Laptop to TV using s-video

[spike-spiegel]

When I use the s-video cable to output to my TV from my laptop, I can't watch any AVI or MPEGs. It's just a black screen. But I can see the computer screen and everything fine, it's just videos.

I assume it is the problems overlays or encoders or something? I don't how to fix it though.

Also, how do you connect the audio from laptop to TV? Does it HAVE to be a 3.5mm to white/red audio cable?

[TheFuteballer]

yes you're correct on both

you're most likely missing a codec, i'm not sure which one but try searching google and you'll most likely find the right one

[john widow]

1. For NVIDIA, you have not turned on full screen video for secondary display mode. For ATI, I don't know what it's called, but maybe it has to do in the overlay display menu. I don't have an ati card, but it's somewhere in the display menu but harder to find.

2. When I got my 5.1 surround system, it came with a 3.5 mm jack to white/red audio cable. If u don't have one, u can make one. Find yourself a spare 3.5 mm jack that u usually find from a earphones used in ipods etc. Then get one of those white, red wires. Just splice the wires and connect and solder/tape them.

For these audio wires, theres an outter wire, usually just copper stirngs or something, an an inner wire inside some cable. Just connect the inner with the inner and the outter with the outters, make sure they don't seperate. You probrably won't get electricuted so u can test it while playing music.

[c h u d]

I get this problem sometimes as well. For me it varies depending on what video it is. The solution that has worked for me is to try a different resolution on your laptop.

[tubs]

same issue with my brother's laptop

What I had to do was set the primary display to be the TV and make sure the laptop is on AC power. The power settings profile wouldn't permit me to do so in battery mode.

[spike-spiegel]

same issue with my brother's laptop

What I had to do was set the primary display to be the TV and make sure the laptop is on AC power. The power settings profile wouldn't permit me to do so in battery mode.

I'm running a nVidia video card on 800x600 when connected to the TV. I'll try setting the TV as primary display next time.

Another method I found that works, although troublesome, is open a video with a player, pause and then open the video you want view. Something to do with layers or something, the second video will be seen. But that is an annoying workaround.

[Aske001]

With ATI cards you have to turn on another setting called Display Cloning. It copies video data from primary display memory to the secondary display memory. Otherwise you see only a blank window for any DirectX video on the secondary display.

[spike-spiegel]

With ATI cards you have to turn on another setting called Display Cloning. It copies video data from primary display memory to the secondary display memory. Otherwise you see only a blank window for any DirectX video on the secondary display.

On my nVidia, I tried both Dualview and Clone and it did not work.

[john widow]

clone is just a copy of the view, for nvidia cards.
But to display the video content on both screens, u have to enable full screen video on the secondary display, the primary can be whatever the secondary will always be full screen.

[spike-spiegel]

clone is just a copy of the view, for nvidia cards.
But to display the video content on both screens, u have to enable full screen video on the secondary display, the primary can be whatever the secondary will always be full screen.

Yup, worked like a charm. Thanks a lot!

[rayesyn]

hey, i had the same problem. however this site resolved everything

http://www.weethet.nl/english/video_pc2tv_ati.php

When I use the s-video cable to output to my TV from my laptop, I can't watch any AVI or MPEGs. It's just a black screen. But I can see the computer screen and everything fine, it's just videos.

I assume it is the problems overlays or encoders or something? I don't how to fix it though.

Also, how do you connect the audio from laptop to TV? Does it HAVE to be a 3.5mm to white/red audio cable?

[spike-spiegel]

yup, i solved it last week. Fn + F8 switches from display modes. Overlay in fullscreen fixes the video problem.

Plus the dollarstore sells a 3.5mm to RCA audio cable for a few bucks.