Projecting from Laptop

Bredabe · 10-02-2019 01:21PM #1

Hi,
I have to do a presentation from my laptop, Ive the PP presentation all ready to go, but I have no clue how to get this onto the screen for the rest to see, I assume there are some kind of cables involved? if so, what kind are they?

Tazzimus · 10-02-2019 01:24PM

Bredabe wrote: »

Hi,
I have to do a presentation from my laptop, Ive the PP presentation all ready to go, but I have no clue how to get this onto the screen for the rest to see, I assume there are some kind of cables involved? if so, what kind are they?

Several ways depending on your laptop and the room set up.
Could be VGA, could be HDMI, could be display port.
Also, the room might have something like clickshare, which is basically business Chromecast

5uspect · 10-02-2019 01:28PM

The easy way is to ask someone there to help you.

Bredabe · 10-02-2019 01:45PM

5uspect wrote: »

The easy way is to ask someone there to help you.

That is true, but I would lose marks for 'lack of preparedness', even tho the room is unavailable for most of the time.

Ger Roe · 10-02-2019 01:55PM

Unfortunately, you really need to know what you have to connect up to, in advance of any presentation.

You need to be sure of the correct cable required and that your laptop is set up to display correctly with whatever projection device it has to deal with.

At the very least, get there early with a few cable options and do a trial run test-that's real preparation. You don't want to be fiddling with cables and settings with an expectant audience watching on.

Also, save your presentation on a memory stick as a backup option in case you have to use something other than your own laptop to get things going.

This is all belts and braces approach, if the venue is set up for presentation, it should have all requirements covered and hopefully there will be no issues. I usually arrive early and carry several cable options with me, just in case the venue lets me down.

5uspect · 10-02-2019 02:32PM

Bredabe wrote: »

That is true, but I would lose marks for 'lack of preparedness', even tho the room is unavailable for most of the time.

Then go to the room at some stage before hand and test it out. Going into a room blind and being marked on expecting to know how the AV equipment works is insane (regardless of how trivial it is for most is is).

Alanstrainor · 10-02-2019 03:11PM

5uspect wrote: »

Then go to the room at some stage before hand and test it out. Going into a room blind and being marked on expecting to know how the AV equipment works is insane (regardless of how trivial it is for most is is).

Yeah I can't see anyone losing marks for not knowing how to connect to a projector in a room they don't know. Ask whoever is facilitating what the story is and hopefully they'll be able to advise. I wouldn't worry about losing marks if you don't manage to speak to anyone though.

Bredabe · 11-02-2019 01:02PM

I have reminded the lecturer that this is not the sort of thing I do on a regular basis and that the room is unavailable most of the time between then and now and he's still saying there are marks for preparedness and I would lose these if I can't just 'get on with it, like a professional'

This course values independent learning but overlooks the need for resources to enable that, so I would take the threat of lost marks seriously.

Gazzmonkey · 11-02-2019 01:08PM

Op you need to ask what connections the projector takes before the meeting, its not an unreasonable question.

Also, does your laptop have full size ports or mini versions? you may need adaptors too?

5uspect · 11-02-2019 10:14PM

Bredabe wrote: »

I have reminded the lecturer that this is not the sort of thing I do on a regular basis and that the room is unavailable most of the time between then and now and he's still saying there are marks for preparedness and I would lose these if I can't just 'get on with it, like a professional'

This course values independent learning but overlooks the need for resources to enable that, so I would take the threat of lost marks seriously.

Connecting a laptop to a projector isn’t difficult and complaining that it isn’t something you do regularly isn’t going to help if the lecturer is being obtuse.

Contact IT and ask them what A.V. equipment is in the room. It may even be on their webpage. Almost every room in any university has an identical setup. Just try testing in a few free rooms.

Bredabe · 12-02-2019 11:06AM

5uspect wrote: »

Connecting a laptop to a projector isn’t difficult and complaining that it isn’t something you do regularly isn’t going to help if the lecturer is being obtuse.

Contact IT and ask them what A.V. equipment is in the room. It may even be on their webpage. Almost every room in any university has an identical setup. Just try testing in a few free rooms.

Lectured asked why I wanted keys to the presentation room and how I could not practice this in my job(I assume he thinks that like a lot of my classmates, I'm in the presentation biz), so more informing him than complaining.

IT will not help students and no way to access any IT info with a student no, additionally, this is the only room of this proportion in the building, its kept locked when not in use.

This is why I posted on here, at my wits end and no help forthcoming from anywhere else.

RFOLEY1990 · 12-02-2019 11:08AM

maybe get a couple of cheap USB sticks and save your PP onto them to give to individual markers in case the projector plan goes T1ts up?

