Laptops and Projectors: How to, Tips and Hints
With the advent of Powerpoint presentation software and the vast resources of the internet, projecting computer images has become the latest teaching tool. This section will help you learn how this takes place and how to make your laptop work with our projectors. Because there are literally thousands of laptop configurations, models, screen sizes and screen resolutions out there, we cannot know how each laptop works.
Please understand that the information presented here is no substitute for reading your instruction manual, testing beforehand or a hands-on training. Spending 30 minutes testing the equipment BEFORE the semester starts can save you lost teaching time. Call us at 81494 for assistance.
We can provide BASIC troubleshooting and configuring to allow your computer to work with our projectors, but you will need to:
- know your laptop's display requirements.
- know your laptop's resolution requirements.
- Know how to configure your ethernet adapter for the Internet (we do not have information on IP addresses).
- Always have a backup plan.
Attaching your computer to our projectors:
Whether you use the console in a classroom or check out a projector from us, the hookup is the same:You attach a VGA cable FROM the laptop TO the projector or console.
The cable attaches to your laptop via the EXTERNAL MONITOR port on the back of your laptop:
| Important note: Some laptops like the Sony Vaio, the Apple iBook and new G4 Powerbooks do not have standard VGA monitor connectors. Make sure you have any adapters or docking ports with you or you will not be able to connect to our consoles. Please call Laurie at 338-1492 for a consultation if your laptop does not have the standard VGA connection pictured below. | |||
| This is the monitor out connector on the back panel of a Apple G3. The connection on a PC is identical. |  | This is a standard VGA cable connector. |  |
- Connect the VGA cable from the laptop to the projector or console.
- Turn on the PROJECTOR, let it warm up and select the proper COMPUTER input using the MODE or INPUT button on the remote control.
- Turn on your computer LAST. (Never rely on your laptop's battery. It will fail you. Always bring your AC Adapter.)
But (there's always a but) what do you do when it doesn't send the image to the projector? top
ALWAYS CHECK THIS FIRST: Is the projector's input set to the correct COMPUTER input? If it is, try the following:For PC users: If you get an image on the laptop screen but not on the projector, check the following:
- On your laptop's keyboard, find the key marked "FUNCTION" (usually on the lower left corner of the keyboard).
- Then, search for a key that has either the letters "LCD/CRT" or a little monitor icon. Most often, it will be in the top row of keys marked F1 through F12, but not always.
- When you have both keys located, press the FUNCTION key and then the LCD/CRT key that you located before. It might take a couple of seconds for the computer to react.
This should toggle the screen image through a cycle like this: Image on Laptop Screen | Image on Projector | Image on Both
For MAC users OS X:
The instructions for setting your display and mirroring preferences are available in two formats: HTML and PDF.
Know your laptop! Read the manual and carry it with you. Always do a dry run before your class starts to work out any bugs.
SCREEN RESOLUTIONS:
Screen resolution affects what you see projected and how it looks. This will be important if you use fine, detailed images and text.
The back story: When desktop computers were first introduced, the monitors all had the same resolution: 640 pixels wide by 480 pixels high.Today, monitors and computers have advanced to the point where many different resolutions are possible from 640x480 up to 1600x1200 pixels. So-called "standard" resolutions are: 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024. Anything else is going to cause problems with a projector.
(Just to confuse you further, some laptops can only display 800x600 pixels using the laptop's screen, but can output to a video projector a 1024x768 resolution image. The newest Mac laptops even split the display so half the desktop is in the laptop's screen, the other half is sent to the video projector. Yikes. See why we recommend testing it first?)
To add to the fun, with some older or less expensive laptops, the electronics that control the display may not be powerful enough to send the computer's image to the laptop screen and to a projector at the same time. This means you will have to shut off the laptop screen to get an image on a projector.
Our stand alone projectors can display up to 1024x768 (higher resolutions will be compressed down to 1024x768). Our computer carts display 1024x768.
So, what does this mean for you?
In a nutshell: what you create at home, in the lab on campus or on a laptop may not look the same when displayed through our projector if the resolutions don't match. Further, if your laptop has a non-standard display, you might get white lines through the projected image. For example, users of the Toshiba 8300 will note that the native resolution on the laptop is 1400x1050. That will cause all sorts of problems with our consoles. When you change the setting to 1028x1024, the laptop screen has black bars on the sides. This is normal. The same thing happens with Apple's G4 15" Powerbooks.
So what should you do? Set your laptop or desktop computer to 1024x768. If you are going to use your laptop as your primary display device, do this. That removes the possibility of problems, delays, and general technical annoyances.
One more thing... Set your color to 16-bit (Windows users). Some laptops won't mirror if the color is set to 32-bit.
How do you know what resolution you're using?
Windows 95 and above: Start>Control Panels>Display>Settings Tab. On the right, you'll see the current resolution setting and a slider to change it. (This is in your instruction manual or in the Help feature on your laptop.)
Mac OS X: System Preferences -> Displays. Apple iBooks and the 12" G4 Powerbook have three standard display options. Apple 15" & 17" G4 Powerbooks have non-standard display resolutions. You will also need to bring any monitor adapter that came with the laptop with you if you plan to use our projection systems.
We maintain current specifications for our carts and projectors on our web site. top
INTERNET ACCESS:
Almost all designated classrooms at SFSU have an 10baseT ethernet jack. Our Classroom Database has complete information. Look in the column marked "DATA." If it's checked, there is a port in the room. We didn't install them, so he have no way of knowing where the jack is in the room. Look for a box on the wall with two jacks. The one marked with a star is the active one.However, we do not perform repairs on these connections and make no assurances that the port is active in each room. Please direct all repair questions concerning data jacks to Computing Services at 338-1211.
Wireless internet users: No classrooms are set up for wireless access. You should carry an 8 foot ethernet cable with you at all times. There are retractable ethernet cables available through on-line retailers (Macally, Targus, Belkin and Zip-Linq all make them.)
All AV Computers are configured for Internet access using the 10baseT cables provided by the AV Center. We do not provide technical service to configure your computer for ethernet access. Please call Computing Services for help (338-1420).
There are four things that can go wrong with your connection:
The server is down or extremely busy.
Your computer is not configured to access the SFSU server properly.
The port in the room is not active.
There is something wrong with the ethernet cable.
There is no quick fix for ethernet problems.
Therefore: we recommend the following:
- Download all pages you need to your laptop, and burn them to a CD as a backup before class. The links will not be active, but you'll have the pages to view. top
Back-up Plans for all computer presentations:
Nothing is 100% reliable. If your class depends on a Powerpoint or Word presentation, there are two back-up choices:1. Get your presentation off your laptop and on to another form of computer media. Purchase a Flash drive and copy your files on to it or burn it on to a CD. Always carry it with you. In the event your laptop fails or will not display properly, you can come to AV and check out one of our laptops. Please note: we only support 100MB Zip disks and only our PCs have floppy drives. We are slowly phasing out our support for floppies.
2. Another option is overhead transparencies. Our Graphics Department can assist you in printing transparencies from your presentation. Also, have a dozen or so blank transparencies and a marker with you at all times. It's not as cool as the laptop, but it's a whole lot easier to take a 10 minute break while you come over to AV to sign out an overhead projector than to cancel class. And yes, you have to come to the AV Center in person with your faculty id card to check out an overhead. We need you to sign the paperwork at our office.
3. More tips are available here.
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This page current as of: Fri May 01 2020 15:24:48 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)
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