Video playing full screen on projector when it shouldn't

[Dododi]

I have just had a client call me about an issue I was not aware of.

When she plays a presentation that I created for her that includes flash and MPEG video on the same page, the video enlarges to full screen when projected obscuring the content on the rest of the page.

This only happens when the presentation is shown through a projector or an external LCD monitor. The laptop screen displays as it should.

Has anyone come across this issue?

She is using Media Player 8.

Thanks,

Stuart

[Lorne]

If she's hooking the projector or LCD up to her laptop as a secondary display device, it's likely just a setting in the video drivers.

For example, I often use my TV as a secondary display device when I watch movies at home. The ATI drivers I use have an option that sends any kind of video to the secondary monitor, full screen.

When a video isn't playing, my desktop is "cloned" on the TV screen, showing the desktop and whatever windows I have open. As soon as I start displaying a video of any kind -- whether it's in PowerDVD, Media Player, WinAMP, etc. -- the TV switches to full-screen video mode.

Since our TV is so far away from the PC, I use an RF modulator to convert the composite out from my video card (as well as stereo inputs from my sound card) and send it to the TV through 50 feet of coax. Total cost about $30 CDN including taxes. The signal quality is remarkably good considering it's being driven by a composite signal at the source...we only have a crappy old Zenith 27" TV (that you have to hit a few times to get the screen to display full size ) but a high quality movie from the PC looks just as good as a DVD.

[sside]

Hello Lorne,

Not related to the subject en may be not the place to ask but.... just a question, when i connect my computer with the TV all i see is desktop wallpaper and no activity of the desktop in TV can be seen not to mention videos i can't see. Any ideas??
Video Adaptor : Gigabyte Maya Radeon 9000 Pro
TV: Aristona
Cable: S-Video

Thank you

[longedge]

I'd ask whether the laptop is being connected via a video output or the monitor output. I never use video sources if I can help it.

All our projectors have multiple inputs but personally I don't use the svhs or composite video unless it's a last resort.

If a video signal is being used, then the fact that video is normally an overlay on the screen could be the cause of the problem. You could look at the graphic adapter settings and see if there's an option to render the video not as an overlay. Try turning off all acceleration etc. etc.

[sside]

Hi there longedge,

Thanks for the reply.

It is a desktop and the video adaptor has a s-video out. So i thought to give it a try sometime ago. All i could see was desktop wallpaper and nothing else. Not even the desktop icons. Just wondering why not.
May be some day i must spend more time with it to find out.

Thanks you

Sside

[longedge]

Sside - I have an ATI Radeon of some sort in my desktop. I'm certain that you have to go into the grahic card settings to enable the tv display properly. I did it once but it made a real mess of my monitor display so I never bothered again.

I'm pretty sure that the signal source is relevant to Dododin though.

[Lorne]

It is a desktop and the video adaptor has a s-video out. So i thought to give it a try sometime ago. All i could see was desktop wallpaper and nothing else. Not even the desktop icons. Just wondering why not.

Sounds like you have the TV hooked up as the secondary display device with the "Extend my desktop onto this monitor" option checked.

That will display the same desktop wallpaper, but no icons or windows or anything until you drag some over there.

Try dragging a window onto the TV...by default, that should mean dragging a window to the right beyond the edge of your monitor.

[kpsmith]

Both problems could be due to having the extended desktop turned on. This would give you a blank wallpaper on your secondary display. I have also seen video show up on the secondary display full screen when extended desktop is enabled.

Typically, the best way to handle projected video in a windows environent is to disable the PC screen and set the projected display as the main display.

It has something to do with how windows handles video as an overlay or some techno babble...

[Lorne]

I'm pretty sure with ATI cards it's an option in the drivers...you can even specify how it gets rendered (stretched to the display, best fit, etc.).

[Dododi]

Thanks to all for the replies.

I suspected it was a video driver issue and nothing to do with the application.

I will get my client to play with the settings on her laptop.

Will also see if I can test it myself.

Thanks,

Stuart

[sside]

Sounds like you have the TV hooked up as the secondary display device with the "Extend my desktop onto this monitor" option checked.

That will display the same desktop wallpaper, but no icons or windows or anything until you drag some over there.

Try dragging a window onto the TV...by default, that should mean dragging a window to the right beyond the edge of your monitor.

Lorne that's exactly the case. I know that time ago i could see my desktop in my TV from another system (desktop). May be some day i must spend more time to figure out how and what...

These days even the machines need attention


Anyway thank you