Yes, actually I mistyped at first and edited my post later, I meant to type 720x480 but I originally just typed 720. Funny thing is, I edited that before you replied, as evidenced by your quotes of my post which read "480" not "720". So how you concluded I was attempting to watch 720p video is a mystery (unless you read my post before I edited it, and then went back and replied later after I changed it...)

Either way it's moot. But you're absolutely right, there is no reason to try and watch 720p video on the N900. And yes, you could rightly store HD video on the N900 and stream it onto an HDTV, using the N900 as a mass storage device. But, some people (and I'll include myself in this analysis) would consider that a waste of the N900's precious resources. It would be a lot simpler, and more logical, to bring along an external HDD for such a purpose, if your only goal were viewing on an external source.

Regarding the TV-Out widget, I remember way back in the day, I actually paid money for a bit of software called, of all things, "TVTool", the sole purpose of which was to make adjustments and compensations for one's inadequate video card in order to produce a successful PC-to-TV-out experience. It seems so ironic to me that now that very same function is needed (and able to be provided!) by one's "phone"!

And another thing - "the wrong device"?! I'm not aware of a single other smart phone that even has TV-out! I'll go so far as to say that TV-out functionality was in my top five reasons for getting the N900 in the first place! So to be so cavalier about losing it... I should think not!

I was reading your first note in this thread, which still reads as 720:

In any case, I'm glad you're enjoying your device. Honestly, I rarely have any desire to use the n900 for video; the only time I do is when I want to show off some videos to friends & family. As such, using it as an external hard drive makes more sense for me than trying to directly use its internal graphics card. But yeah, it's nice to have all the options that this device provides.

Ah, silly me, and I thought I was being so careful. Well, let's hope all this chatter on the topic has called the attention of those needing a fix, as I did.

Let me tell you, when you're traveling to visit relatives, and will need to occupy time both on the plane as well as at your destination, it's nice to have your choice of screen options.

I just purchased and configured a Sixaxis controller as well, which will add lots of value to the N900 too, in conjuntion with all the great video game emulators. It really works a treat. Ebooks, web browsing, music, photos - it just gets better and better!

i'm on pr1.3 and i have nor problem with any video over the tv-cable.
maybe you guys should try a other player.maybe sib?

Ah, sorry; we probably should have mentioned that this is entirely an NTSC problem. The n900 has never had a problem with PAL-format tv output, so if you're using a European TV, you've never had to deal with this...

My problem is that when my N900 was new I used to play some emulated games through TV-out. After a month or so from the last time I had used it, it didn't work. It has been over 7 months now, it still isn't working. When I plug it in, the TV makes an AV channel, but nothing is heard or can be viewed. What do I do?

ah ok thanks for that info,i didn't know that..

Yah that could be a problem but then it is a bug which Nokia should fix, it isn't cool you pay for beer and get just half of it.............

There must be a tweak of coding which can be fixed. Looking for support here people, help on this one.

Hmm. The first thing I would do is try to isolate the fault. If you can, try connecting the n900 to another TV, and see if you still have the problem. Also, if you can, try using the n900's earphones (or some other external headphones or speakers) to listen to some music or other audio; if that works, then it is likely that at least the headphone jack is still functioning correctly...

Honestly, this seems like such a minor bug to me! Does everybody think the inability to display a few types of video over NTSC tv-out is like "half" of the value of an n900? In any case, the new tv-out control widget mentioned earlier in this thread does fix the problem; I just installed it and tried it out this morning. Here, again, is a link to the announcement of that widget:

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=68294