Help Desk

Using Classroom Projection Equipment

These are guidelines for using the projection equipment in the classrooms.  Instructions may vary from room to room. For more specific instructions, please refer to the AV directions posted in each classroom or call AV Services at x7711. 

There are two scenarios in which you might need to use a projector:

1. Using a computer already in the classroom.
2. Using your personal computer with a classroom system.

Using a computer already in the classroom

With a remote:

1. Locate remote in room.  Aim it at the projector, not the screen; the remote receiver on the projector is usually on the front or bottom of the unit. 
2. Once the projector is warmed up, you should see the computer's display up on the screen. If you don't see it, or if you only see a picture of Eliot Hall, look on the remote for a button marked "input". Press this button until the computer display shows up. To select the next input, you may need to press it more than once.

With a touch screen:

1. Locate touch panel in room. It is typically mounted near the classroom computer. If the projector is not turned on, press the system power button on the panel.
2. Press display if not active and follow on screen prompts. It takes a while for a projector to warm up and display an image, so be patient. Usually an indicator lamp on the projector will show you that it's on. 

Using your personal computer with a classroom system

1. First, make sure you have the cables you need. You may need an adapter to connect the video cable to your computer.
2. Hook up the cables to your computer. There should be spare video, audio, and ethernet cables in every room. Connect the video cable to the adapter and connect the adapter to the monitor out port on your computer (marked with a symbol of a square between two vertical lines). The ethernet cable should go into the ethernet port (which will look like an oversized phone jack and is marked by a symbol like an ellipsis between two brackets). Plug the audio cable into the headphone or audio out jack.
3. Start up your computer and go to step # 1above.

Some Tips and Tricks for Using Projectors

The Sharp brand remotes have some useful features you might want to know about. First, notice that there are labels on the remote in black and green. To use the features labeled in green, flip the tiny switch on the bottom of the remote to the green-labeled "mouse" mode. Now you can access the built-in laser pointer with the button up and right of the big purple button with four arrows on it. To use the features labeled in black, simply flip the small switch over to "adj".

Up and left of the large purple button is the "black screen" button. Pushing this will turn your screen dark, so that you can lecture without the distraction of whatever image you had up. Hit "black screen" again to get the projection image back. Black screen is much faster than waking the projector from its sleep mode, so use it any time you know you're going to be talking for a while and not using the projector.