How to connect laptop to home entertainment system

[mrblue]

I purchased the Lite version and installed it in my Windows laptop. My home entertainment has a Video 3 input jacks on the front of the audio/video receiver. When my kids want to play their XBox on the big screen, all they do is use this Video 3 input and both the audio and video works. So, I said to myself I should be able to plug my laptop using the same Video 3 input channels and it should work. So, I bought a VGA to RCA adapter and used it to connected the VGA output from my laptop to the video input jack (i.e. yellow) on the audio/video receiver. Then, using another adapter I already have, I connected the headphone output from my laptop to the audit jacks (red and white) input jacks on the audio/video receiver. When I played one of the karaoke songs on my laptop, the audio worked but there no video on my TV screen. Can someone tell me why the video is not working? It is entirely possible that the brand new adapter I bought is defective but I do not have a way to test it. Did I connect my laptop properly?

[dave]

ensure that your computer recognizes that there is a second monitor attached, and that you're NOT doing "mirroring"

here's an article for that.

put the video screen there (drag it over)
here's a mac-centric article, but you need the same basic information

[mrblue]

I have other friends who use a Windows PC instead of a MAC who are interested in this software. However, I can't recommend the software until I can get it to work completely in my own home and equipment. We all have basically the same set up. That is, we have the typical home entertainment system that is controlled through an audio/video receiver. It would be nice if we have specific instructions on how to connect to a home entertainment system using the Video 3 input jacks that are already provided with these audio/video receivers.

The information on the link relevant to Windows set up talks about connecting to a VGA or LCD monitor. It's not exactly our set up but it may help me figure out the Windows 7 setting that I need to select. Is there any setting I need to select within KJAMS so only the video of the song lyircs displays on TV isntead of the whole KJAMS control panel?

[dave]

in general, to connect to an old, analog, SD TV, the parts you need are:

* an adapter that goes from whatever video-out port you have to VGA
* a "scan converter" that goes from VGA to S-Video

Now, some laptops COME WITH a port or the proper adapters so that you already have S-Video.

Once you got that, you're done. just plug them in.

Audio is much easier, just get an adapter to go from your mini-stereo headphone jack to the red-white RCA jacks, juts plug that in.

Then you have to tell Windows that you've hooked up a second monitor, see the first link in the article above. Be sure to NOT have "mirroring" turned on, that way you have a SEPARATE area for the video (aka "extended desktop").

Then run kJams, and drag the video window over to the second display, and double click it to go full screen. it's really easy!

[mrblue]

I still have not been able to get the song lyrics video to appear on my TV. I chose the option Extend These Displays as you recommended but I'm not sure what you meant by dragging the video window to the second display. What second display are you referring to? I don't see a second display.

By the way, I am providing a link to the adapter that I am using to connect my laptop to my TV and home entertainment system.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/produ ... 1&format=2

[dave]

when you hook up your TV, the TV becomes the second display. in your Displays control panel, you'll see TWO monitors, the computer and the TV, right?

please re-read both links above in my first reply, they are entirely relevant to this discussion.

you drag the Video window from one display to the other.

[mrblue]

In Windows 7, when you go to the Control panel and select Display, there is a link to change the display settings. After you do this, then you see a screen with two monitors displayed. After you connect the laptop to the TV, the TV screen remains blank until you drag the video window on your laptop all the way to the right until it pops up on the TV screen.

I finally got the video to appear on my TV only after I connected my laptop using a standard VGA cable. There is a VGA input jack on the back of my TV. However, I was not able to use the Video 3 slot on my TV or the Audio/Video Receiver. When I connect my laptop using these connections and the adapter I bought, it does not work. I'm thinking the brand new adapter I purchased online from Monoprice is probably defective.

[dave]

when you connect thru an s-video adapter, you may need to click "detect displays" to get the computer to realize you've got a TV plugged in.

[DeusExMachina]

Just FYI, there are two parallel issues here:
1) Windows multi-monitor support SUCKS! (Always has, but is at least marginally better with 7. Can't even do it at all on 95-98, barely stumbles by on XP).
The easiest way to FORCE Windows to recognize the monitor is simply to reboot with that display plugged into the appropriate port AND turned on.
The more complicated route is to right click on the desktop, select "Properties" and then "Settings". From there you can activate the monitor, and click "Extend Desktop onto this Display" (from memory, don't quote me on my quotes!). You can also drag the icon representations of the monitors around to change their external relationship to one another.
But sometimes even then Windows can't figure out what is going on, so, like you have seen, you need to physically drag a program window with the mouse across the main display and onto the secondary display, for Windows to finally figure out what you want it to do.

2) MonoPrice is hit or miss. Sometimes you get great stuff very cheap, other times you get crap (also very cheap).

[dave]