How to connect laptop to cheap surround sound/home theater system?

i have a toshiba satellite latop, that has an S-Video connect. my cheap dvd player/surround sound/home theater system has an S-Video connect as well. the dvd player "thing" has the connection on the back. the player connects to a 1-piece amp/sub through six plugs and connects to 5 speakers through plugs off of the amp/sub. but there is no screen on the dvd player to figure how to play the music coming from the laptop. im trying to avoid connecting the system to a tv, and going that route, just trying to play music from my laptop through my surround sround system. i have the s-video cord and misc a/v cords, but connecting the two electronics through just the s-video cord does nothing, music plays through the laptop speakers still, and not through the surround sound system.

How to connect laptop to cheap surround sound/home theater system?amc theater

S-video does not contain audio! It's a component system that breaks the video into 3 parts for a better picture. Audio is on the sound card/joystick just like a desktop PC.

Use the TV set for the video if it has that hookup and the sound card to the amp just as you would for any other source.

If you don't have the correct setup on the tv, you need to find a video cable or box to convert.

Radio Shack has a nice box like that for way under $50, component 3 jack RCA cables and S-video, 4 inputs and it converts all of them up and down without switching, simple and all your home DVD players and such will probably go on one box.

Philips (PhilipsMagnavox) had an automatically switched box with an RF modulator for your game console etc that had a low price and you could find it at Wal-mart etc but remember that it switches when you turn one thing off and one on meaning if you have something always on it won't switch. It or similar things may still be available; this was in 2002 when I bought one for somebody.

Nope, didn't find that and Wal-Mart only had a 4-port HDMI switch. Try Radio Shack if you need one, I'd recommend it as I have an older version. It looks a bit like an ugly old A/B or cable box now but 15-1976 had the switches on the front, was pretty, yes pretty easy to push around that way (velcro that puppy if it helps). the 1976 may be available in closeout or as a leftover in some stores.

Best of luck!

How to connect laptop to cheap surround sound/home theater system?concerts opera theater

The S-Video cable will only transmit the video feed from the laptop, not the audio. For that, you will need to also connect audio.

Your laptop will mostly have a mini-stereo output (used for most consumer electronics, also known as a 3.5mm jack). You probably would've used it before to plug headphones or computer speakers into.

What sort of input does the Surround system have?

It is very likely that it will have an RCA input (a red and a white socket, or a red and a black socket - it's circular). It'll probably be labeled "Aux" or something similar. You need a cable to go from the mini stereo to the RCA input. The cable can be purchased relatively cheaply at any electronics store. Look for "3.5mm male to RCA male" or "mini stereo male to RCA male", or ask someone at the shop to give you a hand.

Hope that helps.
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