Having trouble connecting your laptop to our classroom AV systems? Here are some basic tips that might be helpful!

Connectors

Most of our classroom lecterns feature HDMI and USB-C connections for connecting laptops. There are a handful of classroom lecterns with Mini Displayport and VGA + 3.5mm audio cables, however these are being phased out. Here is what all of those connectors look like:

Open HDMI

Open USB-C

Mini DP

VGA with 3.5mm audio

If your laptop does not have ports for the cables included in a room, you will need to bring in an adaptor, such as a USB-C hub with an HDMI port if you have a laptop with only USB-C ports and HDMI is the only video cable available. Getting a good quality adaptor can make the connection more reliable.

Displaying laptop on the classroom projector/display

In nearly all cases, when you plug in your laptop via one of the video cables above, turn on the audio visual system, and select the proper connection as your input - your laptop should display on the classroom display. Please see your classroom’s AV instructions for help doing this (each classroom with audiovisual technology has a QR code and shortened url posted to access them).

Help, my laptop is still not displaying on the classroom display/the display looks different than I expected!

If you followed the steps to turn on the AV system, connect your laptop, and select the proper input, but are not seeing your laptop’s screen on the classroom display, here are some tips based on what the projector is displaying -

The display shows some variation of “No signal” or a blue screen:

If this happens, we recommend contacting the service desk

The display shows a dark screen

• Check that “video mute” is deselcted on the classroom’s control panel (we recommend toggling this on and off even if it doesn’t appear to be selected)

• Check that your laptop’s display mode is set to “duplicate/mirroring” or “extended” (see the next section regarding display modes)

There is a computer desktop on the screen that is different than the one showing on my laptop, and I don’t know why

If this happens, and you have confirmed that the correct input is selected on the classroom’s control panel, we recommend checking your computer’s display mode setting. The laptop has most likely defaulted to “extended” display mode.

Display modes

Both Windows and MacOS allow you to change display configuration when connected to more than one display (including your laptop’s built in display), which affects the content on each screen. Both MacOS and Windows have the following display modes:

• Duplicate (Win)/mirroring (MacOS) - both screens display the same content

• Extended - Each screen shows a different desktop with different content (extended), allowing you to move your mouse cursor from one to the other by going off the screen in a specific direction, and drag different windows to different screens. This can allow you to be showing one set of content for the class, while privately interacting with different content on your laptop, for example.

On Windows, you can also select the following:

• PC Screen Only - Blanks the secondary display (usually the classroom display)

• Secondary Screen Only - Blanks the primary display (usually the instructor’s monitor)

Selecting display mode on Windows

Press [Windows] + [P] keys simulatneously to bring up the “Project” menu

Click on the desired display mode. The computer will take a few seconds to switch.

You can also repeatedly press [windows] + [P] to cycle through the display modes one by one, which is useful if using navigating the menu is difficult due to impractical display configuration

Selecting display mode on MacOS

To toggle between Extended and Mirroring display modes, you can use the shortcut [Command] + [F1], or [fn] + [Command] + [F1], depending on your computer’s keyboard settings

Alternately, you can click the apple icon in the top menu bar, select “System settings”

Then select “Displays”

Go to the “Arrangement” tab, then check or uncheck “Mirror Displays” as desired

It should take a few seconds for the display mode to switch.

Playing sound through classroom speakers

HDMI, USB-C, and Mini DP all carry digital audio signal, as well as video, so that is the only cable needed to send both audio and video to our audio visual equipment.

When your computer plays sound via it’s built-in speakers or headphone jack, it is processing audio with its built in audio playback device. In order to play sound from an external device, such as speakers connected to your computer via USB, HDMI, or Bluetooth, the computer must switch it’s audio playback device. Often, computers will automatically select an audio playback device when it is connected. However, in some cases, you will need to manually select the audio playback device.

Help, my laptop is playing out of its built in speakers but I want to play audio on the classroom speakers!

Not to worry! If your laptop does not automatically switch to the correct audio device, we will show you how! Once your laptop is plugged in with the audio/video signal connector of your choice, see the instructions for your operating system below:

Windows 11:

Click on the volume icon on the right side of the taskbar, then click the symbol to the right of the volume slider in the menu that pops up (may look different depending on the currently selected audio device)

This will bring up a list of available audio output devices. The correct device for classrooms is usually something like “ExtronScalerD” or “IntelDisplayAudio.” Select whichever one of these comes up. If you are unsure, try selecting them all and seeing if the sound comes out of the classroom speakers. When you select an audio device, it should take no more than a few seconds to output audio to that device. When you have the right device selected, you can click outside of the menu, or press Esc.

Windows 10:

Click on the volume icon on the right side of the taskbar, then click the arrow at the top right of the box that pops up.

This will bring up a list of available audio output devices. The correct device for classrooms is usually something like “ExtronScalerD” or “IntelDisplayAudio.” Select whichever one of these comes up. If you are unsure, try selecting them all and seeing if the sound comes out of the classroom speakers. When you select an audio device, it should take no more than a few seconds to output audio to that device. When you have the right device selected, you can click outside of the menu, or press Esc.

Mac OS:

Click on the Volume icon in the top menu bar, then under the “Output Device” header, select the desired audio device.

The correct device for classrooms is usually something like “ExtronScalerD” or “IntelDisplayAudio.” Select whichever one of these comes up. If you are unsure, try selecting them all and seeing if the sound comes out of the classroom speakers. When you select an audio device, it should take no more than a few seconds to output audio to that device. When you have the right device selected, you can close the system settings window.

What if the classroom’s audio playback device does not appear as an option?

Occasionally, a computer will not have the classroom’s audio device (usually something like “ExtronScalerD” or “IntelDisplayAudio”) listed as an option when you go to select the audio playback device. If this happens, here are several simple steps you can try:

• Unplug the USB-C or HDMI cable going into the lectern from your laptop, then plug back in. See if the audio playback device has switched, or if it is now available to select.

• Reboot your computer

If those steps are unsuccessful, we recommend contacting the service desk.

Help, I can’t hear anything!

If you try to play sound from your laptop and cannot hear anything, first confirm that the correct audio playback device is selected, using the steps above. If the audio playback device is correct and you cannot hear audio playing, here are a few simple steps you can take -

• Confirm that your laptop is displaying on the projector (see section above about displaying laptop on projector)

• Check that your laptop’s volume is unmuted and turned up

• Check the volume on the classroom’s control/touch panel is unmuted and turned up (we recommend toggling the mute button even if it appears to be deselected)

• Some applications, such as web-conferencing apps like Zoom or Teams, media players, or media production software require you to select an audio playback device within the software. If you suspect that this is the culprit, you can play media in your browser such as a youtube video to see if the issue is application specific.

• Windows has an application sound mixer, which can mute audio or change volume for individual apps. This is unlikely to be the issue if you have never used this mixer. To access the volume mixer, right click on the speaker icon in the taskbar, then select “Open Volume Mixer.” Then check the volume/mute for the affected app

If the steps above are unsuccessful, we recommend contacting the service desk.