Using television as computer monitor

[El Guapo]

Hey everyone, I have a question about using a television as a monitor. Last night I plugged my laptop into my television via an HDMI cable. The result:

(1) The computer detected and correctly identified the television;
(2) The television played sound for stuff done through the laptop; BUT
(3) The television did not display any video/pictures/desktop from the laptop.

Any guess what the issue could be? Clearly the connection is working since the laptop sees the television and audio is passing through the cable. In particular, why would the audio but not video be working?

Thanks!

[Arcanis]

select extend desktop to this display maybe?

[coopasonic]

Hit Fn+F4 and see what happens?

[Hamlet3145]

It depends a bit on what your laptop is, but there is usually way to toggle through all the display modes via a keyboard key combo.

[LawBeefaroni]

All the above.

[El Guapo]

I tried all the display settings - extend, duplicate, etc. Still no display on the television.

If I had to wager money on it, I'd guess that it's some issue with the television (6 - 7 year old off brand television), but it's so tantalizingly close to working I'm trying to figure out if there's a way to make it work.

[LawBeefaroni]

I guess next, I'd cycle through the input modes on the TV.

[El Guapo]

Did that too. But it also must be on the right input setting, because in addition to being on HDMI 1 when the cable is plugged into the HDMI1 port, the audio comes through. The audio wouldn't come through if the input setting was wrong, would it?

[LordMortis]

If it says it sees the TV and shows the display as active then the next thing to do is try to switch the display from the laptop to the other monitor.

On Dells, you do this with Fn>F8 but its different with different models. (Look for the pictures)

Is this Windows 7?

Start>search for programs and files "Display"

"Connect to a Projector" and then choose projector only first. If display dies and comes back, then you're never connecting with your existing set up. If the display dies doesn't come back then I'd probably play with settings on the TV itself. If the display works then good for you. (Note there is an option for the display to die and never come back, so do this with nothing open as you may need to kill the power on you machine.)

Also try changing the resolution on the external display. If you somehow manage to try to use a resolution the monitor can't handle you'll get a blank screen.

[killbot737]

Also try changing the resolution on the external display. If you somehow manage to try to use a resolution the monitor can't handle you'll get a blank screen.

Yeah it's nice that monitors do this now (show a blank screen) instead of catching on fire or exploding like they used to. But they don't make that crazy screaming out-of-sync sound anymore either.

[tru1cy]

Make sure Win7 uses the television as a monitor. so check display settings

[LawBeefaroni]

Did that too. But it also must be on the right input setting, because in addition to being on HDMI 1 when the cable is plugged into the HDMI1 port, the audio comes through. The audio wouldn't come through if the input setting was wrong, would it?

It shouldn't on HDMI but in my years of sitting through missed meeting starts watching people muck with monitors I've seen stranger things happen.

[El Guapo]

It's Windows 7 (and an HP laptop, if that matters).

Thanks for the recommendations (and keep them coming if there's more) - I'll fiddle more with it tonight.

[LordMortis]

It shouldn't on HDMI but in my years of sitting through missed meeting starts watching people muck with monitors I've seen stranger things happen.

In my years of people coming in with their own projectors working on laptops I've never seen before, having things not work right when the presentation start, and expecting me to just come in and make it work... I get bitter.

Give me ten fricken minutes before you start meeting and I give you 97% chance that I'll make everything the way you expect it to be. Give me an hour to make sure it's working and tested and I'll give you 99.9% you will have something working to your satisfaction before your meeting starts. Expect me to come in live as the meeting starts, to click two buttons, and then walk out having earned my paycheck? I wish.

[LordMortis]

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-D ... d-p/519487" target="_blank

Coop probably nailed it for an HP. If you cycled to projector with Fn-F4, what happened? It appears as though not broadcasting to an external monitor with you HP laptop is not an uncommon problem.

Another forum suggests it's fn-f5 for HPs....

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-D ... d-p/115266" target="_blank

So I go back to

Start>search for programs and files "Display"

"Connect to a Projector" which will net you the same results as function keys.

[Bulletpig]

Try dropping the resolution on your laptop. Try 1024x768 and if you get a picture try going up higher until it doesn't work.

[WPD]

Sounds like a new TV and laptop are in order. As well as beer. Sweet, delicious beer.

[Kraken]

Arise! This is as good a thread as any to tell you about the quest to save the world's largest CRT TV from destruction.

At this point, any serious retro gamer knows that a bulky cathode ray tube (CRT) TV provides the most authentic, lag-free experience for game consoles that predate the era of flat-panel HDTVs (i.e,. before the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 era). But modern gamers used to massive flat panel HD displays might balk at the display size of the most common CRTs, which tend to average in the 20- to 30-inch range (depending on the era they were made).

For those who want the absolute largest CRT experience possible, Sony's KX-45ED1 model (aka PVM-4300) has become the stuff of legends. The massive 45-inch CRT was sold in the late '80s for a whopping $40,000 (over $100,000 in today's dollars), according to contemporary reports.

That price means it wasn't exactly a mass-market product, and the limited supply has made it something of a white whale for CRT enthusiasts to this day. While a few pictures have emerged of the PVM-4300 in the wild and in marketing materials, no collector has stepped forward with detailed footage of a working unit.

Enter Shank Mods, a retro gaming enthusiast and renowned maker of portable versions of non-portable consoles. In a fascinating 35-minute video posted this weekend, he details his years-long effort to find and secure a PVM-4300 from a soon-to-be-demolished restaurant in Japan and preserve it for years to come.

The text tells the rest of the story and the 35-minute video is linked. I only watched the first 5 minutes because 35 minutes is two days in internet time, but it was pretty interesting as far as I went.

[Jeff V]

I worked for a company once that had large (30" or so) CRTs hooked up to CAD machines. It took a $4000 graphics card to make them usable.

Then with another company, I doing some work at an office at the Memphis airport. Before we standardized hardware, there was a mish-mash everywhere. This office bought the office manager (a very large lady named Miss Dave) a Gateway home entertainment system, which included a 36" CRT television. Which she sat 12" away from. That close, the resolution was extra shitty...I felt sorry for her because that was clearly unusable for an extended period of time,