Running Boxee on 32" SDTV

[embreeb]

I am trying to run Boxee on my 32" Standard Def TV, which has Component Video inputs. I don't actually have Boxee for Windows yet, but I am expecting an invite soon (according to Marcel). Anyway, I hooked up my TV to my PC using the S-Video-to-Component Video adapter and a 12' Component Video cable. All I get is the "background" of Windows - no icons. This is my only PC, so I also have an LCD monitor hooked up to one of the DVI outputs. I'm not sure what to do next, and I don't know if Boxee will even run on my TV. Please help.

[khirsah]

You will want to check your display settings. There are several options of displaying your desktop on the second monitor. Most people tend to use two options: mirror your main monitor, or span your desktop across both screens.

If you are setup to span, you will only see the wallpaper of your desktop. Your icons and start menu will remain on the primary monitor. You can drag windows over to the second monitor and video them from there.

If you mirror the main monitor, then it is what it sounds like- a duplicate of your main monitor.

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Keep in mind though, that a SDTV set does NOT have the resolution of a normal monitor. You will be looking at 640x480 resolution, or perhaps even 800x600. If you have your second monitor set to say 1024x768 or higher, chances are you will have to 'scroll' up/down and left/right to view everything as it will not 'compress' the picture to fit your screen in most cases. This could be the case, in that your icons are in the top left and can not be seen without scrolling up/left.

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Also, if you have an Nvidia or ATI graphics card, be sure to get the latest drivers from their website, as they will have much more control over how you configure your second monitor than your default windows drivers will.

[embreeb]

I got it to work as a "span", but the color is very green, and I haven't been able to correct it. Also, the picture quality is horrible, so I don't know if this will be an option to watch Boxee on besides my PC's monitor.

[embreeb]

I got it to work now. The problem before was this A/V switch I bought - it screwed up the color, so I unhooked the video. I just use the Digital Coax Audio ports. The problem I have now is I can't see the entire Boxee window on my TV, and it seems to be putting things in Pan&Scan (4:3), not Letterboxed. I have a 4:3 TV, but I have been able to run movies and shows in Letterbox mode. The portion of Boxee that still shows up on my PC screen (about 10%) is Letterbox, but the image on the TV is 4:3 fullscreen. Any ideas?