How to connect a laptop to a television

If you've got a Smart TV that offers apps and on demand services, then there's a good chance you'll be able to connect it to other devices you own using wireless mirroring. This is a process which connects your TV with your laptop, phone or tablet, picking up the content that's playing on it through your home internet connection. If you own a handheld gaming device at home such as the popular Nintendo Switch, and prefer to play on a then bigger screen you must be thankful to know that you can actually connect it to your laptop. If you don't know how to do so, just checkout how to connect a Switch to a laptop tutorial by GuruVerdict for your guide.

Be aware most brands tend to support their own products better than rival products. 

Samsung Smart TVs are designed to work more fluidly with a Samsung Galaxy phone, and they offer little support for Apple users.

The Apple TV set-top box offers seamless mirroring with all Apple products through 'AirPlay', but it will be more difficult to get your Apple products working on a Sony TV wirelessly.

You can also do much the same by purchasing Chromecast—a Google device—and plugging it into the HDMI port of your TV. It will wirelessly mirror the Chrome web browser on whatever device you so desire, allowing you to browse the internet, watch videos or play games on your (probably) much larger TV screen.

It's simple to set up and comes with full instructions, which will vary depending on the device you're using.

Chromecast can stream up to 1080p, and, on the whole, is able to deliver smooth and stutter-free video—just make sure your broadband is up to the job!

You can also display anything from your PC or Mac desktop.

Miracast and AirPlay are similar to Chromecast, but they don't require an external internet connection as it uses peer-to-peer Wi-Fi (devices recognising other devices wirelessly) to connect without an internet router.

Miracast supports almost all devices with the exception of Apple products—they have their own version called AirPlay. You can view a list of supported Miracast devices here.

You can stream up to 1080p video and 5.1 surround sound, but your devices will need to support Miracast and AirPlay already. This means devices more than 2 years old probably won't have the technology inbuilt.

If your device is a little on the older side, you can purchase a Miracast adapter which fits either a USB or HDMI port. 

You'll also need to be running Windows 8.1/Windows Phone 8.1/Android 4.4/BlackBerry 10.2.1 or a more recent operating system to use Miracast. 

Buying an Apple TV box will enable you to use AirPlay between any TV and MacBook (or any recent Apple device) flawlessly.

For a more low-tech solution, a good old HDMI cable ought to do the job, and depending on the quality of the cable and/or your internet connection will deliver more consistent results.

Most TVs come with an HDMI slot and all laptops will have one, so plugging a cable into each device may be the easiest and least costly option. Simply choose the HDMI input on your TV and anything you can see on your laptop screen will be mirrored onto your TV screen.

Again it can be a little more tricky with MacBooks as you will need a special HDMI adapter.