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I have a somewhat recent, but already outdated, albeit nice analog TV. I also have a dell laptop and a MacBook (with an adaptor for standard VGA monitor). I wish to use one laptop or the other (but not both at once) to watch a movie. How can I connect both video and audio of a laptop to that TV? Do I need a power adaptor due to digital to analog conversion? I need a cable that is ideally 15 feet in length, but anything in 12-18 feet range should be fine. Specs are below. Not sure if S-video or RCA is better. I do not know that much about all of the jacks, to be honest. What should I buy? I must spend under $50 on the gadget, preferably $35 or less.

http://www.retrevo.com/s/Insignia-NS-F24TV-TVs-review-manual/id/4563ci761/t/1-2/

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/stats/macbook-pro-core-2-duo-2.2-15-santa-rosa-specs.html

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2827

Thanks, and let me know what questions you have.

My apple computer:

  Model Name:   MacBook Pro
  Model Identifier: MacBookPro3,1
  Processor Name:   Intel Core 2 Duo
  Processor Speed:  2.4 GHz
  Number Of Processors: 1
  Total Number Of Cores:    2
  L2 Cache: 4 MB
  Memory:   2 GB
  Bus Speed:    800 MHz
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VGA is analog, not digital, so no digital to analog conversion is needed. – typoknig Oct 6 '10 at 1:43
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You have an S-Video out on your Dell. Use that.

If your TV has S-Video in, then use that. S-Video gives you better quality than straight up composite (RCA plugs) video. Now, an S-Video cable only covers the video portion. You will still need to run audio.

If your TV doesn't have S-Video, get a cable like this: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10207&cs_id=1020704&p_id=6163&seq=1&format=2

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TV has S-Video in, but my Dell is ancient - no matching port. Thanks for the link, it is cheap enough. For MacBook Pro ... I might need a separate cable there. – Fantomas Oct 6 '10 at 2:14
Most of the ancient Dell laptops have S-Video out, and the link you put up for your laptop definitely has one. – Brad Oct 6 '10 at 2:16
If the Dell has any sort of secondary video out, it should be rather trivial to throw it onto an S-Video, composite, or component cable with the right adapter. Audio is as easy as picking up a stereo headphones to RCA adapter. – MBraedley Oct 6 '10 at 2:35
Ok, looks like you are right. It just looked a bit different than the similar round hole on the TV side. Are S-video cables symmetric, or are they like this cable in that regard? Which S-Video cable would you recommend? google.com/products/… – Fantomas Oct 6 '10 at 2:38
Monoprice.com has all of the S-Video cables that you need, in addition to what you need for audio. It's usually the cheapest too. monoprice.com/products/… – Brad Oct 6 '10 at 2:45
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