Data projector facilities in MACS

Locations of fixed projectors

The following rooms have data projectors permanently fixed to the ceiling:
CM G.01
CM F.17
CM T.01

EM G.44
EM G.45
EM 1.53
EM 1.54
EM 1.58
EM 1.70
EM 1.82 *
EM 1.83 *
EM 2.44
EM 3.02
EM 3.03
EM 3.06
EM 3.07
EM 3.36 *

* EM 1.82, EM 1.83 and EM 3.36 are centrally timetabled rooms whose projectors are owned by Audio Visual Services. If you plan to use one of these projectors, please contact Carrie Bennett by phoning 3019 or e-mailing C.A.B.Bennett @ hw.ac.uk

Booking where there is no fixed projector, or outside MACS buildings

If you require a projector in a room in Colin Maclaurin or Earl Mountbatten Buildings where there is no fixed projector installed, please book it by e-mail to
projbookings @ macs.hw.ac.uk
State the start and finish times of the session and the location where the projector is required.

CM S.01 is a centrally timetabled room covered by Audio Visual Services. To book a projector for this room for teaching purposes, please phone Audio-Visual Bookings on 8047 or e-mail Carrie Bennett (C.A.B.Bennett @ hw.ac.uk).

Also phone Audio-Visual Bookings or e-mail Carrie Bennett if you need a projector for teaching purposes in another part of the university, e.g. Scott Russell or James Nasmyth Buildings, as the lecture rooms there are also centrally timetabled.

For non-teaching purposes, e.g. staff meetings, please book one of our projectors in the usual manner by e-mail to projbookings @ macs.hw.ac.uk

The projector bulbs are sensitive to movement and expensive to replace. Please do not move the projector once it has been set up and switched on.

Laptops

If you need to book a departmental laptop, please send e-mail to
projbookings @ macs.hw.ac.uk
State the start and finish times of the session, the location where the laptop is required, and any special requirements, e.g. network access. Unless otherwise, the laptop will be set up without network access and with a small USB hub to make connecting a flash drive easier, then logged on using the laptop's guest account.

Departmental laptops are set up to work on the MAXP network. They will not have network access in buildings outside MACS.

Please ensure that you know how to make your laptop send an image to its external socket. If you are unsure, you can perhaps go to the projector beforehand and try it out. A few ways of making a Windows laptop use its VGA port are shown below. If none of these methods work, we can sometimes try to guess, but this will take time out of your presentation!

If you need the laptop for use outside Earl Mountbatten or Colin Maclaurin Buildings, or if your session will finish later than 17:00, you can borrow it to set up yourself. Make sure it's safely locked away in a cupboard or filing cabinet overnight, and send e-mail to projbookings @ macs.hw.ac.uk to say when you plan to return it.

When you've finished

Shut down the projector using the controller. Don't switch it off; it needs time for the lamp to cool down.

Don't try to pack up a departmental laptop or portable projector. It's easier for the support staff to pack them up so they know where everything is in the bag, then it's quicker to set them up again for the next class. (This does not apply to a laptop which you're borrowing for use in another building or overnight!)

Security

Projectors have been stolen in the past. So far, no MACS projectors or laptop have been stolen. Please help to keep it that way!


Connecting to a projector

All the projectors work best at a resolution of 1024x768. They may accept other resolutions but will not look as good. This is because they are effectively very small LCD monitors with very bright backlights and the resolution of the "monitor" is 1024x768; if the projector receives another resolution which it can handle, it will squash or stretch pixels to fit.

All projectors have a cable with standard 15-pin VGA plug. If your laptop has no VGA socket (e.g. it only has DVI or it's a Macintosh), you will need to bring an adaptor.

Usually the projector will cycle through all possible inputs until it finds something to display. If a previous user has selected a specific input and left the projector on, the projector may limit which inputs it scans. In this case, try pressing the "VGA", "RGB" or "PC" button on the controller (different controllers label it differently, see the list of controllers below). Failing that, shut down the projector with the controller, wait until it has finished shutting down, then use the controller to power it back up. Do not try to speed up the process by switching off the power, either on the projector's power switch or at the mains. This may damage the bulb.

If the projector shows the laptop's display but the screen is a little wrong, e.g. part is missing, you can resynchronise the display by pressing the "Sync" or "Auto" button on the controller.


Making the laptop display to the projector

There are different ways to make a laptop send a signal to its VGA port, depending on the type of laptop, the video driver and the operating system. Here are some methods which work on our laptops under Windows XP. Your own laptop may use something similar to one of these, but this is not guaranteed!

