S-video cable working but not playing videos

[ReMiXXX82]

Well ive searched and cant find anything similar to this so here it goes. Well when i hook up my laptop, which is a compaq presario 2100, to the tv, which is a panasonic 1080i (i think that the model #) it shows my computer screen but when i try to play the file in windows media player it doesnt show up on the screen just on my laptop screen. The file is in .avi format if that has anything to do with it, i havent tried any other files but i guess i should, is there anything im doing wrong? i tried to look more into the advanced settings but there isnt really anything i can find.

[edDV]

Read the manual on "overlay settings". The S-Video output needs assignment to overlay not desktop. Others may know your machine better than I.

[JohnnyMalaria]

A couple of things to try.

1. If you have the laptop and S-video configured to show the same thing, it is common for the video overlay (needed to show the video clip on the desktop) to only work on the laptop display. The other display will show a black rectangle instead. Right-click somewhere on your desktop and choose Properties to bring up the Display Properties dialog. Then select the Settings tab and click the Advanced Button. You'll see a number of tabs - click on the one called Troubleshoot. You'll see a slider - move it to the 3rd position from the left (with the left being the first position). Click OK to close and OK again to close the first dialog. Try playing the file again - you should probably see it on both displays. If your laptop is fast enough, you'll probably be okay.

2. Most laptops let you configure the external display (e.g., S-Video) to be the same as the LCD display, to be the only display, to be off or to be an extension of the desktop. For example, you may be able to cycle through LCD Display --> External Display --> Both Displays, often using a Alt-Fn<some number> hotkey. Try sending the display only to the S-video output - the overlay may work properly in that case.

3. Finally, try extending the desktop onto the external display - depending on your video card, it may or may not help. To extend the desktop, open the Display Properties as above and select Settings. (Hopefully!) you will see a big 1 and 2. Click on the big 2 then check the "Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor". Then click OK. When you launch Media Player, it will most likely open on the LCD (number 1) display. Making sure Media Player is NOT maximized, drag it over to the other display - it should appear on your S-video output. You may need to stop and restart the video to get the overlay to work.

All of the above depends on your specific hardware - one of them should work!

(While I was typing my epic response, edDV posted a reply!)