watch DVD on TV from MacBook

baba

baba

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I know this must be simple, but I have never done it. My DVD player broke and I thought I could watch a movie on my TV using my MacBook. I have a miniDVI-VGA cable and a VGA extension to my TV, but I don't get a picture on the TV, just the MacBook.
 
Quick and easy questions:

Did you change the input on the TV to "VGA"?

Does the "Displays" pane of the System Preferences detect that another monitor (your TV) is hooked up?
 
Yes, I changed it to VGA/Composite and got the TV as a monitor, but still can't seem to get a movie to play from the DVD.
 
Does the DVD play on the MacBook monitor, and not on the TV monitor?

Are you using mirroring mode, or extended desktop mode?

Can you see the OS X desktop on the TV?
 
Is there an error message of some kind? Or is it simply that it plays on the wrong monitor? If it's the latter, you can either set Display prefs to mirroring or set the TV as the main screen (for when the TV is connected) by dragging the menubar to the TV (in Display prefs).
 
Does the DVD play on the MacBook monitor, and not on the TV monitor?
Yes

Are you using mirroring mode, or extended desktop mode?
I think I was in mirror because there were two screen in each Spaces area.

Can you see the OS X desktop on the TV?
Yes. I was using it as a monitor.
 
You can check if you're using mirrored or extended desktop mode in the Displays pane of the System Preferences. It would be very helpful to know for sure.

If you're using extended desktop mode, you can try dragging the DVD Player window from your LCD MacBook screen to the TV screen.

Edit: Just saw your post. If you have a menubar on your MacBook and no menubar on the TV, then you're using extended desktop mode. In this case, it's as simple as dragging the DVD Player window off the side (or the top or bottom, depending on how you have you displays configured in the Displays pane of the System Preferences) of the MacBook's LCD screen and onto the TV screen, then putting the video in full-screen mode.
 
Dragging the menubar: In Display preferences you see both monitors on the "arrange" window. One has the menubar. Take the menubar and drag it to the other screen. (All _inside_ the "arrange monitors" part of the Display preference pane.

But I guess ElDiablo is right and as long as the DVD's window plays on the right monitor, you can make it fullscreen on _that_ display. Both his and my tip should work just fine.
 
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