Tazzimus · 12-02-2019 11:15AM

Have a quick look at your laptop and see which of the connectors it has.
Quick google of what they look like as well, if you're not sure which is which.
Then once you know which one your laptop has (VGA, HDMI or DisplayPort), email IT and ask which cables are in the room for presentations.
Surely they can at least answer that question, as it doesn't involve them doing a whole lot and they should be aware of what equipment is in the rooms.

My money would be on a VGA cable for the projector.
Odd one will have a HDMI cable but I'd say VGA is probably what you'll find

CelticRambler · 12-02-2019 11:29AM

If giving a presentation is something your qualification may require you to do, then preparedness is relevant. In this case, knowing/finding out what equipment is on site and what you need to bring is part of that. In practice, it's usually very easy.

First of all, know your own equipment. Your laptop almost certainly has a video-out port. That might look like an old-style monitor connection (VGA) or it might be a HDMI port (somewhat similar to a USB port); you might even have both.

On your keyboard, there'll be F-keys (usually somewhere in the middle) that control how your laptop's display is divided or shared between its own screen and the external display, which is anything that you connect to the video port. You can also manage this through the Display parameters that you'll find in (Windows) control panel. For the most part, you'll want to simply duplicate the laptop display (usually the default setting).

After that, you need to know what inputs the projector will accept (usually several different types) and where exactly those connection points are located. If it's a teaching institution, they'll probably be in/around the lecturer's podium and a normal 1.5m cable will reach; a decent facility will have the cables available, but don't count on it. Send an e-mail to the facilities manager (or whoever most closely fits that description - but not IT!) saying that you will be giving a presentation and asking for a details of the projection system. They'll almost certainly have a standard document giving all this info that they send out to visiting lecturers.

Once you've got all of that, find a cable and a spare screen and set up the duplicate displays at home, as described above, so that you can practice not being distracted by having things moving in the "wrong" direction behind you.

mordeith · 12-02-2019 12:07PM

Just to add to the post above check for inputs on your TV. Some may may have a VGA input (usually labeled PC) and nearly all will have HDMI which you can practice the connection process with at home. Most projectors should auto detect HDMI but on your TV you may have to select the correct input source.

5uspect · 13-02-2019 12:43PM

Bredabe wrote: »

Lectured asked why I wanted keys to the presentation room and how I could not practice this in my job(I assume he thinks that like a lot of my classmates, I'm in the presentation biz), so more informing him than complaining.

IT will not help students and no way to access any IT info with a student no, additionally, this is the only room of this proportion in the building, its kept locked when not in use.

This is why I posted on here, at my wits end and no help forthcoming from anywhere else.

What institution are you attending?

Bredabe · 15-02-2019 06:19PM

Ive created the pp slides now,
once I've gotten the projector/leads sorted out, is it just a case of turning on the computer and hitting the next slide button?

I'm just using slides for illustration and not on as a slide show.

5uspect · 15-02-2019 10:04PM

Just go to a room with a projector or TV or whatever and try!

Bredabe · 16-02-2019 12:31AM

5uspect wrote: »

Just go to a room with a projector or TV or whatever and try!

Still not allowed used the presentation room and no access to that kind of equipment at home/work.

So, any workable ideas?

5uspect · 16-02-2019 08:08AM

Any room, anywhere. Even your own TV.

You seem to be coming to this from a position of complete ignorance and from that last post you’ve shown you’ve tried absolutely nothing. The specific room will almost certainly have either VGA or HDMI or both. These two will cover 99.9% of all situations. There may be a touchscreen in the room with a mode selector, so plug in the VGA cable and tap the VGA icon. Every room in the place will almost certainly have the exact same setup so test this in any available room or ask a TA or other staff member. Go ask in the Student’s Union, ask someone in the CompSoc, ask a classmate.

I asked you what institution this is occurs in and you’ve ignored me. I work in one of the biggest universities in Ireland and I’ve worked, collaborated and presented in several across the country (and more globally). I could have been in a position to either tell you exactly what’s in there or find out for you but you seem determined to throw your hands up in the air and accept defeat over the trivial need to plug in a cable. After your responses in this thread, if you were my student I’d understand your lecturer’s attitude.

So, look at the ports on your laptop and identify if you have VGA or HDMI or both. You haven’t told us what laptop and OS you have! How is anyone supposed to give you ‘workable’ solutions FFS?
Plug it onto a TV somewhere and see what you need to do to get the presentation in fullscreen on that display. It should just work but some older setups can require a keyboard shortcut that is often laptop specific. Of course we can’t tell you any of this because you aren’t helping us help you.

Projecting from Laptop

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