Connecting Laptop to TV via HDMI ...problem

I.J.

I have just connected my HP laptop (which plays blu-ray) to my Sony HD ready TV. The desktop shows up on TV beautifully. The picture on the TV is brighter and sharper than whats on the laptop. However I have encountered a number of problems.

I bought the HDMI cable in order to watch my Blu-ray films on a bigger screen. When I put in a blu-ray disc to the laptop, it plays for a moment but nothing shows on the TV. Then the disc stops and a notice appears telling me something along the lines of that it can no be played without the correct settings. Also, I tried putting in a standard DVD and that appears on the TV screen and continues to play. However, the sound is only coming from the laptop.

So two problems, blu ray will not transfer to the TV and sound only comes from the laptop.

I would deeply appreciate any help from somebody who can help me solve these problems. Many thanks.

EKRIUQ

As far as I know you will also you'll need to get a 1/8" to rca (red/white) cable for sound. The HDMI cable will only work ther sound card on your laptop.

AlmightyCushion

For sound go to start > Control Panel > Sound. A new window should open. In this window will be a list of all the audio devices. Click on the "High Definition Multimedia Interface" (it might be called something different but it will be similar to that). Then click the "set as default". This should sort the audio for you.

No idea why the videos aren't playing, could be something to with HDCP, I'll do some digging and see if I can find out.

O'Coonassa

afaik you'll have to go to control panel and switch the sound to hdmi output

as for the blue ray "Then the disc stops and a notice appears telling me something along the lines of that it can no be played without the correct settings" What exactly does it say? Does the blueray play on the laptop alone without it being connected to the tv?

AlmightyCushion

I think I might know how to get blu rays working. Can you try and play a blu ray on your tv while the screen on the laptop is off. See if that sorts it.

I.J.

The notice is "This content is not allowed to play in the current display mode".

Almightycushion, thank you for the information regarding the sound. I have found that setting and will make sure to try it out. Do I set this before or after I connect to the TV or does not matter either way?

regarding the blu-ray, i tried turning it off but the screen on the tv goes blank as well when i turn off the laptop.

AlmightyCushion

I.J. wrote: »

Almightycushion, thank you for the information regarding the sound. I have found that setting and will make sure to try it out. Do I set this before or after I connect to the TV or does not matter either way?

Doesn't matter. Once you do this you shouldn't have to do it again. When you unplug the cable it will default back to the laptop speakers. The moment you connect it to the tv it will start playing through the tv.

I.J. wrote: »

regarding the blu-ray, i tried turning it off but the screen on the tv goes blank as well when i turn off the laptop.

It shouldn't be doing that. Try changing the dual screen display button a few times and see what happens.

I.J.

Sorry Im not familiar with the dual screen display button, where do I find this?

AlmightyCushion

It's usually the fn button and another button (sometimes f4). When you press them at the same time it changes the dual screen settings. Pressing it again will cycle through the different options.

I.J.

AlmightyCushion,

Everything you suggested has worked. Thank you very much. I now have sound and picture on my TV. I'm delighted to see it would finally work.

The only problem I can see now is that the beautiful quality of Blu-Ray which appears on my laptop is not transferring over to the TV. After all that.

AlmightyCushion

I.J. wrote: »

AlmightyCushion,

Everything you suggested has worked. Thank you very much. I now have sound and picture on my TV. I'm delighted to see it would finally work.

The only problem I can see now is that the beautiful quality of Blu-Ray which appears on my laptop is not transferring over to the TV. After all that.

No bother man. Glad I can help. The quality difference could be due to the fact the screen on the laptop is a lot smaller than the tv so the picture would be sharper.

I.J.

Playing the blu ray through the TV leaves the skin on people in the film very red and scenes in darkness are almost impossible to see. I have tried to adjust the TV contrast settings but that makes no difference. I tried adjusting the sharpness settings on the laptop but nothing happened. It appears the quality is just reducing a great deal when it is transferred. Actually not really worth watching on the TV. My VHS is better on an old TV

AlmightyCushion

I.J. wrote: »

Playing the blu ray through the TV leaves the skin on people in the film very red and scenes in darkness are almost impossible to see. I have tried to adjust the TV contrast settings but that makes no difference. I tried adjusting the sharpness settings on the laptop but nothing happened. It appears the quality is just reducing a great deal when it is transferred. Actually not really worth watching on the TV. My VHS is better on an old TV

Well that definitely isn't right. Have you tried the cable on another pc/bluray player in case there is something wrong with it?

I.J.

Unfortunately i have no way of doing that. However, everything but the blu ray looks perfect when transferred to the TV. The desktop and photos are actually enhanced through the TV but when playing the blu ray, the quality reduces from what I see on the laptop.

AlmightyCushion

I.J. wrote: »

Unfortunately i have no way of doing that. However, everything but the blu ray looks perfect when transferred to the TV. The desktop and photos are actually enhanced through the TV but when playing the blu ray, the quality reduces from what I see on the laptop.

Then I doubt it's the cable. Do you play bluray,dvds and normal video files in the same program? If so, is the quality just as bad for dvds? If not, try playing a dvd through the same software that you play the blurays. See if it's the same.

I.J.

The quality for dvds appears to be fine.

AlmightyCushion

I.J. wrote: »

The quality for dvds appears to be fine.

Is your TV HDCP compliant? If you don't know post up the make and model and we should be able to find out.

TestTransmission

Are you displaying the blu ray on both the laptop and the tv at the same time?

I.J.

Sony Bravia KDL 26S3000. It says Blu Ray Ready and HD Ready on the label down the side.