When I first made the foray into the weird, wild, and wacky seemingly otherworldy dimension known as the webbernets back in 1998, the online experience mainly consisted of checking e-mail, posting to USENET and messageboards, and browsing a handful of sites. Taking in video content wasn’t hard to come by, but it certainly didn’t have the ease of access that is available today; there was no YouTube and many of us nerds were still rocking 56K modems.

But nowadays you’d actually have to actively not want to see video in order to not find it–it’s everywhere. YouTube knocked down the door, but Hulu took online video to the next level by allowing entertainment-seekers to legally watch network and cable programming with only a minimal number of commercials. Hulu has evolved so much that we recommend that the free service can be used in lieu of paying for pricey cable, but we recognize that laptop displays (which typically fall be between 10 inches and 17 inches depending on if you have a netbook or desktop replacement) can be a bit on the small size. Therefore, we’ll show you how to export the free Hulu content to a big screen, so you can ditch cable altogether.

CHECK OUT A TV OR MONITOR
Flat-screen LCD TVs have become one of the most sought-after electronics products due to their relative light weight, small footprint, and crisp pictures. If you already own one of these tubes, all you need to do to export the Hulu image on your Mac or PC to it, is to buy VGA or HDMI cables. Most flatscreens will have a VGA or HDMI port, but we suggest to check to see which ports you have on your TV before you proceed in order to get the best picture.

VGA AND HDMI DEFINED
All laptops have a VGA cable (which you can find for under $2 here), the defacto external A/V connection for notebooks. It can display a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 pixels, which is on par (if not better than) YouTube video clips. Just for comparison’s sake, DVD resolution is typically 720 x 480, so VGA is of slightly lesser quality. Consider it the “standard-def” of video connections.

HDMI (priced at under $5 here) doesn’t have the across-the-board notebook penetration as VGA, but it’s not uncommon. It’s capable of displaying up to the much cherished 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) for the best picture currently available. Consider it the “hi-def” of video connections.

CONNECT THE CABLES AND EXPORT VIDEO TO TV
Using these cables are as simple as connecting one end to your PC and the other to your TV. Power on your computer, and you should receive a prompt to use the TV as an external monitor, do so and sit back and relax as your favorite shows play on the big screen. If not, select Start>Control Panel>Display>Settings. Select the video to show on the external display.

CHANGE TV DISPLAY SETTINGS
By defualt, your televsion is set to recieve A/V signals from your antenna or cable box. Using your remote, change the disply setting to “VGA”, “HDMI, or “PC Input” in order to ready your flat panel for the computer feed.

CHANGE COMPUTER DISPLAY SETTINGS
If you want to close your laptop so it wont look as conspicuous as it sits in your entertainment center, poking around in its power settings will prevent it from going to sleep/shutting off when you lower the top. Simply click Start>Control Panel>Power Settings to view a list of options. Under the heading “When Lid Is Closed” select “Do Nothing.”

There ya go – -30 Rock, House, and other gems are now on your TV and you didn’t have to pay an overpriced cable bill to receive ‘em. But what it you don’t have a flat screen TV? A large monitor is the answer, which can be far more wallet-friendly a purchase than a LCD TV. We’ll tackle that topic in an upcoming post in our continuing series of how to spread multimedia joy through the home on the cheap.

[Ed Note: Mac notebooks use mini-DVI and Displayport. You'd need the appropriate adapters to hook them up to a TV]

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