Johnno Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Has anyone used one of those devices that plug into a USB socket and drive a second screen with a laptop? I set up uncomplicated PPT presentations and often get asked for sound accompaniment and was thinking that if I make the video projector the second screen I will be able to manipulate the sound files on the laptop's own screen. The PPT is usually advanced by a USB remote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 With most laptops, you should be able to do this without an external interface - just set up the existing vga output to be an extended desktop, not clone, and set your powerpoint to display presentations on that screen. You then use "presenter view", so the local display shows current slide, next slide and notes, and any other applications, while the projector shows just the slide. One "gotcha" is that if you are running in this mode, and you start to use another application (eg your audio player) then powerpoint will lose keyboard/mouse focus - so pressing the "next" button on your remote may not work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timtheenchanteruk Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 also one to be aware of is to set the external display to number one, otherwise any video embedded in your powerpoint will not show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peternewman Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 However be aware as soon as you set a display to number one, it will generally be the default location for any dialogs. Catch 22! Some graphics cards allow configuration of video rendering independently of screen numbering I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slim_mcslim Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 back to the OP's original question about the USB.... I have one of these USB video devices, and they are not as good as they are advertised, however they are pretty cool if you want to do fairly static powerpoint, doesn't seem to handle animated transitions too well, and doesn't seem to play video as well as some of the websites that sell them say it does. However for £60 they are pretty cool and a great way of getting an external output out of devices with no more connectors, you will need administrator access to the machine to install the driver software though, even works a treat on vista and win 7. But back to what other people have said, is it is very easy to lose "focus" when running powerpoint multiple monitored and getting it back often means clicking in the presentation window, which is ok, but has the effect of advancing the slide!!! P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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