Set up a home entertainment system

With the credit crunch biting, dark evenings and terrible weather outside there’s never been a better time to huddle down in front of the TV and enjoy some home entertainment.

Unfortunately home cinema systems and personal video recorders cost a fortune, but you can get the same technology free of charge by connecting your PC to your TV.

It’s easy to do and once connected you can access a world of entertainment: the latest movies, a huge a library of television programmes ready to watch whenever you want, photographs to show off to friends and all your music. In this article we’ll take you through the process of turning your PC into a home entertainment hub and how to make the most of online services. We’ll also explain what a media streaming device can do for you and how to recreate a cinematic experience with surround sound audio.

From PC to TV
Computers are great at playing movies, DVDs and television programmes, but watching TV on a computer screen just isn’t that entertaining – or practical. If there’s more than one person watching you’ll all need to huddle around the small display, and it’s hard to enjoy a film when the picture is barely a foot wide. The simplest solution is to connect the PC to a television.

If you have a fairly modern computer, it might have an HDMI port. If so, connecting it to a flat screen TV couldn’t be easier. Almost all modern TVs have an HDMI port, so all you need is a single HDMI cable which you can buy in a supermarket for around £5.

If your PC doesn’t have an HDMI output all is not lost, but exactly how it links up to your TV will depend on what connections are available. First take a look at the back of the TV. You may find a VGA or DVI video input, often labeled as ‘PC In’. These are the same connectors used by PC monitors, so if you have one you can simply connect a computer using a standard monitor cable.

If your TV doesn’t have a monitor style connector, look for an S-video socket. This small round connector is found on many older TVs, and also on some laptops. If your TV and computer both have S-video, then you can pick up a cable for a few pounds from Maplin. Alternatively, if your computer has an S-video output but your TV has no suitable socket, use an S-video to Scart converter (search Maplin's website for L28AJ).

Unlike HDMI cables, VGA, DVI and S-video sockets use a separate connection for audio. Look at the back of the TV to see what kind of audio socket is associated with the video connector you’re using: it’ll normally be a walkman-style 3.5mm jack socket or two phono connectors (one red, one white).

If you have trouble getting a picture on the TV, it could be because the screen resolution used by your computer isn’t supported. Read the TV manual to find which resolutions it supports. To change the resolution, right-click on the computer’s desktop, select Personalise and then Display Settings (in XP, select Properties and then click on the Settings tab). If the TV is connected properly, two displays should be visible, labelled 1 and 2; you might need to right-click the second display and select Enable. Click on the TV display and, using the slider bar, lower the resolution until it reaches one supported by the TV.

Another potential stumbling block is copyright protection. If you have a Blu-ray drive in your PC and want to play HD movies on your television, the connection between the PC and TV will need to be HDCP compatible. See the section HDCP Explained for more information. Once your PC and TV are connected you can view digital photos and listen to music stored on the PC using your TV. You can also use the big screen to watch an archive of TV programmes.