cable
In order to be able to listen to music, you need to connect your media center laptop to your existing A/V receiver. Most of the home theater receivers will have an optical input, so I will explain here how to connect your laptop to the receiver with an optical cable. You will be surprised to know that you probably already have a digital audio output socket. All you need is a Toslink to optical mini adapter which is shown in the picture.
You might need to switch on the digital audio output on your Windows computer, so check the settings in the Control Panel and Sound Settings to set digital output as the default.
3. Get a wireless mouse
If you do not have a wireless mouse, you should consider to get one to simplify the way you control the computer. If you are ready to invest some money into a better mouse for home theater usage, I would recommend getting a Logitech MX Air Mouse. Traditional mouse does not really work ideally on sofa, so you might need to use a separate mouse pad. The MX Air Mouse is being used like a remote control which makes controlling your media center easy from the sofa.
4. Install iTunes and Google Photos to your PC
I would not recommend getting a complex media center software to begin with, but start with two simple software that allow you to watch photos, play music and watch videos.
Google Photos is an excellent photo management tool, which allows you to organize and view photos in an easy manner. You can also view slideshows easily from TV, which makes it ideal to quickly download the pictures to the computer from a digital camera and instantly watch them from the TV.
Apple’s iTunes is a simple music and video management software that also allows you to purchase new music directly from the iTunes music store. I would recommend getting started with iTunes and see if it is suitable to your needs. Then later you can expand into more sophisticated media center softwares if needed.
With these 4 easy steps you can get started in exploring how would it feel like to have a media center laptop in your living room.
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