IF Windows XP:
Go to Start > Run > type in "dxdiag" (no quotes) > 'Display' tab click the button for "Test DirectDraw" and do the same for "Test Direct3D", with your TV hooked up. This will most likely lead you to a driver issue. Mine happened to be a keyboard driver i had installed.
If Windows 7 or Vista:
Update your video and projector/tv drivers by googling the model number/name and downloading/installing the newest drivers for the devices. Yes, this sometimes fixes it.
Can you play other games with this setup? If possible, I would try maybe Warcraft 3/Starcraft 2/Torchlight and see if you get the same results since they have similar system requirements. Well, WC3, no, but you get the idea.