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Connecting Your Laptop to a Video Projector
For presentation, a
PowerPoint slide show on the laptop screen and sit at
the end of the table is fine. Most of the time, but you
want your laptop connected to a video projector. Video
projector works like a giant monitor, which displays the
image on the big screen at the end of the meeting room
or convention space.
The hook-up process is easier than it seems. In the
best-case scenario, a helpful technician is there to assist
you, and the connection is made and confirmed in advance.
But even when no technician is available, you can generally
figure things out.
To connect your laptop to a video projector, just follow
these steps:
1. Connect your laptop's external video connector to the
video projector.
You can use either the S-Video or external monitor port. You
can do this with the laptop on or off, though eventually you
do need to turn it on. Oh, what the heck: Turn on the laptop
now!
2. Connect the laptop's audio-out port to the projector or
to the location's sound system.
3. As long as you're connecting things, see whether you can
plug the laptop into an AC socket.
No sense in wasting battery power for a presentation - or
running out of battery juice in the middle of that
presentation!
If your laptop has Windows Vista, go on to Step 4a. If you
have Windows XP, skip to Step 4b.
4. a. In Windows Vista, open the Personalization icon in the
Control Panel and then click Display Settings.
4. b. In Windows XP, open the Display icon in the Control
Panel and then click the Settings tab.
The job of the Settings tab, shown in Figure 1, is to
confirm that your laptop's hardware is working and that it
recognizes the video projector as the external monitor. For
most modern laptops, this happens automatically; the only
time you really need to use the Settings dialog box is when
things are hinkey.
5. Check the image; preview the slide show.
At first, the projector may just show your laptop's Windows
desktop. That's not why people are coming to the meeting,
though. Take your presentation for a "pre-run." Load that
main slide and ensure that it shows up on the screen. If so,
you're ready to go.
If the slide show has sound effects, preview them, as well,
to ensure that the sound system is working.
6. Close the laptop's lid and wait to be introduced.
You can just leave your laptop at the podium, lid closed,
ready to go. When you open the lid, the presentation is
ready to run. If there are too many people around and
security is a concern, you may want to take the laptop with
you.
At other times, the video projector acts as the laptop's
second monitor. The laptop shows the regular laptop screen,
but the presentation appears on the video projector. (That's
just PowerPoint being smart.)
Here are a few tips about making your laptop/projector
connection a smooth one:
Be sure to pack an extra bulb when you're using your own
video projector. You want to be able to replace a burned-out
bulb quickly, and they usually don't sell those bulbs in the
hotel's sundry store.
Some laptops sport a special function (Fn) key on the
keyboard that you can use to activate the external video
port. You may need to press this key to switch the display
over to the video projector.
Some laptops may have dual video built in, allowing you to
use the video projector as a second monitor. To confirm
this, open the Display Properties dialog box and click the
Settings tab. A second monitor should already be configured
(refer to Figure 1). If so, you're set and ready to go!
By Laptops for Dummies
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