watching mkv movies on RCA TV

[The_Doman]

Hi Doman,
I'm using Windows 7 home premium.
I don't see any indication on the laptop that I've connected the TV to it;
although I'm not sure where I should look to find that out?

Sorry i missed this specific post earlier i think.
To verify things, I have connected my LG TV/Monitor with VGA input to my Windows 7 Dell E6410 VGA output here.
Indeed at default it will not show a picture on the VGA output to the TV!
To make it work, you first need to enable the VGA output from the display/screen control panel.
Go to control panel/Display/Screen Resolution.
There then you should be able to activate the VGA output.
Possible you need to press detect first.
Then you should be able to display the desktop on your TV by choosing extending,duplicating or show only on the 2nd/VGA display.


[Attachment 89560 - Click to enlarge]

I'm sorry if I described my laptop as a Latitude E6410. It's a Latitude E5410.

No need for that at all, i only mentioned my E6410 because they are of similar age/generation.

Hi Doman,
I have a DVD player attached to the TV which plays well; but when
I tried playing the same video on my laptop (not connected to the TV) it said,
'it's not possible to turn on analog copy protection on the output display,
and that I should install updated drivers for the video card'. I'm not sure if that means anything.

This is something with the player and copy protection of the DVD, but has no relation now to the VGA output question.
Don't go/bother with drivers updating.
Probably a better player should play the DVD without problems.
Media-Player-Classic-Home-Cinema for example?

[flashandpan007]

https://www.dell.com/support/product-details/en-us/servicetag/0-dncyQytsTXY0VC9TMkNRND...Odz090/drivers
I was hoping for some details, but I think the only thing left is to use a VGA to HDMI Adapter, if VGA direct to TV doesn't work. TV is limited and Notebook is limited.

Why limited?
At least it has a Core I-5 CPU (1st gen, but still)
What would do a HDMI to VGA adapter in this situation?
The laptop only has VGA out.
Try another cable if available??
Try with another VGA monitor if possible?
What does Windows display setting message/show when you connect the VGA?
And what Windows are you using?

Please read my posts carefully

https://www.dell.com/support/product-details/en-us/servicetag/0-dncyQytsTXY0VC9TMkNRND...Odz090/drivers
I was hoping for some details, but I think the only thing left is to use a VGA to HDMI Adapter, if VGA direct to TV doesn't work. TV is limited and Notebook is limited.

He doesn't want a new TV, he wants to use the VGA only (limited) output Notebook and the TV has poor VGA support (limited), so a VGA to HDMI converter would be the only thing that could be possible and use 1080p
But best is to buy a new TV or an external player based on android could be the cheapest option, as jagabo already stated. But I think he doesn't want to buy a cheap android box.

[dannyboy48888]

Get a cheap agptek box off Amazon, most of them have av out and can adjust aspect ratio. Etc. double bonus is no worry about cinavia and you get a remote and they have HDMI out for future projects. Anything else is bending something that ain't meant to do what you want so you'll have off aspect ratios etc

[The_Doman]

He doesn't want a new TV, he wants to use the VGA only (limited) output Notebook and the TV has poor VGA support (limited), so a VGA to HDMI converter would be the only thing that could be possible and use 1080p

Why bother with converters, the TV only has 1366x768.
VGA will look good enough, it is not THAT bad, for this purpose.

It will downscale the higher input resolutions.

Yes there is no playback option of video/media/network.
May be understandable as this TV only has a resolution of 1366x768 (HD Ready)

[Shinnen]

https://www.dell.com/support/product-details/en-us/servicetag/0-dncyQytsTXY0VC9TMkNRND...Odz090/drivers
I was hoping for some details, but I think the only thing left is to use a VGA to HDMI Adapter, if VGA direct to TV doesn't work. TV is limited and Notebook is limited.

Hi,
I tried this with no luck. I'll try it on my other TV later. Thanks for the idea.
..... john

[The_Doman]

To verify things, I have connected my LG TV/Monitor with VGA input to my Windows 7 Dell E6410 VGA output here.
Indeed at default it will not show a picture on the VGA output to the TV!
To make it work, you first need to enable the VGA output from the display/screen control panel.

Just adding, Windows 10/11 behaves differently, when you connect a 2nd VGA (or other output) monitor/cable, it immediately activates the 2nd display here.

And again, VGA to HDMI (or whatever) converters will solve nothing and should not be needed in this situation.

[Shinnen]

Hi Doman,
I'm using Windows 7 home premium.
I don't see any indication on the laptop that I've connected the TV to it;
although I'm not sure where I should look to find that out?

