17 inch Powerbook s-video to TV NO Picture

Question

17 inch Powerbook s-video to TV NO Picture

I have a freind with a 17 inch Powerbook G4 and she is trying to connect it to her TV to show slide shows using the S-video connection. Her Tv has an svideo connection but when she hooks them up she gets no picture. She does get audio through the audio connection so we know they are connected there but still no picture on the screen.
Any Suggestions?

Powerook G4 17 inch, Mac OS X (10.3.6)

Posted on Jan 28, 2007 9:35 AM

Reply

Answer 1

onlyone

Level 1

10 points

Jan 28, 2007 9:45 AM in response to Maggie Vansickle

Have you tried the 'Detect Displays' function?

"System Preferences" > "Displays" > "Detect Displays"

Good luck,
onlyone-jc.

Reply

Answer 2

Jan 28, 2007 10:47 AM in response to onlyone

She says yes. she tried that. I am not there with her so I cannot speak directly to what she has been doing. Is it safe to assume that if the TV has an s-video connection that the laptop and the TV are compatable?

She said that she went to CompUSA and the manager told her "He said the laptop has a video capacity much higher than what the (tube)TV can display so I need to get a down converter $199 (ouch) to make it work or use it on a TV with LCD screen."

I think this guy is full of it am I right?

Reply

Answer 3

onlyone

Level 1

10 points

Jan 28, 2007 11:01 AM in response to Maggie Vansickle

You are most certainly right. Once the display is detected and is working, an appropriate resolution can be selected.

Most televisions support a resolution up to 1024x768. However, the picture may become a little blured. 800x600 seems to work quite well.

Good luck,
onlyone-jc.

Reply

Answer 4

Jan 28, 2007 1:45 PM in response to onlyone

This is driving me nuts, she tells me that she has done all of this but it still won't work. The guy at CompUSA is telling her that she has to have this $200 converter of she will ruin her TV. Says that the Video on the Mac is too powerful for a TV!
Why would Apple say you can just hook your Powerbook to a TV if you need some special converter to do it?

I am wondering if I am the one who is crazy.

Reply

Answer 5

Jan 31, 2007 10:20 AM in response to Maggie Vansickle

Has she tried hitting F7 on her keyboard once everything is connected?

Don't believe the BestBuy guy either.

Reply

Answer 6

Rally05

Level 1

120 points

Jan 31, 2007 11:28 PM in response to Maggie Vansickle

Don't let her buy the converter. That would be ridiculous. Advice from a store such as CompUSA is not always good, because the salesmen may get commissions on what they're able to sell (whether you need it or not.) They'll always advise you to buy something.

Are the settings on the TV correct? Check the TV manual, carefully. TV instructions are often very poorly written.

Has she tried all the different resolutions in System Preferences - > Displays? Really, all of them?

What brand of TV is it, and how old?

Oh, also, check the cable connectors carefully. They sometimes get damaged.

PowerBook G4 17 1.5GHz, iBook G4 12 1.33GHz Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Reply