I'm really dumb abt this so please bare with me:

I bought a Thinkpad R61i abt a month ago

Its a 14" laptop and the only connections it has are a
VGA and jacks for headphone and microphone in very
front of laptop. Does not have S-video out or HDMI out

see link

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146392

I want to buy an LCD TV soon.... not sure what brand
model yet..... could be anywhere from 19" to 32"

Having said that am I correct in assuming the VGA out
of the laptop only carries the video so that to get
audio form laptop will have to use the headphone jack?

If yes on the audio question this kind of bums me out
as the headphone jack is in very front of laptop and
will be unhandy when hooked up to TV.

But is this my only option? Anyway to pump sound out of
the laptop using a USB port?

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:15:10 -0500, me wrote:

> I'm really dumb abt this so please bare with me:
> 
> I bought a Thinkpad R61i abt a month ago
> 
> Its a 14" laptop and the only connections it has are a VGA and jacks for
> headphone and microphone in very front of laptop. Does not have S-video
> out or HDMI out
> 
> see link
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146392
> 
> I want to buy an LCD TV soon.... not sure what brand model yet.....
> could be anywhere from 19" to 32"
> 
> Having said that am I correct in assuming the VGA out of the laptop only
> carries the video so that to get audio form laptop will have to use the
> headphone jack?
> 
> If yes on the audio question this kind of bums me out as the headphone
> jack is in very front of laptop and will be unhandy when hooked up to
> TV.
> 
> But is this my only option? Anyway to pump sound out of the laptop using
> a USB port?

Many LCD TV's have a VGA-in port, consider getting one with it.  
Otherwise you're generally screwed unless you get a VGA-->TV converter 
which usually results in a massive loss in picture quality as well as a 
loss in funds in your wallet.  

This has been a really sore point with Lenovo since they took the 
Thinkpad line over (starting with the T60).  Some laptops provide DVI 
through VGA which is a nice compromise, Lenovo does none of this and 
sticks with pure VGA to maintain compatibility with most projectors.

As for audio.  My advice: deal with the jack and get a nice long cord.  
Unless you want to hook said laptop up to a high quality system, it's not 
worth the money to buy an external card.

Joe

Joe Kappus <joecool1029@gmail.com> wrote:

>Many LCD TV's have a VGA-in port, consider getting one with it.  
>Otherwise you're generally screwed unless you get a VGA-->TV converter 
>which usually results in a massive loss in picture quality as well as a 
>loss in funds in your wallet.  

Oh I will def get a TV with VGA input..... but most LCD
TV's have even better inputs such as HDMI and DVI. Yes?

At any rate..... if the answer above is yes.... it made
me wonder why laptops do NOT have HDMI "output" or even
DVI?   I mean does any laptop have one output that
carries BOTH video and audio?  I don't know cause I'm
dumb abt this

>This has been a really sore point with Lenovo since they took the 
>Thinkpad line over (starting with the T60).  Some laptops provide DVI 
>through VGA which is a nice compromise, Lenovo does none of this and 
>sticks with pure VGA to maintain compatibility with most projectors.

I see. Interesting

>As for audio.  My advice: deal with the jack and get a nice long cord.  
>Unless you want to hook said laptop up to a high quality system, it's not 
>worth the money to buy an external card.

OK

So can I get a cord and hook it to the headphone output
of the laptop and will there exist some kind of
straight input to the TV speakers so I can listen to
the laptop audio thru the much better TV speakers?

Or will I need sep computer speakers period even if the
TV has built in speakers?

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:45:34 -0500, me wrote:

> Joe Kappus <joecool1029@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>>Many LCD TV's have a VGA-in port, consider getting one with it.
>>Otherwise you're generally screwed unless you get a VGA-->TV converter
>>which usually results in a massive loss in picture quality as well as a
>>loss in funds in your wallet.
> 
> Oh I will def get a TV with VGA input..... but most LCD TV's have even
> better inputs such as HDMI and DVI. Yes?
> 

Many have a combination.  Apple has proven that DVI can be run out of the 
standard VGA connector.  A physical adapter (<$10) would be required in 
that case, but I think it's much better then taking up extra space for a 
second port.

> At any rate..... if the answer above is yes.... it made me wonder why
> laptops do NOT have HDMI "output" or even DVI?   I mean does any laptop
> have one output that carries BOTH video and audio?  I don't know cause
> I'm dumb abt this
> 
>>This has been a really sore point with Lenovo since they took the
>>Thinkpad line over (starting with the T60).  Some laptops provide DVI
>>through VGA which is a nice compromise, Lenovo does none of this and
>>sticks with pure VGA to maintain compatibility with most projectors.
> 
> I see. Interesting
> 

Oh, furthermore.. I've not seen any laptops with HDMI outputs, but I'm 
sure some expensive ones exist.  I think computers have been slow to 
adapt the HDMI format because DRM hasn't been necessary on the connection 
for most computer use.  Bluray proliferation is changing this.  As far as 
I know, coax/toscam + dvi is about the same as HDMI.

>>As for audio.  My advice: deal with the jack and get a nice long cord.
>>Unless you want to hook said laptop up to a high quality system, it's
>>not worth the money to buy an external card.
> 
> OK
> 
> So can I get a cord and hook it to the headphone output of the laptop
> and will there exist some kind of straight input to the TV speakers so I
> can listen to the laptop audio thru the much better TV speakers?
> 

Yes.

> Or will I need sep computer speakers period even if the TV has built in
> speakers?

No.

You can get a 3.5mm headphone to standard RCA cord.  Works just fine and 
you can plug it into a TV or an amp.  Some laptops (I don't believe the 
R61) have digital output that can be piped into a high end amp for 
excellent sound.  But for most uses, the internal audio is more then 
ample.

Joe

Joe Kappus <joecool1029@gmail.com>
wrote:

>Oh, furthermore.. I've not seen any laptops with HDMI outputs, but I'm 
>sure some expensive ones exist.  I think computers have been slow to 
>adapt the HDMI format because DRM hasn't been necessary on the connection 
>for most computer use.  Bluray proliferation is changing this.  As far as 
>I know, coax/toscam + dvi is about the same as HDMI.

Ok thanks I didn't know this above!

yes I did look around on NewEgg and
there does exist a FEW very high end
laptops that do have HDMI

But man are they pricey!