  1. Function key

    Press "Fn" and "F5" together. This toggles the LCD screen and VGA output displays.
    (Other makes of laptop use different function keys - look for a key with an icon similar to this.)
    F5 key
  2. Display driver

    Our Toshiba laptops use embedded Intel graphics hardware. The driver produces an icon on the toolbar at the bottom right of the screen. Click on the icon, then "Graphics Options", "Output To", "Intel(R) Dual Display Clone", "Notebook + Monitor". (Note that, because this is happening at the right edge of the screen, "Notebook + Monitor" appears to the left of the menu even though the arrow points to the right!)
    Graphics Options Notebook + Monitor
  3. Display properties

    Display Properties

    This will make the projector display an extension of the laptop's desktop display rather than a clone. The projector screen will show an empty desktop. You can set up your display on the laptop screen, then drag it onto the projector screen.



Controllers

If the controller doesn't work, the batteries may be flat. Report it by e-mail to projbookings @ macs.hw.ac.uk so we know to replace the batteries.

The only controls you should need to use are Standby, AV Mute and possibly a laser pointer.

1. Standby will power up the projector; you'll need to wait a few minutes for the lamp to warm up before the image appears and for the projector to lock onto the signal from the PC. You'll also use Standby to shut down the projector when you've finished.

2. AV Mute will black out the picture from the projector without actually shutting it down. You can use this to set up your display, then press AV Mute again to bring up the picture immediately when you're ready. AV Mute goes by different names; some controllers call it Blank or Pic Mute.

3. The Optoma controllers have built in laser pointers. Note that when you press the laser button on some of the Optoma controllers, the laser stays on until you press the button again. Make sure you switch the laser off before you leave so you don't waste the controller's batteries - and don't point the laser at the audience!

The following buttons should not really be necessary and may cause problems for the next user. Use them only if it appears that a previous user has already done so and is causing problems for you.

4. If the previous user used the projector to show a video and left it switched on, the projector might not find the PC input. Use this button to select the VGA (PC) input.

5. If the previous user used the projector to display from a laptop and left it switched on, the projector might not find the video input. Use this button if you wish to show a video or DVD.

6. If the display from the laptop is shown but is not quite right, use this button to resynchronise the display.

Optoma Keys Used in
Optoma controller
  1. Standby
  2. AV Mute
  3. Laser

  4. VGA
  5. Video
  6. Sync

 On some controllers, the laser remains 
 on until you press the button again. 
  • CM G.01
  • CM T.01
  • EM 1.58
  • EM 3.06
  • EM 3.07
Optoma (2) Keys Used in
Optoma controller (2)
  1. Standby
  2. AV Mute
  3. Laser

  4. VGA
  5. Video
  6. Sync
  • EM 2.44
Hitachi (1) Keys Used in
Hitachi controller 1
  1. Standby/On
  2. Blank
 No laser pointer. 
  1. RGB
  2. Video
  3. Auto
  • EM G.44
  • EM G.45
  • EM 3.02
  • EM 3.03
 Also used with one of
 the portable projectors 
Canon (1) Keys Used in
Canon controller 1
  1. Standby
  2. AV Mute
  3. Laser

  4. VGA
  5. Video
  6. Sync
  • EM 1.53
  • EM 1.54
NEC Keys Used in
NEC controller
  1. On/Off
  2. Pic Mute
  3. Laser

  4. P.C.
  5. DVD/VHS
  6. Auto Adjust
 The On and Off switches are separate 
 and must be held for 2-3 seconds. 
  • EM 1.82
Hitachi (2) Keys Used
Hitachi controller 2
  1. Standby
  2. Blank
 No laser pointer. 
  1. RGB
  2. Video
  3. Auto
 With one of the
 portable projectors 
Hitachi (3) Keys Used in
Hitachi controller 3
  1. Standby/On
  2. Blank
 No laser pointer. 
  1. Computer
  2. Video
  3. Auto
  • CM F.17
Optoma (3) Keys Used
Optoma controller 3
  1. Standby
  2. Hide
 No laser pointer. 
  1. VGA
  2. Composite
  3. ReSync
  • EM 1.83
 Also used with one of
 the portable projectors 
Viewsonic Keys Used
Viewsonic controller
  1. Power / Standby
 No laser pointer. 
 No AV mute or equivalent. 
  1. Resync
 With one of the
 portable projectors