Both my laptop (ATI based) and desktop (Nvidia based) have TV out. The TV connector on them is SVIDEO but I have been told by ATI and NVDIA that it will also output a composite signal if I get an adapter. I have what I was told is an SVIDEO (small round connector with 4 pins) to Composite RCA (what you would find on the back of most TV’s and VCR’s) adaper. Using this adapter I get back and white video only. What do I need to do for color?
At a guess, I’d say a either a new adaptor or a new S-video cable. The S-video signal carries the luminance (brightness) and chrominance (color) signals separately. The S-video to composite adaptor is supposed to combine these two signals back together. Apparently yours is only passing the luminance poertion of the signal. Also, check your S-video cables and be sure all four pins are present at both ends, or if you plug the adaptor directly into the notebook, that all four pins are present on it.
There are 4 pins on the adapter that go directly into the svideo port on the laptop.
If all four pins are present and clean, I’d suspect the adaptor itself, then. It’s unlikely that the S-video port on both computers is bad in the same way.
Just in case… double check the drivers. Some have settings that allow a black and white signal, make sure that’s off 
What program are you using to output the signal to the TV? Check its settings to make sure the appropriate region (e.g. PAL/NTSC/SECAM - you’re in the U.S., so you want NTSC) is selected. Sometimes setting the wrong region can cause a B&W picture with TV-out cards.
I just tried this myself (to watch a DVD), and it didn’t work. I got an orange screen with dark bars that scrolled up the screen slowly (every 10 seconds or so). If I changed some settings, I could get the screen to change color, but I couldn’t get an image. I tried everything I could think of from updating drivers to using new software to changing the resolution, and nothing worked. It was set to NTSC, and I tried both S-video and composite (RCA) connections.
After trying for a couple hours, my solution was to buy a DVD player…
“I got an orange screen with dark bars that scrolled up the screen slowly (every 10 seconds or so)”
Macrovision copy protection can kick in when you output from a computer too.
Bzzzzt! Sorry, thanks for playing. Macrovision copy protection manifests itself as an alternating very dark/very dark picture that cycles every couple seconds. It rarely affects TV viewing from the original medium, though that can happen on some sets.
Well I just started fromm my XP desktop not running any programs. I get just grey images. I’m going to buy a new adapter by Saturday I want to time-shift something that is being broadcast over the internet.