what is needed to use laptop with HDTV?

[gychang]

My old thinkpad is dying and like to get a laptop that can connect to my 50" HDTV (LCD) using HDMI so I can use the HDTV when at home sitting on a couch.

Is this feasible and practical? Will the viewing quality be reasonable?

Is there a laptop that will be ideal for around $600 price point?

thanks,

gychang

 

[darckhart]

yes, yes, and yes. but beware of overscan/underscan and scaling issues. or you can just set it to 1:1 and have black borders on your tv. though the font may be too tiny for you if you sit far away.

hmmm probably. if you're not looking to play games or watch movies, then the igp should be fine. otherwise, mobile offerings from nv and ati these days should handle it easily.

 

[Dankk]

Get a good IGP though. You're probably not playing games, but for the few occasions when you DO want to watch HD video, good integrated graphics will be great. It doesn't really add much to the price of a laptop, unlike a dedicated video card. A Radeon HD 4250 will handle 1080p perfectly.

Edit: Here's a couple of good options that have HDMI:
TOSHIBA Satellite L675D-S7022 (17.3" screen, bigger hard drive, Blu-ray, maybe a little too much for your needs)

Cheaper but still good:
Acer Aspire AS5552-6838 (15.6" - Slightly smaller form factor, smaller hard drive and lower CPU and memory speed)

 

[gychang]

Edit: Here's a couple of good options that have HDMI:
TOSHIBA Satellite L675D-S7022 (17.3" screen, bigger hard drive, Blu-ray, maybe a little too much for your needs)

thanks will keep this one in mind. gychang

 

[ther00kie16]

many have hdmi.
get intel though for better battery life and better performance.
here's a great deal going on for $500.
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=840076&t=2413131