S-video to Composite TV out probelms

alexl55 · Mar 22, 2004, 04:46 AM

I have a Compaq Presario 2140us which runs an ATI Radeon IGP 320 Mobility.

The TV out outputs in S-video but all my TVs only accept Composite Video Inputs, so I went and got ATI's converter.

That didn't work, so I decided to try a generic 3rd party converter. After playing around with with the third party converter, I was able to get it to work by first forcing detection of the TV, then toggling the Overscan button. This works fine until the screen resolution resizes whenever I enter games or other applications. I have tested this method on three different TVs and all the screens go blank after a resize.

The converters have ATI's S-Video to Composite Adapter, which has 8 pins on the S-Video side, and a generic 3rd party one, which only has 4 pins and a black block.

I have tested the converters using ATI Official drivers w/ Patje's moblity modder and Compaq Official Drivers (although Compaq official drivers don't have the force TV detection option)

I would like to know if anyone else has this probelm or knows a solution to it. I've e-mailed ATI and Compaq about it and got either the "use the official drivers and it will be fine" message or the "these are the correct steps to setup it copyed straight out of the manual" message.

Thank you for your responses in advance

BTW: I tested the 3rd party convertor w/ my friend's non ATI powered Laptop and it can resize the screen fine. I couldn't test the ATI converter since it has 4 more pins than the standard s-video plug does and only fits in ATI s-video ports

Geminiwave · Jul 10, 2004, 01:31 PM

this is probably absolutely no help to you...

but I had the same problem with my brothers laptop with a Geforce4 440.

its something to do with drivers.

Unfortunatly I can tell you that running it into your composite ports is a BADBADBAD idea. It never seems to work and the quality is actually worse sometimes than using RCA. Are you absolutely sure that you do not have Svideo? I mean if you have a VCR, it'll be back there. And if your TV has composite(we're sure its not RCA right?) then there is no reason why it shouldnt have S-video.

okay anyway. It took alot of wrestling with my brothers laptop and changing settings for it to work. I have never really been able to reproduce it so I just dont touch the settings and I advise my brother to do the same(as its his laptop)

On the other hand. My computer(a desktop) Seems to run GREAT even on composite. so I dont know what to tell you.

get an RCA adapter I guess...there really is very little difference in quality and its about the easiest to set up. it just plain works. S-video is better quality...and on my TV, was easier but when i hook it up to others its harder.

anyway maybe something here helped you. I'm going to see about finding some info for you though.

Mar 22, 2004, 04:46 AM	#1
alexl55 Ninja of the Net Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 21 Rep Power: 0	S-video to Composite TV out probelms I have a Compaq Presario 2140us which runs an ATI Radeon IGP 320 Mobility. The TV out outputs in S-video but all my TVs only accept Composite Video Inputs, so I went and got ATI's converter. That didn't work, so I decided to try a generic 3rd party converter. After playing around with with the third party converter, I was able to get it to work by first forcing detection of the TV, then toggling the Overscan button. This works fine until the screen resolution resizes whenever I enter games or other applications. I have tested this method on three different TVs and all the screens go blank after a resize. The converters have ATI's S-Video to Composite Adapter, which has 8 pins on the S-Video side, and a generic 3rd party one, which only has 4 pins and a black block. I have tested the converters using ATI Official drivers w/ Patje's moblity modder and Compaq Official Drivers (although Compaq official drivers don't have the force TV detection option) I would like to know if anyone else has this probelm or knows a solution to it. I've e-mailed ATI and Compaq about it and got either the "use the official drivers and it will be fine" message or the "these are the correct steps to setup it copyed straight out of the manual" message. Thank you for your responses in advance BTW: I tested the 3rd party convertor w/ my friend's non ATI powered Laptop and it can resize the screen fine. I couldn't test the ATI converter since it has 4 more pins than the standard s-video plug does and only fits in ATI s-video ports

Jul 10, 2004, 01:31 PM	#2
Geminiwave I Have lovely Breasts Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: In the closet... Posts: 5,395 Rep Power: 44	this is probably absolutely no help to you... but I had the same problem with my brothers laptop with a Geforce4 440. its something to do with drivers. Unfortunatly I can tell you that running it into your composite ports is a BADBADBAD idea. It never seems to work and the quality is actually worse sometimes than using RCA. Are you absolutely sure that you do not have Svideo? I mean if you have a VCR, it'll be back there. And if your TV has composite(we're sure its not RCA right?) then there is no reason why it shouldnt have S-video. okay anyway. It took alot of wrestling with my brothers laptop and changing settings for it to work. I have never really been able to reproduce it so I just dont touch the settings and I advise my brother to do the same(as its his laptop) On the other hand. My computer(a desktop) Seems to run GREAT even on composite. so I dont know what to tell you. get an RCA adapter I guess...there really is very little difference in quality and its about the easiest to set up. it just plain works. S-video is better quality...and on my TV, was easier but when i hook it up to others its harder. anyway maybe something here helped you. I'm going to see about finding some info for you though.