Watching computer on tv

Ok I have my s-video and audio connecting my computer to tv. The question I have is how do I watch movies on the tv?!!? I thought it would be easy but i can't get it to work. I just want it to have this screen on the tv. I dont want to extend the desktop.

I'm using ATI. any ideas?

 

ati is one of the easyest programs to do that with. i watch dvds all the time on my 42 dell plasma . go to the ati task manager, and there should be a tab there for monitor settings. there should be a graphic there of how you want it to look. just clikc on the one that suits you. and if you just want to watch the dvd, its gonna show on the monitor also. i dont THINK you can run different tasks on both your tv and monitor, but i could be wrong.

 

yeah but isnt that for just extending the desktop?

 

What kind of TV do you have?

Most computer video cards can send out signals that TVs have no freaken clue what to do with.

I'd change the computer screen to 640x480 or 800x600 and try to output to your tv.....

OR

What kind of tv do you have?

Hmm, I think I asked that twice...must be important

 

It seems as though any tv with S-video built in would be able to handle it just fine.

I know I had fun (read: a frustratingly difficult) time getting the ATI software to work on my girlfriend's computer. The icons they use make little or no sense. I'm pretty sure it involves the monitors tab. Play around with settings until you get what you're looking for. Or maybe the help will work-- if there is one. (I'm on a work computer that I can't access anything to help you out) I'll see if I can figure it out when I get out.

 

in the device manager there should be two display devices ... also in display properties>settings you should see two monitors

you want to set the monitors as extended not cloned .. and just drag the DVD window into the second monitor(your TV) and make it fullscreen .. also note that in the display settings depicts where the TV is as far as the computer is concerned ... if your computer is on the left and in the display settings it is on the right you will have to drag the window to the right or in the display settings drag the 2nd monitor onto the left of the main monitor

 

but im trying to figure out how to clone it.

the tv works fine... i got it to work extended.. kinda. for some reason it wont work sometimes and other times it does. and when it did work it has wavey lines going thru it. kinda of annoying. any ideas?

 

nevermind i got it. but now i just need to figure out how i can get it clear, its all wavey and useless

 

thats because ur tv is most likely not as high definition as ur pc screen. something about the dot pitch i think, so the only way to fix that would be to get a new tv.. but it shoult be good enough for most games and films

 

No. You don't need a new tv. Is everyone responding to this thread a tv salesman? Your problem is either your resolution or your refresh rate. Play around with these two settings for your tv. Changing these settings for your monitor will not effect the tv, so leave them alone. The refresh rate for your tv should be something like 32, 64 ,or 75 hertz. I belive 32 is roughly the tv's default, 64 would be double that--which is closer to a pc monitor refresh rate, and 75 is about the max for most pc monitors... I can't recall which is the best at the moment. I guess my money would be on 64, but like I said, play around. Also, make sure it isn't the cable or a loose plug giving you trouble.

 

i have it on 60 refresh rate for the tv.... and i cant change it. sooo that should be good. man this sucks

 

60 hz is all your tv can do,unless you have one of the latest 100hz ones,this is fine for gaming and watching dvds,after all thats what people do on it anyway,its alot less noticeble on a tv than a tv because of the afterglow of the phosphor,but reading text is hard because of the blurr and bright still images look flickery,once a dvd is up and running it will be fine.

You should also adjust your tv regional settings to match where you are,if this throws the image off to one side,you should be able to adjust back,although I'm not familiar with ati drivers.

 

Still having a wavy image on the tv? How close is the machine to the tv (too close can cause interference)? Is the s-video cable of good quality (cheap quality cable is obviously a bad thing)?