Watching online videos on your television

 
Recently I started thinking how much I would like to watch online videos on my television. You know, instead of having my five-year old perch on my lap as we watch Pocoyó videos on the laptop, we could watch them while we sit comfortably on the couch.

Now I'm not going to get too technical because of the number of variables, but this is what I did. We have a TV that is four years old which has an S-video input in the back. I have an S-video output on my laptop which is less than a year old.

With the computer off, I plugged the S-video cable (photo: on the right - empty package, click on it to see it up close) into the TV and laptop. In order to hear the sound through the TV, I also plugged in another cable (photo: on the left) into the headphone jack on my laptop and the other part into the TV.

Then I switched on my PC laptop running Vista and selected S-Video on the TV. Very easy! Total cost - about $6. I already had the audio cable from our portable DVD player. For more help, I recommend Googling "hooking up computer to TV."

So, yesterday, my little guy and I watched a couple of Pocoyó videos on our television... snuggling on the couch. I really believe my kids will be more inclined to watch more Spanish-language shows since all of us will not have to "crowd" around the laptop.

Also, for myself, I'm going to start watching Amar en tiempos revueltos - a television drama out of Spain.

And for you classroom teachers, this could be quite handy as well. Save the online videos beforehand using RealPlayer or some other similar program and then show them to your class on a larger screen. Always check the video quality first though. Not all online video will come through clearly.

¡Suerte!
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