Audio
Connecting your mini to your Television is like connecting the video, only you have fewer choices and they are largely dependent on what you want to connect your computer to. Below are the three inputs that your TV or receiver will have. The main difference between RCA and the other two options is that with RCA you will only have Stereo output. With Optical or Coaxial you can output surround sound (5.1/DTS). If you have a home theater with surround sound you should try to use one of the latter two.
The neat thing about the mini is that it only has one audio out jack, but that one jack does everything. The only downside, and it’s a small one, is that in order to connect the audio to your TV you will need an adapter or special cable in every case unless you used an HDMI connection.
RCA: As I briefly mentioned above, if you use the RCA cables you will be limited to stereo sound. But for a lot of people this will not be a problem. For this you will need an 3.5mm to RCA cable OR if you already have RCA cables, all you need is an adapter and you are good to go. (If you are unsure which you need, just click both links and look at the images, you should be able to tell.)
3.5mm to RCA Cable: Amazon
3.5mm to 2xRCA Female Cable: Amazon
Optical: Optical is also known as TOS-Link, and I have no idea why. Either way, you will find it on nearly every modern-ish receiver and now some TVs. By using Optical you will get full surround sound. It is also the cheapest way to get surround sound out of your mini. Like the RCA solution, there are two ways to do this. If you already have an optical cable that you want to use you will just need to buy an adapter. If you don’t have an optical cable then you should just get a optical cable which already has the 3.5mm jack on the other end.
Tos-Link to Optical Mini Adapter: Amazon
Tos-Link to Optical Mini-Plug Cable: Amazon
Coaxial: While I feel that most people use optical for their surround sound, some televisions/receivers use coaxial connections. This is a bit more complicated as you will need a powered device in order to switch an optical signal to coaxial. I would recommend trying to use optical, but in some situations you might not have that choice. In order to use Coaxial you will need to follow the directions above as if you were connecting to an optical source and then purchase the two items below.
Optical to Coaxial Converter: Amazon
Coaxial Cable: Amazon
Editor’s Note: Should you be using a VGA connection to get video, your monitor/TV may have a 3.5mm input which you can use for stereo audio. Should you wish to do this, you can get the appropriate cable here, or it may have been included with your monitor.
Just as a note, the links above will direct you to Amazon.com. The cables I picked are very inexpensive in comparison to what you would find at your local electronic store. Buying online will ALWAYS save you money. Some people prefer to spend their money on expensive cables which do the same thing as these, and that is fine with me, I’m just merely providing you with one place to get them and they have my stamp of approval. Here is an interesting infographic that details why you shouldn’t purchase expensive cables (Source).
