Connecting Laptop to TV

[Forlorn Drifter]

I'll admit off the bat that I don't have my TV with me currently, and the only connections I know it has for sure are HDMI.

Every time I do get it to connect, the screen doesn't fit correctly, little bits are always cut off.

Also, while this might not be an option, is there a way to have the laptop run and all with the laptop closed?

[JoeAwesome]

You might need to adjust the resolution to fit your TV's capabilities better, and yes, you can have the laptop display out with it being closed. Right click on an open space in the desktop, and check your monitor properties.

[isiolia]

First, if it suits what you're trying to do, toggle to the external display only (on a non-Mac laptop there's usually a Function key combo to rotate through modes, or bring the toggle up in Windows 8/10). If you're trying to mirror the display, then unless both screens are the same resolution, it'll usually mean subpar results on one or both.

If you're seeing a black border around the screen, or the picture is bleeding off the sides, then it's an issue of adjusting settings regarding overscan. Unfortunately, how to do that isn't consistent. A lot of TVs I've seen will have it in the zoom settings with different names attached (Just Scan, Screen Fit, Native, etc). For some (usually older) devices, it might take something more involved like renaming the input to PC (or using a specific port).

If your laptop has a discrete GPU (particularly) then you may also want to check for overscan settings in its control panel. Mostly I've had AMD GPUs default to 80% screen size, resulting in a black border on a TV.

Why TVs still persist in defaulting to that when no current standards actually use it, I dunno, but they often do.


You should be able to use a laptop while closed, since you can typically wake it from sleep with kb/mouse input. Obviously, if you need to use the power button, that might be prohibitive, depending on the laptop.