Sorry i missed this specific post earlier i think.
To verify things, I have connected my LG TV/Monitor with VGA input to my Windows 7 Dell E6410 VGA output here.
Indeed at default it will not show a picture on the VGA output to the TV!
To make it work, you first need to enable the VGA output from the display/screen control panel.
Go to control panel/Display/Screen Resolution.
There then you should be able to activate the VGA output.
Possible you need to press detect first.
Then you should be able to display the desktop on your TV by choosing extending,duplicating or show only on the 2nd/VGA display.

I'm sorry if I described my laptop as a Latitude E6410. It's a Latitude E5410.

No need for that at all, i only mentioned my E6410 because they are of similar age/generation.

Hi Doman,
I have a DVD player attached to the TV which plays well; but when
I tried playing the same video on my laptop (not connected to the TV) it said,
'it's not possible to turn on analog copy protection on the output display,
and that I should install updated drivers for the video card'. I'm not sure if that means anything.

This is something with the player and copy protection of the DVD, but has no relation now to the VGA output question.
Don't go/bother with drivers updating.
Probably a better player should play the DVD without problems.
Media-Player-Classic-Home-Cinema for example?

[Attachment 89560 - Click to enlarge]
Here's a picture of what I get, only one drive ever shows.

[Attachment 89565 - Click to enlarge]
Does everyone agree here, that we're flogging a dead horse?
... john

[flashandpan007]

He doesn't want a new TV, he wants to use the VGA only (limited) output Notebook and the TV has poor VGA support (limited), so a VGA to HDMI converter would be the only thing that could be possible and use 1080p

Why bother with converters, the TV only has 1366x768.
VGA will look good enough, it is not THAT bad, for this purpose.

It will downscale the higher input resolutions.

Yes there is no playback option of video/media/network.
May be understandable as this TV only has a resolution of 1366x768 (HD Ready)

The next limitation

I'm out

[The_Doman]

Here's a picture of what I get, only one drive ever shows.

[Attachment 89565 - Click to enlarge]
Does everyone agree here, that we're flogging a dead horse?
... john

All is ghosted/greyed and shows standard VGA adapter.
This indicates there is no GPU driver installed/active.
Also it probably explains the playback problems of your DVD.
Check in control panel/device manager/display adapters if it shows Intel® HD Graphics adapter.
If not, go to the DELL support page and download (re)install the Intel GPU/chip set drivers for your Windows 7.
Check if you are on 32 or 64bit for the correct drivers.
Dell Support: Latitude E5410 Drivers

Or better reinstall the drivers anyway to be sure.

It should show like this as shown from a ThinkPad X201 with similar 1st gen Core I5-M520 GPU adapter:


[Attachment 89567 - Click to enlarge]

[dannyboy48888]

Something's off, windows since the dawn of xp pretty much supported Intel graphics out of the box with additional drivers adding some functionality. Ive only seen this scenario really when putting a old windows on a newer laptop. I agree with The_Doman, get the updated drivers.if that's not possible then to answer the original posted question get a cheap media box off Amazon, they still have some with VGA as well.

[Shinnen]

Hi,
I installed the The Intel Graphics drivers for the E5410 (64 bit) but it caused the system to hang on startup. (System restore fixed up though.) There's something odd going on here.
I'm in the process of trying a Windows XP computer on another screen; which seems to work; but haven't yet tried it on the system I want it to work on. If that works, I'm good to go; but I would still like to figure out the E5410 issue. It must have something to do with drivers, I think. All that shows up under Display drivers is "Standard VGA Graphics Adapter", nothing else.
.....john

[The_Doman]

Hi,
I installed the The Intel Graphics drivers for the E5410 (64 bit) but it caused the system to hang on startup. (System restore fixed up though.) There's something odd going on here.....

Sure , why would things be that easy.

Did you try the latest/both versions from the Dell site?
Video_Driver_W33X5_WN_8.15.10.2993_A11.EXE

I would suggest doing a checkdisk and run the sfc /scannow command on the system.

Then try the latest driver from the intel site:

Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator Driver, Windows 7* 64, Windows Vista* 64

Possible you need the Intel Chipset Driver too, it is also on the Dell site.

I really would not go the route trying to install XP on that laptop.
Windows 7 should work fine.

[Shinnen]

Hi Doman,
This driver reacted the same way as the other one I installed, causing the laptop to hang during startup;
but after removing the installed driver using Revo uninstaller in Safe Mode, it started fine.
I also ran Checkdisk and Scannow, which didn't help.
No, no, I have no intention of installing XP on this laptop; I was only saying that I have an Acer Aspire ZG5
with XP installed, that works on another TV, that 'may' work on the TV I'm trying to set up with the Latitude, should I
be unable to get the Latitude to play nice.
Thanks again for your help.
.... john

[Shinnen]

I have a DVD player attached to the TV I'm trying to integrate with the Latitude;
so I'm thinking that the simplest solution might be to just burn the shows I
want to watch to a disc, and be done with it.
... john

[The_Doman]

I have a DVD player attached to the TV I'm trying to integrate with the Latitude;
so I'm thinking that the simplest solution might be to just burn the shows I
want to watch to a disc, and be done with it.

