how can I use laptop to play dvd's on livingroom tv?[Solved]

[joe3]

I installed Sabayon_Linux_6_amd64_E17.iso on a somewhat outdated Gateway laptop (MT6451 Notebook PC). It has AMD Turion 64x2 processors. It also has (according to the box): 4 usb, 1 vga, 1 IEEE 1394, 1 S-video, 1 headphone, 1 microphone, & 1 Kensington Lock slot. {most of which I can recognize} Though not mentioned in the connector list, there are also modular connections for a dial-up modem and an ethernet cable. If it matters the Video is ATI Radeon Xpress 1150M.

My problem is that I want to use the laptop as a portable DVD player.

I'm hoping I can use an s-video cable and the headphone jacks to connect to the tv. {though I'm not sure what I need to do to duplicate the screen output on the s-video output, is that automatic?}

But I'm concerned about possibly damaging the tv by feeding pre-amplified signal into the rca inputs.

Also there is another older tv without an s-video input. Is there such a thing as a low cost s-video to rca adapter so I could use that tv's "game" mode to display the dvd output??

I'm reasonably certain they sell stereo mini-plug to rca connector cables at places like wall-mart, and if not, then I could dig out an old soldering iron and make an ugly one for the sound. But as I said above I'm concerned about sending amplified sound output into rca input jacks meant for a non-amplified signal.

Can I simply (and safely) use alsamixer to reduce the "master" sound channel down to something like {1% ?} ?? (And then adjust the effective volume with the TV remote of course...)

Or will I really have to steal my desktop's battery boosted computer speakers??

(which sound almost as good as the livingroom tv's built in speakers) Though disentangling the wires from the rest of the rats nest behind my desk might be an all day project... And I'd rather not have to get up and walk to the laptop every time I need to adjust the volume. (though my Dad must spin in his grave every time I say something like that, He thought that anyone who wouldn't get off their duff to adjust the sound or channel, was too lazy to have television privileges... In later years when he had to use a CATV remote, he still put it down on top of the tv before sitting down.)

--
joe3

[joe3]

Well in the absence of any replies I decided to risk empirical testing....

Seems I needent have worried. So I connected the vga cable then turned on the tv, and selected the vga input. Then I booted sabayon. Initialy the Tv said "no signal", but durring the booting process it's on screen message became "not supported".
Then finaly, after I ran startx, the laptop's screen was duplicated on the tv. The only odity was that it was more like the external vga image had some kind of precidence over the built in screen. I say this because when I opened an application that normaly remembers the window size and placement properties from the previous session, And which had previously been sized to fill about 98% of the available desktop width, only about 80% of it's width now fit on either screen. The window height didn't change. I adjusted the window's width to fit within the new screen. However when next I opened the application (without the vga to tv connection) it opened with a window that only used about 80% of the available width.

And as far as the sound connection I was concerned about. It would appear that I actualy need to maximize the mixer volume to 100 % in order to provide the tv with anything like the sound input strength that it gets from the cable box or vcr...

All in all I'd say it worked well enogh that {assuming I can remember how} I'll mark this thread as solved.
minimized miver volume