I have a Compaq Presario CQ50 laptop running Windows Vista. I want to connect it to my TV to watch my downloaded tv shows on the tv. My laptop has a VGA out port, my tv has RCA in and S-video in. So I bought a VGA to S-video adapter and hooked up everything. I went into the display properties on my laptop to make sure that it recognized a second monitor, and it did. But I couldn't get any picture on the tv on any of the video screens. A few times a it briefly showed my laptop screen on the tv, but it was distorted, no color and flickering. That only appeared for a second before going back to the blue video screen.

I researched the internet and found out I may need a VGA converter so I bought one from eBay. It came with the converter, a VGA cable and an S-video cable. The converter connected to the laptop via USB for power. The VGA cable connected the converter to the laptop, then the S-video cable connected the converter to the TV. Right away I saw my laptop screen on the tv, but it was still distorted, no color, and flickering. I have tried every different resolution and setting that is offered in the display setting and by my graphics card, and nothing seems to work.

The previous model of my laptop brand had a simple S-video out connection, so all you needed was one S-video cable and everything was fine, no adjustments or anything. But my laptop now has a VGA out port that is causing me so many headaches.

I've read anything I can find about connecting to a tv and all the instructions are the same, and I have done all the steps, still with no luck. Maybe someone out there has the same connections as I do and knows how to set it up properly, as I am out of ideas. Please help!