MBA and external projectors

[chelseasian]

Hi

I will be doing a business presentation using Keynote on my MBA and I called ahead and check about the location. They have a hi-def TV with a HDMI connection. Does Apple make a HDMI connector for the MBA? So far the MBA comes with the standard VGA and DVI connectors. I am wondering what can be done to drive the screen using HDMI?

Thanks!

 

[swiftaw]

DVI to HDMI adapter

http://www.connectworld.net/syscon/dvi-to-hdmi-adapters.html

 

[davidino77]

DVI to HDMI adapter

http://www.connectworld.net/syscon/dvi-to-hdmi-adapters.html

I use a similar solution with a full-hd monitor (1900x1200). It's ok but MBA slows down a lot with such a big resolution. It's probably ok for a powerpoint presentation but not good to watch movies. After a while (10 minutes) one of the 2 cores shut down and the video playing start to loose frames.
I was able to solve the problem enabling the monitor mirroring and bringing the resolution to 1280x800

 

[chelseasian]

Good to know. So I should scale down my keynote presentation huh? What would be a good resolution?

I don't have much video but it is graphic intensive. I think that is the challenge when using the MBA to do presentations. I want a portable laptop that can dazzle when presenting with Keynote.

 

[xraydoc]

Good to know. So I should scale down my keynote presentation huh? What would be a good resolution?

I don't have much video but it is graphic intensive. I think that is the challenge when using the MBA to do presentations. I want a portable laptop that can dazzle when presenting with Keynote.

If the presentation display you'll be using is widescreen, use either 1280x800 or 1280x768 (depending on the display's aspect ratio). My advice is to NOT use mirroring mode - if the presentation display is wider than your MBA (presentation display is a 16:9 HD display at 720p or 1080p), then your presentation will look slightly stretched if you force the presentation display into your taller Mac's display (which is 16:10 @ 1280x800). If the external display is running at the proper aspect ratio, your presentation will not get stretched.

A couple weeks ago, I gave a lecture - one that I often give and one written in Keynote at 4:3 @ 1024x768 - at a place who's projector was a widescreen 720P device (actually 1280x768). But since the last external display connected to my machine was 1024x768, the presentation looked way stretched out. Fortunately, I discovered this during my brief test hookup before the audience arrived, so I could set the proper resolution. My presentation was still shown at 4:3 ratio (black bars at the sides), but my circles were circular, not oval...

Always make sure you get a few minutes with the display before going "live" to get the kinks worked out.

The MBA, by the way, should run high-res widescreen Keynotes just fine.

 

[Suncusser]

MBA can't output to video display screen with VGA dongle

Tried to give a talk yesterday where my MBA was plugged into a device that included a large Pioneer TV and a remote conferencing setup to another city. MBA identified the plugged in VGA output but when mirrored, there was no ability to change resolution. Meanwhile the TV screen indicated "no PC connected". Rebooted both MBA and video setup but no luck. Had to export the Keynote talk into Powerpoint and load on a Windows computer. Windows machine connected fine but wouldn't play my movies. I understand that there is a 3rd party adaptor for Macs related to VGA output. Anybody tried it and does it solve the problem?

 

[mattniles007]

Good to know. So I should scale down my keynote presentation huh? What would be a good resolution?

I don't have much video but it is graphic intensive. I think that is the challenge when using the MBA to do presentations. I want a portable laptop that can dazzle when presenting with Keynote.

That is good to know I am contemplating switching from a Blackbook to MBA and this sorta thing scares me.

 

[SFStateStudent]

I've always used the VGA adapter with all of my MB's, but I've never tried to change the resolution. I've always mirrored for projector use and my Sony Bravia 40" LCD, as well. Maybe it's just me, but the resolution meets my needs.

 

[Suncusser]

MBA won't output to a external TV/projector system

Following up on my last post here I've gotten two opinions as to the problem. The first was that the MBA doesn't identify itself correctly to the conference system (a termination issue) and that I need to get a "Dr. Bott G-head II" to connect between my VGA output and the systems VGA cable. Unfortunately, the Dr. Bott device has been discontinued, is no longer available. Cost about $27 if I can find one.

The second opinion was that the output of my MBA fall short of a required 5 volt input to the system and that I need to get a "Peaker" such as Extron P2/ DA1 to pump up the output from my VGA plug. Cost $150-200. Since this would also provide termination, it would probably work to resolve the other hypothesis too. A lot of extra money, if I don't really need it. Called Apple to discuss VGA output and they didn't have the information available but they felt that the video card was a standard card- it should be outputting enough voltage.

Anyone had any experience with a similar problem?