My netbook is connected to the TV via a VGA/RCA adapter. The HD video running on the TV via this connection is running really slowly, ie a frame every few seconds.
I was under the impression the TV would render the HD video meaning I just needed to ensure the 2GB RAM netbook could pipe the bits down the cable fast enough for reliable playback but obviously I'm missing something.
Is this because of the VGA/RCA connection used or is it something else?
The video is decoded on your netbook, as the VGA signal is purely analog with (among other stuff) separate wires for red, green and blue content represented by electric potentials, which are updated for every pixel every frame. The same goes for digital connections like HDMI and DVI, except the physical shape of the signal is less intuitively connected to the pictures.
However, you should still be able to show reasonable video through your computer. Most likely, you have a problem with your video drivers, as it seems to me many (most) netbooks have video controllers with in-built decoding of h264.
Another possibility is that the computer is not powerful enough to show the video you want. If you are able to show it on the netbook's built-in display, just not on the external output, you might be able to help it by disabling the built-in display when watching videos.
