it all depends on the laptop and the tv
a lot of new flatscreen tvs have a panel that opens up and a monitor cables comes out
also most computers have digital video or digital audio ports
most likely if it is an old tv you will need a graphics card with a coaxial output though
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the "cord" you are talking about costs around $150 which you could buy a new gfx card with a coaxial output for that or less and it could be an upgrade to your existing gfx card
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you also probably would have gotten a better answer in the computer hardware forum
This post was edited by MrJoshua on Jul 30 2011 02:13pm