Karaoke Forums

Hi Everyone,
As usual, when I'm stuck, I come here, so...here goes.
A friend of mine has a Toshiba Satellite A75-S211 Laptop, which he uses for his karaoke and dj gigs. He had purchased a Western Digital 1TB external hard drive, which he loaded all his music into. We've BOTH been trying to get a tv hooked up so his singers can see the lyrics while his program stays on the laptop. We've used a s-video to rca to connect the tv to the laptop, but just can't seem to get the tv to function. Is it possible that the tv is the problem? Not being that computer savvy, neither one of us has a clue what we're doing wrong. He stated that he's used s-video to s-video at his home with no problem. IMO, it should work on any tv with the proper cables, but we've tried three other tv's, which all have the rca video input on the front...still...no luck. Any suggestions? Just remember to "speak" in terms I'll understand...don't go "tech lingo" on me....I'll get more confused than I am already.

Thanks in advance,

Donny "B"

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It's a wonderful life!!

You have to go into the video properties & set it up for extended desktop. Oftentimes it requires a reboot with the S-Video connected to it's source output. If it don't then you need to manually go into the properties & set it up manually.

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If he has got it working at home well enough - I'd start to question the TV.

depending on your operating system and the software you use, you have to have the tv on when you boot up for the system to see the connection.

Software like clubdjpro will automatically seek out the tv connection and turn on the connection if it's not seeing it!

Just my but I have tried an s-video to RCA cable in the past and it didn't work. If the same computer has worked at your friends house going s-video to s-video I am guessing you already have extended desktop setup properly, but look into both Lonmans and Knightshows suggestions.
I believe a RF modulator would solve your problem and allow hook-up to different inputs as well (s-video, RCA, Coax).
RF modulators are widely available from Walmart, Home Depot, Circuit City, or Radio Shaak. $20-$40 range

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Music speaks to the heart in ways words cannot express.

Make sure your S-Video jack is "turned on". My HP laptop has a TV button that I have to press to get it working. As stated above, have it all connected BEFORE you power up the computer. It needs to "see" the connection.

If it doesn't detect it right click your desktop and select "properties", select the settings tab and then advanced. Then click the tab for your video adapter. You should see the various options for getting the TV to work. It takes some playing around with it. Also, make sure you check the "extend my desktop" option.

One note: I had a cable that went from S-Video to RCA and I couldn't get it to work no matter what I tried! Turns out that the cable was bad. I could hold it a certain way and it worked but....... well... you know how that is. I replaced the cable with one of those retractable ones and all is well.

Good luck,
dawnpgeo

Hi again,
Thank you for all the responses thus far. From prior posts, (yeah..I searched the archives first) I was aware of the extended desktop, the re-boot, all of the "stuff" you all mentioned, and we tried it all EXCEPT for the "TV button". I'll have to look and see if that is an option. As far as the TV's go. We've used 3 different ones, including the one I use at MY show....still...no dice. So...I have to assume that the problem is "us". I know the graphics is the Radeon 9000, so the second screen SHOULDN'T be an issue. We get the two screens on the laptop, but just can't get the "extension" to show anything. However, a few times we DID see what looked like a "ghost" of the laptop screen. Unfortunately for my friend, he knows less than I do...and most out here already know I'm not very computer literate. The cables by the way were brand new...two of them...he bought an extra for backup. So...I'll try again. I'm not sure how to "manually" do what Lonnie said, so further instructions would be needed. ( sorry I'm such a putz lonnie ) Anyway...I told my friend if anyone could get him up and running, it would be from this forum. My money's still on you guys....so anything else would be appreciated.

Donny "B"

_________________
It's a wonderful life!!

donny,

since everything apparently works "at home", the difference, it would seem, has to do with the TV where it isn't working!

- how are you connecting to that TV, S-video or RCA?
- if it's connected to S-video, is the TV set to S-video?
- if it's connected to RCA, is the TV set properly to RCA?


