I need to set up a tv/laptop connection

[Roxxy]

I have an HP Envy DV6 with Windows eight, and I've got access to tvs with hdmi connections and those white, yellow, and red plugs. What I need is for my laptop to output to the television while still outputting to the laptop screen. I also need to be able to enable and disable the television connection at will during a presentation. Is there a good way I can do this?

[Rockphed]

If you have an hdmi out on your computer, it should just plug-and-play. I have my computer hooked to a tv all the time so I can watch netflix on the bigger screen, but I run windows 7. In the menu to change screen resolutions there should be a listing of all active displays. You can either extend or duplicate displays. The one gives more desktop space, the other allows looking at either screen to work. I suggest getting on the display and trying things out.

[Gnoman]

You use Win+P to control what displays are active. Options are Monitor Only, Projector Only, Duplicate (Same image on both) and Extend (Two monitor setup).

[Roxxy]

Thanks. I'll get working on it as soon as I can get my hands on the cables. I assume just a basic hdmi cable, and an hdmi to colored-thingies cable just in case I'm dealing with an old tv, is sufficient for hooking the equipment up?

My Envy just took a bit of a tumble :smallfurious:, and the built in monitor is black screening. Don't have the expertise to know whether I need to replace the monitor or get the cable reset, and I don't want to spend the money on repairs right now. I have it hooked up to my old desktop's monitor right now, and it seems everything aside from the built in monitor works fine, but I can't carry it around. I'll have to switch my spare, a cheap, generic 2013 Gateway running 7. That computer does have hdmi.

Now that I'm not on a phone, I can explain what I'm trying to do. I want to start using visuals very heavily in Pathfinder campaigns. My idea is to have all the maps and pictures (scenery especially) I need on my laptop, and sit under and with my back to a television set,so that when the players look at me they see the TV. The laptop is, of course, hooked up to the TV. I want to be able to display whatever's on my computer screen on the television set, but I want to be able to stop the display whenever I switch what I'm displaying (going into my desktop/folders in front of the players seems kinda immersion breaking, so I'd rather the TV lost the feed while I did that) or access GM only information (I'm getting sturdy paper ledgers for my notes and the confidential parts of the encounter record keeping and using physical dice so that I can access GM stuff on the computer as little as possible). Also, I plan for all the encounter maps to be fully digital, so that instead of collecting physical battlemaps and minifigures I can download or create maps I like, then where everybody is on the map. Thanks to the miracle of virtual tabletop software, I will be able to move characters around the map as the encounter progresses. So much cheaper and easier then a physical setup, yet far more diverse and able to handle much bigger distances (I use guns heavily in my settings, so this is a plus). So, I'd like a system where my laptop outputs to both the built in monitor and a television simultaneously, but where I can set up a hotkey to pause the TV input whenever I need to.

[factotum]

You use Win+P to control what displays are active. Options are Monitor Only, Projector Only, Duplicate (Same image on both) and Extend (Two monitor setup).

Is that a Windows 8 thing, or something specific to a particular model of laptop?

@Roxxy: Assuming your laptop only has a VGA output (which is fairly likely, they very rarely have HDMI) then you'd either need a TV with a VGA input or some sort of adapter box to convert VGA to HDMI. Once you've got that then the laptop itself will usually have some sort of key combination you can use to switch between internal and external displays (on Dell laptops it's Fn + one of the function keys).

[Keris]

Is that a Windows 8 thing, or something specific to a particular model of laptop? It's a Windows thing, introduced in 7.

[Roxxy]

Is that a Windows 8 thing, or something specific to a particular model of laptop?

@Roxxy: Assuming your laptop only has a VGA output (which is fakirly likely, they very rarely have HDMI) then you'd either need a TV with a VGA input or some sort of adapter box to convert VGA to HDMI. Once you've got that then the laptop itself will usually have some sort of key combination you can use to switch between internal and external displays (on Dell laptops it's Fn + one of the function keys).
I checked, and both my main and spare laptops have clearly marked HDMI outputs.

[Max™]

Why not just use the TV as an extended desktop and put the stuff you want the players to see on it, with your GM screen on the laptop?

I did basically that with my netbook long time ago, ran a 17 inch monitor off the vga port and used the netbook screen as well, though no version of windows I tried made it simple, getting rid of it for kubuntu fixed that problem nicely.

I'm pretty sure you could have it mirror the tv desktop and swap if you wanted, or handle what is going on through a preview type window or even have the controls placed on the gm/netbook screen with the display on the other.

Alternatively, switch your seating position so you can see both screens, but your players can only see the tv screen?

Neat idea btw, gonna steal it if I ever get a gaming group again.

[Alipuriaharsh]

In order to connect the laptop to you TV, the TV must be HDMI enabled. Otherwise there is no way you can connect them. And if you have an HDMI tv, buy a HDMI cable and you should be good to go.

[Rockphed]

My HDMI connection to my TV is not working. Any troubleshooting suggestions?

[Max™]

Assuming the tv is hooked up to something else and thus you know it works, check the different input options on the tv, if that lets you see a black screen for the right hdmi port, make sure you extended or duplicated the desktop on your computer, as was said above, for windows it should be a matter of hitting the super key and typing display... err, windows key, same thing... for linux it's similar enough, most system settings options have a display tab that should detect anything hooked up which is available easily enough.

If it isn't working you might have the output disabled in a hardware switch somewhere, which is much harder to diagnose without knowing what said hardware is.

Assuming all of that is working but you still get no output, updating drivers may be enough.

[Rockphed]

I unplugged/replugged both ends of the HDMI cable. The computer is currently set to extend displays, and claims to be able to see the TV, but does not behave the way it used to when the TV was turned on or off (it would black the screen for a few seconds when the TV turned on or off). I'll try updating the driver later.

I'm using a DVI-to-HDMI adapter on my computer and plugging the HDMI cable straight in to the TV on the other end. We haven't used the TV as an extra monitor in about a month, so I don't know when this started, but we have installed a couple new programs in that time. I'll look in to that angle as well.

[Max™]

Yeah, if the screen flickering isn't present then there should be something you've installed recently that is interfering with the signal actually getting sent through. DVI-HDMI is kinda buggy sometimes too, unfortunately.

[Rockphed]

Yeah, the dvi-hdmi adapter is a shanghai special. :smallannoyed:

[Max™]

Don't have anything else you can hook it up to to make sure it is working do you?

No bent pins or whatnot?

[Rockphed]

Don't have anything else you can hook it up to to make sure it is working do you?

No bent pins or whatnot?

I have a mostly dead laptop with an hdmi output. When I get back from vacation I will try it out. Wait, doesn't the ps2 have an dunk port?