PC to Television Connection Issues

JayCully · 08-10-2005, 08:09 AM

First of all, please let me apologise if i've put this in the wrong forum!

I recently connected my PC to my television via a Belkin S-video connection (with SCART adapter), and while it works and I have a picture on the TV mirroring my monitor, the size does not fit. Only seems to fit at screen resolution 1024x768, on my normal 1284x1024 however it overlaps and only becomes visable when i move the mouse over the the hidden area of the screen (the whole picture slides over to accomodate it).

As well as that, whenever i play a video through Windows Media Player (same problem with a DivX player), the picture does not appear on my TV screen. All i get is a black box where the picture would be, same as would be expected when trying to conventionally screenshot a video into paint. Additionally my graphics card is a Radeon 9600 XT, and the sound is connected through my stereo, not sure if that would make any difference. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

**Fox** · 08-10-2005, 08:32 AM

Well, generally the picture with S-Video looks pretty nasty...tried it on mine, and the results were disappointing at best.

As for the black box where the video should be- it's not a form of copy protection, as some suggest, but is caused by the video being overlayed to increase performance. To fix this, go to Tools->Options->Performance tab, click 'advanced', and uncheck the box under 'video acceleration' that says 'overlay video'. Click okay. That window should close. Hit okay in the options window. Now, the video should be displayed on the s-video output.

JayCully · 08-10-2005, 08:36 AM

That's brilliant, worked a treat

. Thanks for your help. I do agree though, the picture isn't too excellent but its better than nothing.

I suppose for the screen resolution im stuck with that issue?

**Fox** · 08-10-2005, 08:45 AM

I would say so...S-video is dated as far as the quality goes; it really wan't meant to serve as a bridge between a computer and a TV- maybe a higher-end VCR or a DVD player. DVI is really the better interface for that, but not a lot of TV's have it (the only ones I've seen them on were HDTVs), and the cables are still a bit pricey unless you get them off ebay or find a deal.

But I think if the main purpose for this is to watch video, and you have it set to full screen, it shouldn't look too bad.

JayCully · 08-10-2005, 08:50 AM

Yeah thats pretty much my only aim. The quality isn't too bad either, quite good just a little more 'washed' if you know what i mean.

I'm gunna try set it up so that the TV is seperate so i can play video's and have the PC's monitor do other stuff like web surf. Might be useful for playing games/websurfing simultaneously also. Thanks again man.

**Fox** · 08-10-2005, 08:58 AM

No problem...Games also did not look that bad on my computer, though it is very difficult to read any text in higher resolutions.

I've also tried the multiple monitor deal with the TV...it is a little difficult to configure, and I don't know if I ever got it to work, but I think it is possible.

JayCully · 08-10-2005, 09:14 AM

Got it set up perfectly. Was pretty easy, Display Properties > Settings then i just fiddled with the extend my desktop and resolution settings for the two. Hope this helps anyone who ever has a similar issue. Thanks for your help and time Fox

08-10-2005, 08:09 AM	#1 (permalink)
JayCully Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: England Posts: 15 OS: XP	PC to Television Connection Issues First of all, please let me apologise if i've put this in the wrong forum! I recently connected my PC to my television via a Belkin S-video connection (with SCART adapter), and while it works and I have a picture on the TV mirroring my monitor, the size does not fit. Only seems to fit at screen resolution 1024x768, on my normal 1284x1024 however it overlaps and only becomes visable when i move the mouse over the the hidden area of the screen (the whole picture slides over to accomodate it). As well as that, whenever i play a video through Windows Media Player (same problem with a DivX player), the picture does not appear on my TV screen. All i get is a black box where the picture would be, same as would be expected when trying to conventionally screenshot a video into paint. Additionally my graphics card is a Radeon 9600 XT, and the sound is connected through my stereo, not sure if that would make any difference. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

08-10-2005, 08:32 AM	#2 (permalink)
Fox TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: NJ Posts: 7,752 OS: XP Pro, CentOS My System	Well, generally the picture with S-Video looks pretty nasty...tried it on mine, and the results were disappointing at best. As for the black box where the video should be- it's not a form of copy protection, as some suggest, but is caused by the video being overlayed to increase performance. To fix this, go to Tools->Options->Performance tab, click 'advanced', and uncheck the box under 'video acceleration' that says 'overlay video'. Click okay. That window should close. Hit okay in the options window. Now, the video should be displayed on the s-video output. __________________ Antec Neo Power 500W, ABIT IP35-E, Intel E2180@2.66Ghz, Corsair XMS2 2x1GB DDR2-800, PNY 8800GT, 320GB Seagate * lazy college student alert *- If I've inadvertently ignored a thread, please Let me know about it Have I helped you solve your problem? Donate to Techsupportforums Klart Skepp!

08-10-2005, 08:45 AM	#4 (permalink)
Fox TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: NJ Posts: 7,752 OS: XP Pro, CentOS My System	I would say so...S-video is dated as far as the quality goes; it really wan't meant to serve as a bridge between a computer and a TV- maybe a higher-end VCR or a DVD player. DVI is really the better interface for that, but not a lot of TV's have it (the only ones I've seen them on were HDTVs), and the cables are still a bit pricey unless you get them off ebay or find a deal. But I think if the main purpose for this is to watch video, and you have it set to full screen, it shouldn't look too bad. __________________ Antec Neo Power 500W, ABIT IP35-E, Intel E2180@2.66Ghz, Corsair XMS2 2x1GB DDR2-800, PNY 8800GT, 320GB Seagate * lazy college student alert *- If I've inadvertently ignored a thread, please Let me know about it Have I helped you solve your problem? Donate to Techsupportforums Klart Skepp!

08-10-2005, 08:58 AM	#6 (permalink)
Fox TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: NJ Posts: 7,752 OS: XP Pro, CentOS My System	No problem...Games also did not look that bad on my computer, though it is very difficult to read any text in higher resolutions. I've also tried the multiple monitor deal with the TV...it is a little difficult to configure, and I don't know if I ever got it to work, but I think it is possible. __________________ Antec Neo Power 500W, ABIT IP35-E, Intel E2180@2.66Ghz, Corsair XMS2 2x1GB DDR2-800, PNY 8800GT, 320GB Seagate * lazy college student alert *- If I've inadvertently ignored a thread, please Let me know about it Have I helped you solve your problem? Donate to Techsupportforums Klart Skepp!

08-10-2005, 08:36 AM	#3 (permalink)
JayCully Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: England Posts: 15 OS: XP	That's brilliant, worked a treat . Thanks for your help. I do agree though, the picture isn't too excellent but its better than nothing. I suppose for the screen resolution im stuck with that issue?

08-10-2005, 08:50 AM	#5 (permalink)
JayCully Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: England Posts: 15 OS: XP	Yeah thats pretty much my only aim. The quality isn't too bad either, quite good just a little more 'washed' if you know what i mean. I'm gunna try set it up so that the TV is seperate so i can play video's and have the PC's monitor do other stuff like web surf. Might be useful for playing games/websurfing simultaneously also. Thanks again man.

08-10-2005, 09:14 AM	#7 (permalink)
JayCully Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: England Posts: 15 OS: XP	Got it set up perfectly. Was pretty easy, Display Properties > Settings then i just fiddled with the extend my desktop and resolution settings for the two. Hope this helps anyone who ever has a similar issue. Thanks for your help and time Fox