Playing movies on a regular TV

Hey guys,

New to the forum! I recently just purchased the following a month ago.

MacBook Pro, 15-inch
Glossy Widescreen Display
2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
160GB Harddrive
2GB DDR2 SDRAM

I am new to the Mac world - I have been using PC's for a long time since programs I use in engineering (such as Matlab) run on windows.

Anyway, to my first question:

I have been ripping DVD's to my new mac using the HandBrake software. I have been saving them at an average bit rate of 700 and in a mp4 format. Today, I went to the Apple Store and bought the adapter that allows you to use the external screen output as an S-video or RCA output. (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?productLearnMore=M9267G/A)

I have been playing my ripped files using the Quicktime player and when I connect to my TV (LCD tv) via RCA, it seems there is a slight latency between the video and the audio out of the laptop speakers. How can I fix this? I am assuming that it is not my mac, since compared to my other computers it is much faster.

Also is there a way to full screen the second display and work on the laptops screen (e.g. surf the internet)? I have to go into the system preference > displays > and select to mirror the two screens in order to put the movie in full screen on the TV I am using.

I am sorry if that was a lot of read! Also I apologize is my questions are lame, I am still getting use to how to do things on a mac!

Thanks for the help!
Derek

I went to look at the adapter, but the store is down at the moment. It could be that the adapter does some conversion, causing the lag.

When you play the movie on the laptop screen, is there latency between the audio and video?

2. When you go to system preferences/Displays, make the TV the primary display.
Under arrange, there should be a little white or light bar over one of the screens. To see this you have to uncheck mirror. Just drag the bar from the top of the one screen to the top of the other.

Move any application window over to the laptop screen, then open your movie in full screen view on the TV.

I've used the adapter from MBP to TV on a Core Duo, and ther was no latency at all. You might try some different cables after the adapter and so on.

Brian

Try a diffferent player like VLC. This might solve the A/V sync issues, but VLC player also allows you to fullscreen on a secondary display w/out mirroring...

Thanks guys! I downloaded the VLC program and it is working better now. Also love that I don't have to mirror the two windows to get fullscreen on the TV.