UKC

I have a brand new Samsung RV520 laptop with Windows 7, and a couple of years old Samsung SyncMaster 2033HD LCD television.

I want to be able to use the bigger screen of the TV to watch DVDs, i player etc.

I have followed all the steps, the Laptop recognises the TV, the display shows the 2 screens as clones etc and I have checked for the latest drivers.

I have set the TV channel to HDMI 1, which is where it is connected, and the TV does a quick bar chart scan and the message " No signal".

In simple terms it seems that the laptop sees the TV, but the TV doesn't see the laptop.

Had a thorough Google and several hours last night but no success !

Any suggestions ?

In reply to jugpuller:

Do the telly and Laptop have a VGA connection?

I know that it isn't HDMI but a £5 cable for VGI may just work. Sounds like you've done the correct things. You've got the lappy to recognise the TV and you've set the TV to HDMI 1.

Don't suppose that you have more than one HDMI slot on your TV?

I too have had mixed results with connecting laptops to TV's. At home everything works fine, but when I go to visit my parents I can never get the laptop to work with their TV. Its just one of those sad facts of life.

In reply to The Lemming:

Thanks for the reply, there is a VGA connection for laptop and TV which I will try if I can't sort out the HDMI.

I am never an early adopter of new technology, and hope these things would work by the time I finally decide to get them !

In reply to jugpuller: See if this site helps-whenever I try, I can only get the sound to play through the laptop and picture on the plasma, I think some pc drivers need updating somewhere.

In reply to Danzig:

I have checked the drivers for the TV and Graphics card - computer says they are up to date.

Fingers crossed for a UKC AV guru out there !

In reply to jugpuller:

Hit it with a hammer then try all the channels. My lappy plugs into HDMI slot 1 but plays on HDMI channel 3.

In reply to jugpuller:
Maybe (too) obvious, but have you checked the leads,HDMI plugs can need a hefty shove to mske sure they are seated properly

In reply to jugpuller:
Switch the monitor display on the lappy - usually the function key and a monitor symbol on an f key - Func+f5 on mine. Also try control panel, type projector in the search box then connect to a projecter. You'll get a choice of laptop only / projecteor only / bother or extend. choose both for now while experimenting. good luck!

Could be Windows 7. It's over 2 years old now. Try Fedora 16 - it only came out two days ago. Bound to be more up to date.

http://fedoraproject.org/

In reply to Philip:

Thanks for the suggestions - Will try them all tonight.

Fn +F4 gets the screens on my laptop, a bit apprehensive of going along the Fedora route at present, but maybe.

In reply to jugpuller:
The TV might be refusing to display a picture if the resolution or refresh rate doesn't match up with its available display modes.

In reply to jugpuller: This happens with ours sometimes. Have noticed that if you have anything running, a player or the internet etc when you plug in the hdmi cable, this happens and then you have to restart the laptop or it just won't connect. Try restarting the laptop and plugging in the cable before opening anything. You never know.........Good luck.

In reply to jugpuller:

I had the same happen to me, and after 2 weeks it turned up it was something stupid like ticking a box in the laptop's graphics control panel.

I can't exactly remember what it was, but rings a bell that even though you select the second monitor to clone or dualview, you still need to tick a box that says something like "extend my desktop into this screen" which only shows when screen 2 is highlighted.

It may sound obvious, but it really wasn't obvious at all, and when it actually worked i could have sworn i had tried it before.

If that doesn't work then the hammer approach is the best option. It won't make it work, but is deeply satisfying.

Good luck

In reply to jugpuller: new cable?
www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/the-700-hdmi-cable/020909

In reply to jugpuller:

Thanks for the suggestions - will check the TV spec to confirm the resolution and refresh rate - is this something like 60 Hz or something completely different ?

That lead sounds a bit pricey ? Would hope to get a budget cinema set up for that !

In reply to jugpuller:
Yeah, 60Hz would be a common refresh rate so that's the kind of thing you're looking for.

Also, yes, that HDMI lead is treading the fine line between "outright con" and "product designed specifically for idiots with more money than sense and little understanding of the benefits of digital signals".