Hooking up a laptop to an HDTV via VGA

I have a 2-3 year old laptop running XBMC, and I have an HDTV that I'd like to connect it to.

The only output that the laptop has is VGA (and S-Video - I don't know if the TV supports it) .

The TV doesn't support VGA input, but takes HDMI.

Is it worth buying a VGA-to-HDMI converter? As in this:

enter image description here

Are there any other, cheaper options available?
There's a lot of information around the WWW, but a lot of it's outdated and it's hard to digest everything.

I know of at least one other option, and that's a USB to HDMI connection, but I don't even know what to look for or where to get started on that one. I also suspect it might be a little more complicated. If it's cheaper then it could be worth it.

EDIT
More Details:

Intel integrated graphics card (Intel 945 Express Chipset Family)
The TV supports up to 1080p resolution

Redandwhite

Posted 2010-02-08T00:28:28.160

Reputation: 3 196

Post more details please: which graphics card? and what's the resolution of the TV? – None – 2010-02-08T00:54:56.170

@Molly - I've added the requested details. Thanks! – Redandwhite – 2010-02-08T01:08:34.467

Answers

This should work fine - the Intel 945 Express does support 1080p output as a resolution however I doubt that you will be able to play any high definition videos as it really will struggle at that resolution.

William Hilsum

Posted 2010-02-08T00:28:28.160

Reputation: 111 572

Can I simply output the 1280x800 resolution that my laptop uses? 720p videos play just fine on that resolution – Redandwhite – 2010-02-08T02:23:30.340

Yes you can then, however for best results, you may want to check to see if your TV has a PC mode or the ability to not stretch the image and/or put a black border around it - otherwise it will look stretched and warped. – William Hilsum – 2010-02-08T03:53:18.993

Yes. For the best experience you'll need to convert the VGA or USB to HDMI. You could use s-video but the resolution will be limited to standard def TV quality.

Chris Nava

Posted 2010-02-08T00:28:28.160

Reputation: 7 009