The Martin Wood Lecture Theatre Notes for Speakers on the use of the Audio/Visual equipment The new lecture theatre has a suite of AV equipment intended to aid in the presentation of lectures and conferences. This document gives an overview of the facilities available, and brief instructions on how to use the equipment. If you have any queries regarding the operation of the theatre, or any special requirements, please contact the AV technician Keith Riley on (01865) (2)82199. AV Facilities 1. Rotating blackboards there are three columns of rotating blackboards, which use conventional chalk. 2. On either side of the blackboards are two projection screens, where images from the AV system are projected. NOTE: Left and Right in this document, and on controls in the theatre refer to AUDIENCE LEFT and AUDIENCE RIGHT. 3. Data is projected on to these screens by means of two LCD projectors situated at the rear of the theatre in a projection room. The output from these projectors can be switched independently to display any combination of the AV facilities listed below. 4. Above the blackboards is a motorized projection screen, used for displaying conventional slides from two slide projectors with rotating cassettes situated in the projection room. 5. In the centre of the theatre there is a 3m 1m podium, which controls all the AV functions. 6. There is a 1.5m 0.6m demonstration trolley available for use in the theatre. Demonstrations can be set up in the preparation room adjacent to the lecture theatre. The trolley has power sockets, water, gas, air, helium return and exhaust facilities. There is a choice of a wooden flat top, or a 25mm centred M6 optical breadboard. 7. An LCD panel on the podium controls all the AV functions, and full instructions on its use are detailed later in this document. 8. In the podium is a Pentium III PC with 19 monitor, zip drive, DVD player (with DVD software decoder) and 100MB/s Ethernet connection. This is connected to the Department s NT server system, but also has FTP, Telnet, and X Windows for remote access. Software on the computer includes MS Office 2000 professional, Star Office, Adobe Acrobat reader, IE5, MS Media Player 7 and Apple QuickTime player 4. Any software available on the Terminal Server system is also accessible. The PC s screen resolution is set to 1280 1024, to match that of the data projectors. 9. Also on the podium is a Wolfvision visualizer, capable of projecting images of objects such as overheads, paper documents, books and small demonstrations onto the two screens. It is intended that the visualizer becomes the main means of displaying overheads/pictures/small demonstrations in the theatre. 10. There is an SVHS video recorder in the podium. This is capable of displaying British, European and American standard videos. 11. There is also a conventional overhead projector available. 12. SVHS connectors for feeding video from various colour CCD cameras are also available.
Notes on the use of the AV facilities The power on the podium is controlled by a key switch. If this is not present, please contact Keith Riley. Once the key is inserted, turn it 90 degrees anticlockwise to power-up the system. The controls for all the AV facilities are on the sloping panel beneath the glass plate on the podium. The layout of these controls is illustrated below: Raise/Lower Visualizer Raise/Lower Monitor Controls for main theatre lighting levels Controls for lighting the podium and the blackboard Key Switch LCD Control Panel The visualizer and monitor are raised and lowered by scissor lifts controlled by two switches, as illustrated above. Two banks of buttons, whose function will be detailed below, control preset lighting scenes. The LCD panel forms the main control unit, and all the available functions (and screen bitmaps) will also be described later. As a general point, the lamps on the projectors take some time to warm up, and when all lectures are over, should be shut down to preserve lamp life. With this in mind, please pay special attention to the power off routine at the end of this document. Start-up and Closedown Procedures 1. Power up the podium by means of the key switch. 2. The LCD should display the following bitmap at this point:
