Plasma as monitor help

[I-SIG]

Y'all,

Well, I finally broke down and got me a wireless keybod and mouse and a 6' male-to-male SVGA cable to conect my lapto to my plasma. Everything is pretty cool. I have it set to full so that the while screen is being used. It's stretched some as expeced. Photos look phenominal.

My problem is video. The picture will not display using the Windows media player. Is there a setting in the program I need to change? I tried changing the aspect ratio on the plasma to normal, ut that didn't help. I really have no idea where to start looking.

Also, the range on my wireless mouse is much shorter than the keyboard. Any thoughts besides moving the reciever closer?

Thanks,
Wes

[TheReaper]

My problem is video. The picture will not display using the Windows media player. Is there a setting in the program I need to change? I tried changing the aspect ratio on the plasma to normal, ut that didn't help. I really have no idea where to start looking.

More information would help here:

1) Are there any error messages?

2) Does the video display on the laptop screen, but not display on the plasma. Look at you video card's control panel for settings to allow display of video on the vga-out. Also, I have only heard of this happening on component outputs, but theoretically could apply to the secondary vga of a laptop, copy protected dvds may only be displayed at 480p (640x480 or 720x480).

3) If the video isn't displaying on the laptop display. Then you probably need a codec for the particular type of video (should have gotten a message box). Warning: all-in-one codec pacs, can sometimes be a nightmare (unless you know what you are doing), I recommend just getting the specific codecs you need.

wmv - should be automatically downloaded/installed from microsoft

divx - go to the official divx site (divx.org?), and download the codec from there, to install.

mpeg/dvd - you need a windows media player compatable dvd decoder (WinDVD, PowerDVD, NVIDIA). You can download the 'Windows XP Video Decoder Checkup Utility' from MicroSoft. It will tell you if you have a MP10 Compatable decoder, and allow you to make it the prefered decoder.

There are options for video display optimization in Media Player, tools/options/performance/advanced. But you could make things worse changing those, overlay is the most supported mode (by most video drivers).

Also, the range on my wireless mouse is much shorter than the keyboard. Any thoughts besides moving the reciever closer?

I have found the following to be worth a foot or two, otherwise, that is why there is a long cord on the receiver:

1) Line of sight, there should be an un-obstructed straight line between the receiver and mouse.

2) Orientation of the receiver (which side is facing the mouse) can make a small differance.

3) Interferance, distance the receiver away from interferance sources like the computer or monitor.

4) Fresh batteries (alkaline) / full recharge, when the batteries start to go, the distance decreases.

[I-SIG]

Reaper,

1) No error messages. Just a blank area in Windows Media Player. The audio is still there from the laptop speakers.

2) The video displays with no problem on the laptop screen.

3) I'm good.

Well, I used the little troubleshooter in my Toshiba laptop. To make the video work, the troubleshooter led me to turn the hardware accelerator to the lowest setting. Is this setting gonna cause me problems elsewhere is set to the minimal spot?

As for the range issues, I ended up moving the reciever. I wanted a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, but not $170 enough.

Wes

[TheReaper]

Glad to hear you figured it out.

The hardware acceleration just affects drawing speed, you probably won't notice it.