TV as second monitor

I am trying to connect my HP laptop to a TV to view NetFlix downloads and PowerPoints
using a 25ft cable that has a s-video plug and a 3.5mm stereo plug on one end and RCA A/V plugs on the other end. I have already made this work by using a short s-video cable and a stereo cable connected to a DVD recorder s-video/RCA audio input. The DVD recorder is connected to the TV with a RCA A/V cable. Using the long cable I get audio fine but the video flashes once and goes black. I have checked the cable by connecting the s-video to a DVD player output and the RCA composit video to a TV input. Video looks great. Is there a video properties setting that might correct this. Or should I get another cable with s-video on both ends?

mediafunfan