Why would my video card operate tis way?

Factual Questions
1

A couple of years ago I bought a video card (a Radeon SDR) with an S-video out, so I could run DVD’s out to my TV. But the next week or so I came across an Apex DVD player almost as cheap as the card, so I never installed the card til I moved into my new apt…

The card’s documentation and control panel say I must choose to output to EITHER my monitor or my TV, it won’t support both simultaneously. And it works that way, ine goes black when I select the other.

BUT, when I cold start the computer, the card outputs to BOTH the monitor and the TV, until the video driver is loaded and takes over. I get the windows 98 logo and the memory tests showing up on BOTH screens, until the TV eventually goes black as Windows loads.

WTF? The card is clearly physically capable of running both at once, so why would the driver prevent it from operating this way?

2

I’d guess that the card has only one digital-to-analog converter. So it can output to both ports, but only if you want to run both at the same frequency and resolution settings. I believe everything up to the Windows logo is displayed in 640x480 mode, which the TV can handle. As soon as the driver loads and switches the video card to a higher resolution, the TV port shuts down.

3

I have a few ATI cards, despite what you say, they operate a tv & computer monitor at the same
time on my computer. If your directions are the same as mine, you MUST have the tv on BEFORE
turning on the computer.

4

After the computer is on, one selects the tv from the display panel on my ATI cards. ITs been a while
since I used them though.