I'm trying to connect my Dell Inspiron 1150 notebook to my tv via s-video. There's no s-video output, but I have a vga to s-video/rca adapter. Chipset is an Intel 852GM, GME, or GMV (not sure which, or if it really matters). When I transfer the image to my tv, I get horizontal black, white, and gray lines, accompamnied by flickering and static. The computer is obviously detecting that something's connected, as I hear the "plug 'n' play" tone when I connect or disconnect the s-video. However, it thinks it's a monitor and is trying to output as though it is such. How do I enable the tv out feature on this particular chipset? Have been through the Intel troubleshooting guide for the 82852/82855 chipset family, to no avail. Have tried updating my drivers and bios, but both are already the most recent versions available. Neither Intel nor Dell support were able to help.
Oh, forgot to mention; the tv is just a standard 27" Philips tv, s-video and rca inputs, but no frills. Paid $200 for it @ Best Buy, so that should give you an idea of the kind of equipment I'm working with.
rdiemand,
Did you read How to connect a computer to your TV set yet? Page 2 has a step-by-step guide for connecting a computer to a TV using S-video.
Go through the guide first, but if you still can't get it going I'll be able to help you. I'll need to know if your laptop uses an nVidia, ATI, or Intel graphics card.
Yeah, I tried that article and it just rehashed almost everything I've already tried. It's an Intel card. I'd assume it's integrated into the motherboard, but I'm not sure. Not comfortable messing with the guts of a laptop just yet. The trouble shooting guide I've gotten most of my info from can be found here:
http://support.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/CS-004653.htm
If it's important, I'm running BIOS version A06, not sure of the video driver version (not at my laptop at the moment)
Thanks for the help!
I haven't yet attempted to make this connection on an Intel graphics card, but usually the S-Video out settings are usually located in the Advanced graphics menu. From the "settings" tab in "Display Properties", click advanced.
Another thing to try is pressing "Fn + F8" when the S-Video cable is connected to the TV. This switches the video image to the next display option. The options include the integrated display, an external monitor, and both displays simultaneously. If you are playing a DVD or watching a streaming video, Fn + F8 is disabled.
Of course, whether or not this will work will depend on whether or not the Intel Graphics Accelerator supports S-Video out / multiple monitor support. Did the adapter you're using come with the laptop, or did you buy it from a third party?
I bought the adapter from a third party. There's no conversion involved; it just plugs into my vga port and outputs to either s-video or rca. I know my card supports multiple monitors, that feature works fine. According to the troubleshooting guide in the previous link, I should be able to enable tv-out in the advanced graphics menu. However, my only options are to output to the lcd display, an external monitor, or both (extended desktop). There's also a "clone" option, but I'm not quite sure what that does. Whatever it does, it doesn't solve my problem. I've tried playing with all available resolutions and refresh rates, again to no avail.
Okay, I think I'm starting to see the issue. If you're using a VGA to S converter, you don't need to enable S-video output on the computer. The adapter that you're using should internally scale down hi-res VGA signals to 480i. Really, as long as you are using a resolution and frame rate (are you set for 60Hz?) compatible with your adaptor, you should be fine as long as you engage the external monitor (I'd pick 800x600 at 60Hz). Treat it like an addtional computer screen, not a TV. What's the make and model of the adaptor so I can check it out?
Clone mode is supposed to emulate 1 desktop on 2 screens, where extended desktop gives you more work space divided between 2 monitors.
The frame rate I'm using is 60Hz. Have tried all available resolutions (everything from 800x600 to 1600x1200) and frame rates (60-80Hz). I keep getting a signal, just not a usable one. Below is (I belive) the site where you can find my adapter. Unfortunately, I don't know for sure since it's an eBay related site and I can't access it from work. Let me know if it doesn't work and I'll send the correct link once I get home tonight. Thanks for your help!
*Link Removed
Edited by Matt Whitlock 7/7/05. Removed dead link to prevent browser stretching.
Sorry rdiemand, I had to remove the link. I tried to shrink it to stop the page from expanding, but our automatic link recognition system doesn't react well to links within links. Not your fault, just something that we need to fix eventually.
I tell you what, post the brand name and model of the adaptor (or anything that might help me figure out what it is) when you get home. I'll look it up and see if I can find a better page to link to.
There's no make or model printed on the adapter. Here's a better link where you should be able to check out what I'm working with:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41999&item=6783607712&rd=1
The more I look at this, the more I think it's just something that someone spliced together in their basement. Although, I'm getting a signal, so something's happening.
Also, my video driver version is 6.14.10.3889, if that helps.
Okay, This kind of adapter doesn't do any scaling, and it's doubtful that the computer will recognize this as an S-Video output. Another thing that irks me about that cable is that it's really not that easy to go from RGB to S-Video without transcoding the RGB signal. I seriously doubt that the transcoder is included for $6.00.
This means that the reason you're not getting a picture is because you have to manually configure the video output to be compatible with an analog television. Here's the problem... you may be able to configure your card to output 480x720 interlaced at 60Hz, and even set the graphics adapter to Y/Pr/Pb(I'm less certain of this), but you may need a program called Powerstrip to configure your graphics adapter properly. The nice thing is that Powerstrip is free to try for 30 days, so you'll only have to pay the $30 bucks if it works.
I have a feeling you're headed down a dead-end road. There are products out there that can make this much easier for you, but they cost more than 6 bucks. I can recommend some if you'd rather go the easy, yet more expensive, way.