Thinkpads Forum

Is there an easy way to connect a T400 to a Television?

Thanks.

-Jared

Other than a VGA to TV dapter (~$25-$30 on ebay), no.

If you had the advanced mini dock with DVI port, you could use a DVI or HDMI cable (assuming you have a DVI>HDMI adapter)

Or, if you had a TV with a VGA-IN... well, you get the point.

I'm considering buying a T400 right away but the TV issue is kind of a big one for me. For some reason my T40p has never allowed me to play videos on the TV screen, even w/ a 'special' cable I bought. PowerPoints, docs, etc. are fine... just not videos.

So can anyone confirm that T400 to TV works for videos? If so, what type of adapter and TV?

Thanks!

Kylan wrote:For some reason my T40p has never allowed me to play videos on the TV screen, even w/ a 'special' cable I bought. PowerPoints, docs, etc. are fine... just not videos.

That doesn't have anything to do with cables or physical connections. It's a matter of defining the overlay settings for playing videos. Pure software.

That doesn't have anything to do with cables or physical connections. It's a matter of defining the overlay settings for playing videos. Pure software.

Interesting. So...

A) what do I do about it?

B) is there a way to predict success for a T400?

Thanks!

Kylan wrote:A) what do I do about it?

Well, see, usually it involves messing either with the video card driver settings, or the video codec settings, or the video player settings...

Well, see, usually it involves messing either with the video card driver settings, or the video codec settings, or the video player settings...

So on point "A" I'm deducing that it's too broad an issue to solve in the forum?

Any takers on point "B"?

A: just set the TV as primary display or set the overlay to clone mode in your display settings

B: same goes for T400 or ANY other computer and laptop

A: just set the TV as primary display or set the overlay to clone mode in your display settings

To do this in XP Pro I go to display properties >> settings >> advanced >>displays???

Point me in the right direction and I'll take of running.

Thanks!

Would a vga to s-video cable work on T400 with integrated video? Something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/EFORCITY-VGA-S-Vi ... B000P3UB24
Reviews say that this only works on graphic cards with tv-out functionality...I think T400's Intel 4500MHD has this capability, but I'm not sure. Can anyone confirm?

If this works I'd rather use just a plain cable rather than a converter box like this:
http://www.amazon.com/EFORCITY-VGA-S-Vi ... B000P3UB24

I'll be interested if someone else knows. If nobody does it sure wouldn't be a very expensive experiment.

Thanks, Daniel!

Kylan wrote:To do this in XP Pro I go to display properties >> settings >> advanced >>displays???

Point me in the right direction and I'll take of running.

See here, it's really easy:


The primary display has overlay which means it will show videos on that screen.

daniellwu wrote:Would a vga to s-video cable work on T400 with integrated video?

This will not work for 99% of notebooks, not even with the T400.

See here, it's really easy:

Thank you, I'll try it!

By the way, I visited Estonia last year and loved it! Wonderful people, beautiful country, fascinating history!

I can confirm that a T400 cannot output directly to a TV using the TV's svideo or composite video inputs. I tried hooking up to the T400's VGA output using a VGA to svideo adapter and a VGA to composite adapter. No luck. I should of read this forum prior to purchasing these adapters. I'm off to dealextreme.com for a VGA to Composite Video Media Convertor Box.

Thanks for confirming. Seems like the Mac world has some slicker options in this stuff.