From this topic we learned all "simple solutions" end up getting complex after all.
To burn the DVD's you have to convert the MKV's to regular MPEG2/DVD's , unless your DVD player is flexible and able to play more modern video formats.

Still i am puzzled what is the problem with your Latitude E5410 driver.
Even i tested a clean official Windows 7 SP1 on my E6410 which has the same chip-set architecture.
Easy and quick with a SSD.
Without any installed driver it indeed shows the same situation on the display screen: basic VGA display without any screen options.
The official intel GMA driver then installs without problems on it.

Something must be broken/borked with that Windows 7 installation.

You could try bring your Windows 7 up to date with the latest Simplix UpdatePack 7
Possible it can/will fix your Windows problems too.
But then all things can go wrong when it already can't install even the GPU driver properly now.

Not something i would recommend doing if that is your main/important machine without having a backup/image.

[usually_quiet]

I have a DVD player attached to the TV I'm trying to integrate with the Latitude;
so I'm thinking that the simplest solution might be to just burn the shows I
want to watch to a disc, and be done with it.
... john

DVD players don't play MKV files, or MP4 files. Typically, recent models can only play authored DVDs, photo CDs, and audio CDs. Some older DVD players could also play DivX or XviD files, but only if they contain standard-definition video and supported audio formats.

AVStoDVD can perform the required audio and video conversion and produce a simple DVD, but there is a moderate learning curve and the conversion will take time.

[jagabo]

If you had spent about US$40 on a media player you could have watched all your videos by now. And you'd be set to watch many more in the years to come.

Every TV supports HDMI inputs at 1280x720 60p and 1920x1080i because those were the initial broadcast standards for HDTV in North America. Every media player supports those two output formats for those TVs. Media players support almost all types of files you are likely to find. Like MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI... and almost all common codecs like MPEG2, Divx, XVid, h.264, h.265, VP8, VP9, AV1...

[Alwyn]

If you had spent about US$40 on a media player

I'm interested in one of these (my Chromecast isn't cutting the mustard). Any suggestions?

[jagabo]

If you had spent about US$40 on a media player

I'm interested in one of these (my Chromecast isn't cutting the mustard). Any suggestions?

What do you find lacking on the Chromecast? Oh, and which Chromecast do you have?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromecast

[Ai Haibara]

DVD players don't play MKV files, or MP4 files.

This isn't entirely true - my old Philips 5990 could recognize and play MP4 video files... but ONLY if they were basically DivX/Xvid video streams with an MP3 audio stream, as I recall. I always wondered what the point of including that in the formats the player recognized was.

If you had spent about US$40 on a media player you could have watched all your videos by now. And you be set to watch many more in the years to come.

I'll agree with this, or if you can find a way to connect your PC to the TV and use it as a media center, even better (less likely to be cheap or fail at random times, too )

[Alwyn]

What do you find lacking on the Chromecast? Oh, and which Chromecast do you have?

Chromecast 4K. Never had much luck with it; couldn't work out how to plug in an external drive, it's file browser is pretty poor compared to the TV over the network, screen sharing is iffy. And of course it needs a network to function. Basically a WOFTAM for me.

One of my LG TVs doesn't like HDDs plugged straight into it, the CC doesn't work (no network) so I'm after a simple HDMI media player as the go-between. I don't need anything fancy; I'm considering one of these.

Any other suggestions welcomed.

[cholla]

Hi Alwyn,
Does your LG TV work with a flash drive ?

Is the HDD your are using USB powered or wall wart (AC adapter) powered?

[jagabo]

Chromecast 4K. Never had much luck with it; couldn't work out how to plug in an external drive

It has only one USB port and it is used to power the device. To plug in another USB device you have to use a USB hub with Power Delivery (ie, the hub powers the Chromecast as well as providing multiple USB ports and other devices). Something like:

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Delivery-Compact-Stylish-Included/dp/B0DKT8BB4M
https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Revodok-Delivery-MacBook-Thinkpad/dp/B0D1XLNWP2

That will power the Chromcast as well as any USB devices you plug in. The Chromdcast will have access to those USB devices.

To avoid the mess of an external USB hub you want a media player that has more than one USB port, or one that is powered separately from the USB port.

Another way around this is to install an SMB (native Windows networking system) driver (available via the Play Store) and use WiFi network shares. I have all my media files stored on a Windows computer and access them via SMB.

it's file browser is pretty poor

I don't know if they're "better" but I use Kodi or VLC to browse the network shares and play the media files.

screen sharing is iffy

I can't help you there -- I've never used it.