3. Press the LECTURE LIGHT button to illuminate the Lecture in Progress lights outside the theatre. 4. Lift the panels above the visualizer and/or PC monitor as required, and slide them into their vertical position at the back of the opening, into the slot provided (this will usually have been done for you by the AV technician). Use the raise/lower buttons to place the units in their working position (again, this may already have been done). 5. Press the LCD screen in the centre to take you to the main control menu. This is illustrated below: Press the left and/or right buttons marked VIS to turn on the data projectors to display the visualizer image. The projector lamps need to warm up, so there will be a slight delay before an image appears and the display will change as illustrated below. Display change when VIS (or PC1) buttons are pressed while lamp is warming up. Remote control handset from Wolfvision visualizer. 6. Raise the mirror unit on the visualizer to its working position by pressing the green button in the top left corner and lift the arm until it locks in place. Switch the visualizer on, first by checking that the switch on the back panel is in the ON position, then by using the remote control handset IMAGE ON button pictured above. Position the overhead mirror to bring the viewing area to the centre of the platen. The mirror is critical to the quality of the image you will see. Never let your fingers touch the silvered surface when adjusting it. The ZOOM buttons allow you to fill the display with your overhead image. They are displayed on the handset as
silhouettes of many people (zoom out) and one person (zoom in). The exposure (IRIS buttons) and focus can also be adjusted here. A detailed image of the main control panel on the visualizer may be found at the end of this document. 7. In order to use the computer, open the left cupboard door and press the ON switch. The PC will boot up. To display the PC screen image on the screens press the appropriate PC1 buttons. The mouse is radio controlled, and may have to be switched on (small switch underneath). You may log on using your own NT account, or use a special lecture account (details from Keith Riley). 8. The VHS buttons switch the displays to the Panasonic SVHS video player so that VHS tapes may be viewed. 9. The other buttons control further SVHS devices such as cameras, which you might wish to use. It is best to arrange such special items well in advance of your lecture! 10. The volume buttons control the sound level for the PC or video output. 11. The screen button raises or lowers the central screen. This is done automatically if slides are selected. 12. Two sub-menus are available from the main screen, one marked LIGHTS and one marked SLIDE CONTROL. These will be discussed in detail below. 13. The LECTURE LIGHT button on this display mimics the one on the opening screen and has the same function. 14. When the lecture is over, you may do one of two things. (a) Another lecturer is following you simply switch off the visualizer at the rear panel so that the fans don t suck in any chalk dust whilst the blackboards are cleaned. (b) You are the last person to use the theatre that morning/afternoon. Press the END LECTURE button. This MUST be used to shut down the system. This gives the system time to cool the projector bulbs properly these are VERY EXPENSIVE. You will then see the following display: Once the END LECTURE button has been pressed, it is time to shut down the computer in the usual manner, fold down the visualizer arm (this is a little stiff), lower the units back into the podium and turn off the podium power via the key switch. Replace the covers.
The LIGHTS sub-menu The buttons shown above control the lighting levels. The lights should change automatically to preset levels as the various pieces of equipment are chosen from the main menu. Lecturers may wish to override the system, however, and the buttons in this sub-menu are used as indicated by the buttons above. Press MAIN PAGE to return to the main menu. The buttons mimic those on the light controls found to the left of the LCD panel. The SLIDE CONTROL sub-menu This is used to control the dual slide system. A remote control can also be obtained from Keith Riley. The layout is shown in the figure below: The projectors can be used in coupled mode ( BOTH button), or independently ( SPLIT button). The square of buttons controls the focus and slide movement on the projectors. To return to the main menu, press the MAIN MENU button displayed over the above bitmap. The Light Switches to the Left of the LCD Screen These control the light levels; each button has the function shown in the diagram below. There is also a remote control that mimics the first bank of buttons. Unfortunately this only works when pointed directly at the control panel on the podium.
High Medium Low Low + Podium Off Remote Sensor Board On Board Off Podium On Podium Off Off Zoom Lights Please feel free to contact Keith Riley so that you may have a go at the system during the coming long vacation, in preparation for next term s lectures. General Points on Electronic Presentation using the visualizer/pc The visualizer works best with plain paper (not overheads), so please print out your slides on MATT paper. The minimum font size that shows up well on both the visualizer and the PC is 18 POINT. Please try to avoid any characters in your presentations that are smaller than this. Visualizer Main Display Panel The data down text button should be pressed if you intend to display a large amount of text as it enhances the edges of text and makes it easier to read. R.A. Taylor, June 2000