How do i connect my Macbook Pro to HD tv?

hey everyone
i'm new on the website, and i had a question regarding my macbook pro.
I just bought a new Sony 55" HDTV, and i wanted to watch some movies from my mac on the TV. i bought a DVI to HDMI adapter (with sound), and i connected the computer to the TV.
a blue screen flashes on my macbook, and then it goes back to my desktop. I can't manage to see anything on my tv. I watched some tutorials on youtube, and the people click on system preferences> displays> Arragement. that tab is not avaiable, all i have are the "display" tab and the "color" tab.
anyone know what i should do?
p.s. My current operating system is Mac OS X 10.6.8
thanks in advance!

I don't know is this is the problem but DVI does not transmit sound if I remember correctly so the DVI to HDMI cable isnt all that useful to you. Most TVs have a VGA slot that you can hook up to and my Mac came with the adapter to convert DVI to VGA and have never had a problem hooking up to my HDTV. Is have lion not but had SL for a long time with no problems. I would take the HDMI back and get yourself a VGA cable, it may not recognize your tv as a display due to the type of connection. And you won't see any benefit of the HDMI slot since e signal down converts because of the DVI. You will also need to get a 3/8 jack to RCA cable for the sound. That's exactly what i use and no matter what tv I use I have never had any issues. Hope this helps.