One of my LG TVs doesn't like HDDs plugged straight into it

The TV's USB port probably can't supply enough power. Or maybe the TV doesn't support the file system (for example Windows' NTFS requires a licensing fee that TV manufacturer's want to pay).

the CC doesn't work (no network)

Note the SMB driver mentioned above.

so I'm after a simple HDMI media player as the go-between. I don't need anything fancy; I'm considering one of these.

I don't know anything about that particular device. At least it has a free USB port since it gets power from a dedicated power input. You might want to look for one that supports h.265 and AV1 as those is becoming more common.

[usually_quiet]

I don't need anything fancy; I'm considering one of these.

Any other suggestions welcomed.

If you need support for HEVC/H.265 or 4K resolution, I don't think it is a good choice. Those things are not mentioned in the specs.

[Alwyn]

Thanks everyone, I'll keep looking.

Does your LG TV work with a flash drive ?

Gday Cholla, Not sure, I think so. I want to stick with the SSDs/HDDs for the capacity.

Is the HDD you are using USB powered or wall wart (AC adapter) powered?

2.5 inch SSD, USB-powered. Trying to avoid carrying a power brick with the drive. One of these powered players sounds like the go.

[The_Doman]

Gday Cholla, Not sure, I think so. I want to stick with the SSDs/HDDs for the capacity.

For maximum compatibility make sure your HDD/SSD is partitioned as MBR an not GPT which is the default partition scheme on the newer Windows 10/11 systems.
Many, specially older, media devices won't recognize GPT partitioned drives.
This is the most common cause of compatibility problems with USB HDD/SSD's and TV/DVD/Blu-ray playback.
NTFS support is often not the problem.

Also not forget DLNA media sharing
This is widely supported on TV/Blu-ray devices, most routers/nas devices have this function.

[Shinnen]

I have a DVD player attached to the TV I'm trying to integrate with the Latitude;
so I'm thinking that the simplest solution might be to just burn the shows I
want to watch to a disc, and be done with it.

From this topic we learned all "simple solutions" end up getting complex after all.
To burn the DVD's you have to convert the MKV's to regular MPEG2/DVD's , unless your DVD player is flexible and able to play more modern video formats.

Still i am puzzled what is the problem with your Latitude E5410 driver.
Even i tested a clean official Windows 7 SP1 on my E6410 which has the same chip-set architecture.
Easy and quick with a SSD.
Without any installed driver it indeed shows the same situation on the display screen: basic VGA display without any screen options.
The official intel GMA driver then installs without problems on it.

Something must be broken/borked with that Windows 7 installation.

You could try bring your Windows 7 up to date with the latest Simplix UpdatePack 7
Possible it can/will fix your Windows problems too.
But then all things can go wrong when it already can't install even the GPU driver properly now.

Not something i would recommend doing if that is your main/important machine without having a backup/image.

Indeed ... some 'simple solutions' are not that simple.
I'm sure you're right, something is "borked" on this OS;
and I'm reluctant to mess with it any further, in case I make it worse.
It took me a long time to get to the point where it would integrate
with my old Blackberry Playbook, so I think I'll leave well enough alone,
and admit 'defeat'. Thank you for all your help.
.... john
P.S. after converting the mkv's to mpeg2s, there must be something
more I have to do to get my DVD player to recognize them???

[jagabo]

You videos have to be converted to MPEG2 with DVD compatible settings. Things like the frame size, GOP size, bitrate limitations, etc.

https://www.videohelp.com/dvd

Then they must be authored with the movie DVD structure, VOB, IFO, and BUP files in a VIDEO_TS folder. Programs like AVS2DVD or DVD Lab do that.

[Shinnen]

I have a DVD player attached to the TV I'm trying to integrate with the Latitude;
so I'm thinking that the simplest solution might be to just burn the shows I
want to watch to a disc, and be done with it.
... john

DVD players don't play MKV files, or MP4 files. Typically, recent models can only play authored DVDs, photo CDs, and audio CDs. Some older DVD players could also play DivX or XviD files, but only if they contain standard-definition video and supported audio formats.

AVStoDVD can perform the required audio and video conversion and produce a simple DVD, but there is a moderate learning curve and the conversion will take time.

Hi,
My DVD player is Symphonic mod# CSDV840E which I was unable to find, but which looks identical to
the Sylvania DVC840E https://www.manualslib.com/manual/2391157/Funai-Sylvania-Dvc840e.html?page=19#manual I think it's quite old, but plays commercial videos.
...... john

[Shinnen]

If you had spent about US$40 on a media player you could have watched all your videos by now. And you be set to watch many more in the years to come.

Every TV supports HDMI inputs at 1280x720 60p and 1920x1080i because those were the initial broadcast standards for HDTV in North America. Every media player supports those two output formats for those TVs. Media players support almost all types of files you are likely to find. Like MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI... and almost all common codecs like MPEG2, Divx, XVid, h.264, h.265, VP8, VP9, AV1...

Thanks for the information.
.... john