Pc to TV... video files do not show

[cranebill]

I am not sure if this is the right forum for this but here goes. I have a laptop at work that we use for presentations. We plug this into a projector via a S-Video cord which works fine. You can see the desktop and everything fine. Using power point presentations is also fine. My boss now had me convert a VHS safety tape to mpg format to use this laptop in the same fashion because its alot easier to move the laptop than a vcr etc. When we play the mpg you can see the Windows Media Player but the video shows blank on the screen of the projector. I tried playing a DVD it is also showing blank on the screen of the projector. I really do not know why this is since it is just basically showing the desktop why it just doesnt show the video portion as well. Any Idea on how to make this work?

Bill

 

[temporello]

My guess is that the overlay setting should be changed.
Right click on the desktop,then click properties,settings,advanced and there you should find the specific label to do it.
Many video cards that support alternative displays are set to display video only on the primary display by default...

 

[jsauce]

Does the mpg play fine on the laptop by itself, if not it could be that you don't have an mpeg codec installed.

John D. Saucier
jsauce@magicguild.com
Certified Technician
Network Administrator

 

[cranebill]

Yeah they plat fine on the laptop... just cant see it on the tv.

 

[jpolanin]

Bill,

Odds are that temporello is right. the problem is likely a matter of video overlay. go into the software for the card itself. in the Nvidia personal cinema, the setting is 'overlay control', which is disabled by default. ATI has a function called 'theater mode', which allows 'streaming' video on both displays. Perhaps the manufacture of the video in this machine has a similar setting, check their web site. If you cannot seem to find anything like this in the software for your video card, or in the advanced display properties, see if you can switch your primary and secondary displays, so the tv is primary.