- if you're converting from s-video to RCA, how are you accomplishing that conversion?

Hi eric,

Going from the back of the laptop (s-video mini din ) to the rca jack on the front of the TV. ( yellow rca jack ) The cable has din at one end and rca at the other. There's also a 15 pin vga available, I might suggest he try that, due to the fact that in the manual it said to use that for "external screen", but I assumed the s-video would accomplish the same goal. I still think it should work the way we've hooked it up.....probably just missing something "stupid" as far as the software/programming we're attempting. I'll be seeing him tomorrow, so hopefully then we can work out the "bugs". The TV's we've tried have either an "AUX", "Video", or "input" designation when hooking up "external devices". I'm not sure if that means I have to do anything else or not. Never had to with any of my players, so never gave that much thought. I looked at it from the point of view where all I needed was a video signal on the TV, and with the players...no problem. It's just we can't get the SECOND screen to show the lyrics/graphics.

Donny "B"

BTW: I'm not sure how to "set" a TV for s-video or rca, I figured with the cable we're using, that would be "automatic". The cable goes from mini din to rca. ( laptop to TV )

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It's a wonderful life!!

You do have to switch the display function on the second screen. If there is an INPUT button on the TV, just hit it until the external display shows up.

I'll go through the motions, just for the sake of thinking you might not have done all this. If you have, my apologies, but here's how it works.

Turn your second display on, hook your S video cable to your computer, then the RCA jack to the display. Go to your display settings in your computer and under monitor, select the box with the number 2 in it and tick the box that says extend my desktop. Click OK and if it asks you if you want to save those settings, click yes. Now all you have to do is hit the input or display or whatever button on your TV until the desktop shows up. This will show only your desktop, no icons or lyrics screens. Now you just have to resize the lyrics screen appearing on the computer and drag it over to the second monitor with your mouse.

Again, if you've done all this, I apologize.

If not, give it a go and let me know if it works for you.

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hi-voxentertainment

Try a RF modulator that converts the S-Video to a RCA plug. I too have tried the S-video to rca plugs, with no joy, so I now use a RF modulator to convert the signal.

I use the S video to RCA plugs and have never had an issue.

Just sayin'.

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hi-voxentertainment

Donny

I'm getting confused. Using the S-video jack, has the laptop in question ever produced an "extended desktop" image on any TV? If "yes", does it still work with that or any other TV? Obviously, if it works with one TV it should work with all. If it doesn't work with a particular TV the difficulty is with setting up the problematic TV!

Hi eric,
As I stated earlier, he was able to get the whole scenario operating on a "newer" tv at his home by using the s-video cable with the din on both ends. However, we HAVE NOT been able to duplicate that on a cable with s-video on one end, and the rca jack on the other...with three, known to be operating, different tv's. I was supposed to meet him again today, but he cancelled out due to personal issues, so we'll probably try for sometime Saturday. Again, we have been able to get the "extended screen" on his laptop, just can't get it to "move" to the tv. BUT, with all the info I have now...I should be able to "get 'er done". I'll keep you all posted on the progress we make...if any. Once again, thank ALL of you for your suggestions thus far. Who's better than you guys...NO ONE..NO WHERE

Donny "B"

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It's a wonderful life!!

Donny,

Okay, I got it.


Here's what I think. I think that your next move is to try using a different (new) cable on the Tv that previously worked with the laptop. This will determine if there is something wrong with the wires. If the "new" cable works with the "old" TV, then the problem, clearly lies with the wire!

PS: "Extended Screen" by definition, means that it WAS moved to a TV or monitor!
Also, if you choose to use the VGA jack, you must either plug it into a monitor or get an adapter that will convert the VGA output to work with a TV!

This is your problem. Unless your laptop was specifically designed to use such an adapter, it wont work.

EDIT: Agh just noticed the date. AlexJack, this is the second time. Why are your digging up and bumping ancient threads?

Make sure the resolution on the extended display is 800 x 600 many older tvs cannot display a higher res and will ghost or show nothing.