Totally false. Actually, DLP is the ONLY display technology that is totally immune from burn-in, though LCD is also essentially immune since it will restore itself over time. In what way did you believe DLP could suffer from burn-in?
OK, i have panasonic TH-50px6U. this is essentially the same as the 60U from best buy and CC, but without the av connections in the front.
well looking at my laptop, i found an S video connector on the right side next to the mike, phone, and other connectors. above the s video connector there is a picture of a square with what looks like bunny ears. there is also an arrow that starts in the center of the square and points out to the side. it looks like that this is supposed to be used for an external monitor. i just happen to use an s video cable to connect my panasonic DVD player to my TV. so i pulled out the plug from the back of my DVD player and plugged it into my computer, and nothing happened. so i guess my question is, what am i doing wrong?
Try restarting your computer, or putting it to sleep and then waking it. That’s what is required on my PowerBook G4 to get it to recognize something is connected to the S-Video port.
I Googled it and found a link that said it did. Ah well.
On my Dell ,you have to enable the second monitor. Go to properties (right click on an empty spot on the desktop). Go to settings. Choose monitor 2. Click the check box for “extend desktop to this monitor”. Click OK. Wait a moment, and the external monitor should spring to life.
The reason is that PCs can output a wide variety of resolutions and screen refresh rates, but TVs are typically built to handle only a few of these. The screen refresh rate, in particular, can fry a TV if you set it too high.
BTW, Aceospades, the S-video connection can only display regular TV, not anything in the HD resolution range. So even though your HDTV can display 1366 x 768 resolution, using the S-video cable limits you to 640 x 480. Blehh.
HOWEVER: In looking at the details for your Panny plasma, I see that you have other options. For instance, the TV has two component inputs. You can get a VGA to component adapter for much cheaper than $300; I found this one for $40. You do have to be careful to only output resolutions that that TV can accept; I’d recommend 1366 x 768 at the largest, and definitely do not go over 60 Mhz refresh rate.
There are other details, but without knowing anything about your PC, I can’t help you much more.
Thanks. I’ve wondered what the big deal was, but I figured that Toshiba had some sort of reason for telling me not to connect a computer. I have connected the computer to ordinary, standard def tube TV’s without difficulty. The picture stinks, but it’s on there.
i tried doing this and there wasn’t an option “monitor 2”. when i got the laptop it had xp professional on it (and other stuff) since i had a copy of the home edition handy, i formated c and installed the home edition. i think this is the reason that when i go into control panel there doesn’t seem to be an option for a second monitor. is my assumption correct?
Isn’t that more to do with your video card? Mine could support two monitors (it has two connectors), so I get that choice. If yours only supports one monitor, you may not get that choice.
Also, loading the driver from the maker of the video card provides more options.
how do i find out what kind of video card i have? are video cards replaceable if the one i have is not good enough? why would my dell have a s video connector if it couldn’t be used to connect to another monitor?
I’m going to assume that you tried the function key (blue Fn key, plus the appropriate F-key) to switch video outputs? On a Dell, I believe it’s Fn+F8.
It’s possible that you killed the utilities that came with your laptop that enabled things like the hotkey for video output. I’m sort of surprised that you would have downgraded your laptop to Home Edition; it buys you nothing, and gives you a generic version of Windows rather than the Dell version.
It sounds like you may have hosed the dual monitor function when you downgraded to XPHome.
Your best bet is to go to the Dell support website and enter your service tag. That will give you a direct link to all the latest drivers for your specific computer. In most cases, you won’t have to worry about the XP Home/Pro issue; drivers typically work on both versions.
On desktop computers, video cards are quite replaceable. On laptops, probably not. Laptops build everything onto the motherboard to conserve space, while desktop machines are built with internal connectors for expandability and interchangeability.
Your laptop may have options to change your video circuitry, but if so, it would probably be expensive. Best to go to the maker’s website, as others have mentioned upthread, and make sure that you have all the software needed for your specific machine.
If you have a video-out connector as well as a monitor connector, your machine should have come with the software to drive them.
i did try the Fn+F8 key and nothing happened:(
so i went to dell support and downloaded the latest driver for my display. now my problem is i cant install it. the directions tell me to go to control panel -> display-> settings-> advanced -> monitors-> properties-> latest drivers. the only thing is i can’t click on the properties (the button has light gray font and wont let me chose the properties button as an option). so how do i install the latest drivers now?
Are you logged in as an administrator?
Does Dell support think that you’re still running XPPro and maybe sent the wrong drivers?
This adapter appears to be designed for use with a device that can output component video using an HD-15 (VGA) connector, as it’s listed as a cable.
If you want to get a high resolution output from your laptop onto your TV, you need what’s called a “transcoder”. Here is one example, but you can find them for much less money ($60-$100) on ebay (such as this). Using S-video will not give you a high-resolution signal.
i’m 99% sure that i am, but if i’m not, how would i log in as an administrator?
drum god, dell had like 15 different drivers for a 640. i downloaded 2. one was from right before my laptop was made (thinking that that would be the one that was shipped with my laptop) and the latest one. i don’t know which one is the right one because i can’t seem to even load them.
Running with Scissors i’m not to concerned about HD from my laptop. i plan on showing some pictures and maybe run a map program for when i DM a game of D&D.
But your computer shipped with XPPro. You’ve stuck XPHome on top of that. I still suspect that that is the problem.
i see what your saying.
when i went to dell they gave me the choice to pick a OS. i picked XP home because that is what i have. should i have picked XP pro? any idea why control panel wouldn’t even let me look for other drivers?