Southwest Community Education. Computer and AV Setup Guide

Transcription

1 Southwest Community Education Computer and AV Setup Guide Authored by Carl Schroedl 8/19/2009

2 Contents Before You Start... 3 About this Guide... 3 Getting Help... 3 AV Kit Inventory... 4 Equipment Setup... 5 Back of the Computer... 5 Internet... 6 Video... 7 Audio... 8 All Systems Go... 9 Common Tasks Logging In Playing a DVD/CD Adjusting Volume Cleaning Up

3 Before You Start 1. First things first, check to make sure your room has a computer and a projector. If you intend to use the computer as a DVD player, check to make sure that the computer in your room has a DVD drive. Most Windows computers advertize their ability to play DVD s with this logo on the disc drive: If your computer does not have a similar logo on the disc drive, it may not be able to play DVD s. All computers should be able to play CD s. 2. Obtain the most current username and password from the Community Education Office staff. 3. Make sure that your AV kit has all of the cables pictured in the AV Kit Inventory section. If anything is missing, inform the Community Education Office staff immediately. 4. Once you are finished with the AV Kit, please return it to the Community Education Office and complete the AV Kit Return Checklist. The kit will be considered to be in your possession until the Return Checklist is completed. About this Guide This guide assumes that a computer starts out completely disconnected. You may unplug everything and follow the instructions from beginning or you may leave existing cables in place and add missing cables as needed, whichever you prefer. The computer photographed in this guide was an HP desktop computer, one of the most common types in the school at the time of writing. Various cables were photographed for this guide. The exact color and shape of the pictured cables may not be consistent with what is in your AV Kit but as long as the ends of the cables are the same as those pictured in the guide you may proceed. Front view of the HP desktop. Getting Help At Southwest Community Education we realize that not everyone is a technological wizard. If you need assistance, inform the Community Education Office staff. The Community Education Office can be reached at from outside the building, or at from inside the building. 3

4 AV Kit Inventory Computer Power Cord Keyboard Mouse Short 1/8 Audio Cable Long 1/8 Audio Cable Splitter Adapter VGA Cable Ethernet Cable 4

5 Equipment Setup This section shows you how to set up the computer and connect it to the projector and audio devices in the room. Once set up, you can use the computer to play DVDs, CD s, display presentations or documents and surf the web. Back of the Computer 1. Find the power cord. Plug it into the back of the computer. 2. Find the keyboard and mouse cables. Plug them into their respective ports on the back of the computer. The back of the computer should have little graphics to remind you where the mouse and keyboard cables plug in. 3. Find the VGA cable. Plug it into the back of the computer. In most cases you do not need to tighten the screws on the cable. If the VGA cable falls off during normal use then plug it in again and tighten the screw connectors. 5

6 4. Find the long 1/8 audio cable. Plug it into the outermost audio port. Do not plug it into the microphone port. 5. Find the Ethernet cable. Plug it into the Ethernet port on the back of the computer. You have plugged everything you need into the computer. Now you will take care of the loose ends. Internet 6. Find the other end of the Ethernet cable. Plug it into the wall port. Do not plug it into a phone port. Ethernet ports are wider and have more copper contacts than phone ports. 6

7 Video 7. Video Connection If you want to display the computer screen on both the projector and a computer monitor there must be a video splitter such as the one pictured at right near your computer. If you have such a device and you want to display to two screens, follow Step 7 s instructions. Otherwise skip to Step 8. If the aforementioned video splitter is present then ensure that the black power cable is plugged into the gray box and that the other end of the cable is plugged into the power strip. Take the loose end of the VGA cable that you recently plugged into the back of the computer and plug it into the Input port on the video device. It doesn t matter whether you connect your computer screen to Output 1 or Output 2. The same goes for your projector. Take the loose end of the VGA cable coming off the back of your computer screen and plug it into one of the video splitter s outputs. Plug another VGA cable into the vacant output on the video splitter. Plug the loose end into the wall VGA port (also pictured in the next step). Plug the computer screen s power cord into the power strip. To Power To projector s VGA port on To back of computer screen Power VGA Output 1 VGA Output 2 Video Splitter Input VGA To back of computer Once you have finished Step 7, skip Step 8 and proceed to Step 9. 7

8 8. Find the loose end of the VGA cable that you recently plugged into the back of the computer. Plug it into the VGA port on the wall. Audio 9. If you have wall-mounted speakers and a wall-mounted audio receiver like the one pictured below, follow the rest of the instructions in this step. Otherwise, proceed to Step 10. Find the loose end of the long 1/8 audio cable that you recently plugged into the back of the computer. Plug this cable into the audio splitter adapter. Plug the red and white ends of the splitter adapter into the red and white CD/DVD ports on the back of the wall-mounted receiver. Once the audio cables are secure, adjust all volume knobs to ¼ full and then turn on the receiver s power by flipping the front switch. When you finish this step, skip Step 10 and proceed directly to 11. 8

9 10. If you do not have wall-mounted audio receiver, then find the short 1/8 audio cable and plug it into the loose end of the long 1/8 audio cable that you recently plugged into the back of the computer. Plug the loose end of the short 1/8 cable into the wall port. All Systems Go 11. Turn the power strip on. Turn on the computer by pushing the power button on the front. It will glow green to indicate that it has turned on. Push the power button on the projector. (Also, if applicable, turn on your computer screen.) You may need to push the Source Search button on the projector once or twice to display the video from the computer. Congratulations! You have completed equipment setup! The next section describes various common tasks you can perform with your setup. 9

10 Common Tasks Logging In The username and password given to Community Education varies. Consult the Community Education Office for the most recent information. If you are in the building you can reach the office by calling Playing a DVD/CD Once the computer is on, push the Eject button on the disc drive. Insert the disc shiny side down. Push the Eject button again to retract the disc into the computer. Once the disc has been inserted click on Start, click on All Programs and click on Windows Media Player. If you are prompted to install Windows Media Player, install it using the default options (usually you just need to click Next, Next, and Finish. Once Windows Media Player has started up, you can push Alt+Enter on the keyboard to enter and exit fullscreen playback. 10

11 Adjusting Volume There are several ways to adjust the volume. You can adjust the volume slider in the lower left hand corner of the Windows Media Player window. You can control the system-wide computer volume by clicking on the volume icon in the system tray (lower right hand corner of the screen) and adjusting the slider that appears. If the volume icon is not visible, click the arrow icon to reveal it. If you are plugged into a wall-mounted audio receiver then you can adjust the receiver s knob marked Volume and CD/DVD. If you are plugged into the projector s speakers through the 1/8 audio jack on the wall, then you can adjust the volume buttons on the projector itself. If the projector is inaccessible try using a remote. If a remote is not available in your room, check if the Community Education Office has one. Volume Buttons 11

12 Cleaning Up Quit all applications you opened on the computer. Click the Start Menu and click Log Off. Once you have logged out, click the Shut Down button. After the computer shuts down turn off the power strip and shut off the projector by pushing its Power button. If you used the wall-mounted audio receiver, shut it off by flipping the power switch. Remove all the cables that you added and place them in your AV Kit box. Please do not leave cables from the AV Kit in the classroom. Please do not bring back extra cables from the classroom. You should leave the room with exactly one of each component listed in the AV Kit Inventory section in your AV Kit box. Please return the AV Kit to the Community Education Office and complete the AV Kit Return Checklist. The kit will be considered to be in your possession until the Return Checklist is completed. 12