TV-Out black and white abnormality

[dvorak]

I'm having the weirdest problem here and are out of ideas:

Yesterday I tried to use the S-Video and a converter (SV to RCA) to display my desktop onto a TV. Picture turned out to be black and white.

Okay, played around with the settings and somehow colors reappeared when I switched overlay on then off again and "cancel"-ed my way back out of the setting-boxes.

But unfortunately it didn't settle with this, the image goes to black and white the second the screen reloads/flickers/re-sets, happens when you close the lid for example. Also the screen goes back to black and white when I again choose the same profile with Presentation Director.

Removing the cable from the S-Video port doesn't affect color, if it has color it'll have it after reinserting too.

I've also tried it behind another TV, using S-Video to RCA to SCART converterting scheme, same issue.

As color works with this overlay trick (or changing other TV settings- no need to press anything, color stays after pressing cancel too) and also removing the cable and reinsterting it doesn't affect, it seemed to be a driver issue at first.

I was using Catalyst drivers, but I uninstalled them, also uninstalled IBM drivers and reinstalled them through SW Installer, then updated them to
v8.062-IBM, same issue.

I don't have a S-Video to SCART converter or S-Video input TV, so I can't do any more testing, but I cannot pin this problem down, color comes after me fiddling with settings and not saving any (nor does saving help), color stays after switching the TV off/on and reinserting the cable, IBM's drivers don't help, Catalyst doesn't help...

Any help or suggestions very much appreciated, thanks in advance!

[edelrc]

Oh man... you went through same nightmare as me...

After much research, these are the conclusions I came up with:

- SCART connections are the stupidest thing ever... they were thought to make it simple but ended adding one more conversion adaptor needed. SCART adapters cannot accept any other signal than composite (ignore the S_video female that SCART may have, because if you plug a S-Video cable, you will see only B&W.) You need to convert S-Video to RCA and that RCA input to SCART.
(There are SCART adapters that have the electrical capacitor needed to convert S-Video good, but just a tiny minority in the maket)

- European PAL system are an additional factor for problem to overcome. Check that you have that configured in your Video Card.

Resources:
- http://search.ati.com/nasearch.asp?Quer ... 24&go.y=17
- http://www.svideo.com/svideoscart.html
- http://www.geo.gr/geo-tech/scart_connector.htm

[dvorak]

Thanks for your suggestions, although I haven't yet solved the problem.

I'm going to get some other SVideo-to-RCA and to-SCART converters, perhaps it helps.

Although the fact that I get color when I fiddle around with overlay or simply change the screen size (4 big blue buttons on TV>Adjustments tab, position has no effect) and then lose it when the display flickers confuses me... Does the TV at first consider the color signal too weak, and switch to b&w, and then at some point still display color... Color does seem a bit weak, but changing it on the TV side solved that.

[edelrc]

Of course the suggestion did not solve the problem... no instruction were given !

If you use a S-video to RCA and a RCA to SCART adapter plug it will work. (combined ~10€)

Also make sure you have set your video display in PAL system.

good luck!

[dvorak]

Of course the suggestion did not solve the problem... no instruction were given !

If you use a S-video to RCA and a RCA to SCART adapter plug it will work. (combined ~10€)

Also make sure you have set your video display in PAL system.

good luck!

I considered the links as suggestions too :)

I've also tried it behind another TV, using S-Video to RCA to SCART converterting scheme, same issue.

As I said in my first post, the converters and the scheme didn't work.
I'll have to try it with other converters, to see if it solves this annoying prob.

[dvorak]

To settle this case, I'll post my discoveries.

Tried today to use another S-Video to RCA converter, same thing, black and white on all TV's, color obtainable by activating overlay and then deactivating it.

Then I tried it with a straight S-Video to SCART, and voila, color from the moment I plugged it in. Problem solved.

I'm definitely going to do more research on how the coloring mechanisms work inside the TV, and why did it first decide to display a B&W image, then turn to color when I did the overylay trick.

At least I have pinned the case down to wiring :)