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  1. I am trying to connect my laptop to a large TV for a public presentation using PowerPoint. I have an S-Video connection on the laptop that is connected with an S-Video cable to a jack in the TV. The problem is that the picture on the TV is only in black & white. Of course the TV is a color version and does work in color when I connect a VHS player to it. Any ideas about this?
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    This is from the wikipedia article on s-video.

    S-Video and audio (mono or stereo) can be transferred through SCART connections as well. However, it was not part of the original SCART standard, and not every SCART-compatible device supports it for this reason. Also, S-Video and RGB are mutually exclusive through SCART, due to the S-Video implementation using the pins allocated for RGB. Most SCART-equipped televisions or VCRs (and almost all of the older ones) do not actually support S-Video, resulting in a black-and-white picture if such a connection is attempted, as only the luminance signal portion is usable. Generally, a black-and-white picture in itself can also be a sign of incompatible colour encoding--for example NTSC material viewed through a PAL-only device.
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    Originally Posted by Victor Hen
    I am trying to connect my laptop to a large TV for a public presentation using PowerPoint. I have an S-Video connection on the laptop that is connected with an S-Video cable to a jack in the TV. The problem is that the picture on the TV is only in black & white. Of course the TV is a color version and does work in color when I connect a VHS player to it. Any ideas about this?
    You have given no clues as to which country or video standard you are using or the model of computer notebook. All of these factors influence a response. SCART issues apply in PAL areas.

    An S-Video feed consists of two coax cables connected with 4 pins. One pair carries luminance (black and white), the other chrominance (NTSC or PAL color). First level issues center on the connectors and cable.

    1. The TV connection may be broken. Test that with another S-Video source like a DVD player. A test of the composite input does not prove the S-Video input works.

    2. The computer graphics chipset needs to be set to output S-Video. Test the computer on a another TV first so you know the computer isn't the problem.

    3. Most issues center on the cable. The MiniDin connector pins can easily break or bend. This causes the loss of color or loss of monochrome. The cable itself can break. Try a different cable.
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  4. I am using a Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop in the US. I connected it to my VHS/DVD player since my home TV does not have an S-video input. The player then connects to my TV using a coax cable. It works in color, so assume the S-Video cable and laptop are OK.

    I guess this makes the large screen TV suspect.

    I do have an old ATI Wonder connector. It has a box that has several "IN" ports and several "OUT" ports. I thought I would try this: From laptop - S-Video 'out' to ATI box S-Video 'in'. From ATI box 3 RCA connectors 'out' to 3 RCA connectors on TV 'in'. Hope that is clear as I will try it Monday night. By the way, the 3 RCA connectors are red, white, and yellow and the cable I have has all 3 at both ends, as does the large TV and the ATI box.
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    Originally Posted by Victor Hen
    I am using a Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop in the US. I connected it to my VHS/DVD player since my home TV does not have an S-video input. The player then connects to my TV using a coax cable. It works in color, so assume the S-Video cable and laptop are OK.

    I guess this makes the large screen TV suspect.
    So if you see the Powerpoint in color, it appears the laptop is outputting color.

    That leaves the cable and TV as suspect. I'd give 80% odds that the cable is at fault.

    You can buy an S-Video to composite adapter or cable. The quality will be lower than S-Video but it is a way to get a connection.

    http://www.shop.com/op/~Startech_com_6_inch_S_Video_To_Composite_Vi-prod-14294762-2079...390?sourceid=3
    http://www.svideo.com/msvmrca12.html
    http://www.tkk.fi/Misc/Electronics/circuits/svideo2cvideo.html
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    I had a similar issue where my TV would display only B/W when connected to my laptop using the s-video cable. I noticed that one of the pins in the s-video cable connector was bent. All I had to do was to use a thin nail to straighten it and bingo!! I could see color. Advice: Those of you guys who have similar issue, make sure you check the pins on the connector.
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    I had the same issue with an Inspiron E1505, and was able to rule out the S-Video plug on the computer, the cable, and the television. Nevertheless, still resolutely black and white. Some digging around in the settings finally unearthed the problem. Bizarrely, in the Catalyst Control Center, the value for the saturation on the television was set at zero. Not sure this happened; I'd certainly never fiddled with this setting. Worth looking at, certainly, in case something like that is in error.
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  8. Check the color standard for the laptop's output (i.e., NTSC vs PAL). There's a *slim* chance the VHS/DVD unit can accept different color carrier frequencies and output a true NTSC signal. As I say, a long shot but a quick thing to check (famous last words).
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  9. Just happened to see this post, as I submitted the question over a year ago. The problem was in the cable, as one of the posters suggested. I bought a new more expensive one, and all was fixed. BTW - I have been using it ever since, without any problems.
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    HEY! Had the same problem and wracked my brain for hours searching the internet for answers. I checked the pins, tried every driver, tried to mess with pal/ntsc settings, and nothing. Finally out of blind luck i noticed the casing around the end of the svideo cord had loosed (this happens usually from rotating the cord to try to get the damn thing to fit properly!) so I tightened it like a screw and yureka, color. Not sure why the end casing is so important to be tight like that, but you will lose color entirely if it becomes unscrewed, hope this helps, wish I saw it when I was searching in hopeless frustration.
    (p.s i actually registered with this site just so i can post this, i was rather proud of myself : P)
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    If it is a cheap cable only two of the wires are in use. Go buy a cheap male to male s-video cable cut one end off and cut the s-video connector off of your cable. Wire the new one in like this , tie pins 3+4 together and tie them to the center yellow video pin wire, then tie pins 1+2 together and tie them to the yellow video ground wire it will show in color. You can see a pin out on wikipedia under s-video.
    Brian Rayburn
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  12. Originally Posted by brianrayburn88 View Post
    If it is a cheap cable only two of the wires are in use. Go buy a cheap male to male s-video cable cut one end off and cut the s-video connector off of your cable. Wire the new one in like this , tie pins 3+4 together and tie them to the center yellow video pin wire, then tie pins 1+2 together and tie them to the yellow video ground wire it will show in color. You can see a pin out on wikipedia under s-video.
    this worked for me , just bridged the pins and now it displays colours perfectly. thanks a lot man!!!

    p.d.: I saw the same answer on another forum
    http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?t=33658934
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