Recording from S-video out

[Mike O]

Hello...heres my problem..I am recording Powerpoint presentations with audio directly to DVD via the S-video out on a laptop. If the presentations has a video clip in it, the video won't playback on the DVD. All I get is a black box where the video clip should be....Any ideas??...Is this a video memory issue...a graphics / video card issue??...Thanks

M

[Deerpark]

If you hooked up the laptop to a TV does the video play correctly then? In some video playback modes, the video is only shown on the "primary screen" so you'll have to setup your dvd recorder to be the primary "screen".

[Mike O]

Yes.. the video plays fine when I hook it up just to a projector..I use the VGA out to the projector, then I send the s-video to the recorder....As long as the Powerpoint has no video, it records fine..Thanks for the reply..

[Deerpark]

I still believe the problem is that you need to setup your recorder as the primary display device. How to do that depends on your graphics card. So can you tell us the name of your graphics card or if you don't know that give us the make and model of your laptop.

[Mike O]

Thanks..Its a Dell Inspiron 5100 XP Pro Pentium 4 2.79 hz.....I am getting a new laptop soon...and it will have an updated video and graphics card....How would I set the S-video as the primary display device??....and will that affect the VGA output..as I will need to send the presentation to a projector as well...THanks

M

[Deerpark]

Okay I think your graphics card is a Ati Radeon.
Try this: (note these steps might not work for you depending on what driver you've got installed. But think these are the steps that are most likely to be correct.)

Right click on your desktop and select "properties".
Select the "settings" tab and press the "advanced" button.
Look for a tab called "Displays".
You should have a picture of a computer screen, a laptop and a tv screen.
Click on the circle icon under the tv screen.
Press ok

[Mike O]

Okay I had already done that..and it works..both the primary and secondary will play video...BUT....now theres nothing on the laptop screen...and the presenter won't like that...When I get to the "advanced" tab theres the 3 options.. monitor, panel and TV....it will only allow me to activate  2 of the 3...Also what is the other button next to the circle button..A clone?....I do have an older Compaq Evo 1000 that will allow me to activate all 3...but the video will only play on the one that is designated as primary..not on the other 2 so thats no good either..and when I did get the video to play when  the projector is primary..the screen output was narrow..as if it had been set to 16:9.....I can come out of the recorder S-video into the projector..but the image quality is greatly diminished.....Are the newer graphics/video cards capable of allowing full video to all 3 outputs.....I know there are companies, other hardware devices that can do what I need but I'm trying to record these presentations as painless and inexpensive as possible....Any other solutions would be greatly appreciated..Thanks for your help.


M