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It’s the Holiday season, and that means a lot of time catching up with relatives on the phone or in person. You can make those long-distance calls a lot more personal though, by setting up your living room TV to act as a video phone.
And really, setting up a video chat session on your living room PC isn’t all that hard. We’ll show you how you can get started video chatting with just three simple steps: Finding the right connector, setting up a webcam, and installing video chat software.
We’ll warn you ahead of time: this guide is written to be a little more newbie-friendly then our usual how-tos here at MaximumPC. Now, we’re not forgetting our power-user fans, but we wanted to make this guide something you can send to your parents and other relatives, so that they can get in touch for the holidays.
Read on for all the details.
The trickiest part of the process can actually be connecting your laptop to your TV, which can require one of several different cables and adaptors, depending on your TV and laptop hardware. To find out what connectors you need, start by looking at the back of your TV. Look for the following connectors, in this order, and keep track of which ones your TV has:
Well good for you, you’ve got an HDMI port, which has the most bandwidth of any standard plug and is found on the newest TVs.
The DVI port is another common port on laptops and televisions, easily distinguished from the older VGA port by its longer appearance and the slot on the right side.
A VGA port is an older, analog connector. It’s very common on older laptops and computers.
Also common on older laptops, S-Video is another analog video connector.
Usually seen as part of a red-yellow-white RCA cable triplet, the yellow connector is for composite video.
Comments are closed on this article
rsgalloway
September 20, 2011 at 10:35pm
I’d consider developing an OEM Skype set-top box if there is enough interest: http://skypefortv.com/
jimmy121
August 31, 2011 at 7:04am
I am really having trouble using this so I just might go off and buy myself a Bowflex PR3000 and maybe read a 30 Second Smile review.
seany
November 24, 2010 at 3:35am
You gotta love the holiday season when it comes up! :) I'll take this video instruction into account for this Christmas season! panic away zetaclear penis advantage
geekboy1978
November 08, 2010 at 1:33pm
Hi, thanks for this post, I tried setting up my laptop to go through my 46" plasma and couldn't have done it without this info. I'm a scientist and needed to do a video chat about virility ex,toenail fungus remedies and how women can get big breasts without surgery Was presenting to a room full of 50 people so this saved my bacon, thanks again.
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mikaela
March 26, 2010 at 11:37am
thanks a lot, u helped me very much with this post!! thanks again, i really needed to set up a videochat in my livingroom!u can also try <a href="http://emailextractor14.com/?page_id=121">email spider</a> if u want. kisses
dd102
March 19, 2010 at 9:47am
i am at college and we have used skype to communicate with colleges around the world and with tele seminars its great
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September 26, 2010 at 7:52pm
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joeleighton
March 12, 2010 at 3:29am
Skype is a fantastic tool & extremely user friendly...I only wish the Skype out calls to 3rd world countries weren't so expensive.
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facinoricci67
January 27, 2010 at 1:52am
Thanks for the tutorial Alex. I really appreciated your
post. I have problem on putting a Video Chat and came to this post. I have now
use it frequently. By: John Master Shine On
PcGeekery44
March 04, 2010 at 12:18am
it's agreat tutorail indeed, but, it's not that necessary, really, in a real house. maybe fro companies and elitists. lol. but seriously, it's an overkill, why would you even think about that. well, actually, it's a great idea, or i think it's just me..
memento58
January 11, 2010 at 11:16am
Dude, thanks for the information. I have follwed your instructions and have been succesfully set up video chat in my living room. It is a unspeakable experience.
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gfreidman
December 21, 2009 at 4:59am
What has been your experience with TokBox for video chat. I like the idea that I need not download and install more services on my computer and can just use my browser.
Biceps
December 15, 2009 at 12:44pm
"Use a computer like a phone?? That's crazy!"
Now he can use Skype (so I am with the commenters below that Skype is most user friendly), but he still won't stop shouting.
nekollx
December 14, 2009 at 10:48am
my laptop has HDMI my tv has composite considering HDMI is high rez wount it be able to prot to composite ok?
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kevin000000000000001
March 12, 2010 at 3:25am
A good read, definitely worth a cut and paste. Thanks!
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Modred189
December 12, 2009 at 6:40pm
But my family has recently been getting into video calls, and I have to say, I like Skype better. It's a simpler interface, the setup and options and troubleshooting is more dummy-friendly.
Quakindude
December 12, 2009 at 10:21pm
I'd have to second Skype. I've used gtalk and Skype extensively and Skype is by far the easier of the two for technologically family members to set up. And trust me, my brother's 9 y/o knows more about computers than he does, yet he got Skype working easy as pie.
MaximumPC Moderator
***The views I express are my own and do not represent the views of MaximumPC Magazine or Future US.***
americaeh
December 13, 2009 at 12:59am
I also have to go with skyp my mother who still uses AOL even knows how to use skype
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