Suggestions for good presentation setups between laptop and huge LCD TV...

[YeOldeStonecat]

...as title says..
Client wishes to move away from the old projector type setup...and using the laptop to spit the image up on a big LCD TV they mounted on the wall of their conference room.

A wireless setup would be desired. I'll look at the TV today...guessing it has at least a VGA port..plus a DVI port...if not also an HDMI port.

They would like to do powerpoint presentations, web ex training stuff, and watch DVDs.

They have a number of Lenovo laptops, mostly ultra portables..but I know they have one honking nice T43 model...I'll see if it has DVI output.

 

[ambientZ]

Data projectors are the more flexible choice - they handle various computer resolutions well.

If you are lucky the LCD is 1080P and supports a 1:1 pixel model to eliminate overscan. If its "720P" good luck with it the panels are usually 1366x768 and don't always have a 1:1 mode.

The scaling modes / resolution support may be different between the inputs, so if dvi/hdmi doesnt work try the vga input instead.

I use a dvi->hdmi cable with my set.

 

[Nate7311]

Most laptop and desktop video cards/driver combos will at least support a true 720HD (i or p) format at 1280x720. Even the 720p LCD's look pretty passable beyond 2 or 3 feet. I'm guessing this resolution would probably give the best mix of decent size + clarity, but that's totally dependant on the size of the room this has to display to. Obviously if you have the resolution too high, then reading text, gets to be a real issue.

As far as wireless transmission goes, that's fairly pricey. Linksys used to make a wireless network box specifically for this application. I'm trying to track it down to see if it'd work. Edit: This MIGHT work: CLICK

Other wise, here's some ideas for wireless VGA HERE. One other possibility is DVI over Cat5/6, HERE. I've used VGA over Cat5 kits in the past and they work well enough for low/mid resolution displays (1024 max), but haven't had a need to touch DVI/Cat6 yet

If you are lucky the LCD is 1080P and supports a 1:1 pixel model to eliminate overscan. If its "720P" good luck with it the panels are usually 1366x768 and don't always have a 1:1 mode.

The only Card/Driver that I've ever seen/heard work well and reliably at 1:1 on a 1366x766-768 panel is the older Radeon cards. Those are scarce now. There're ways to get almost any card to ouput close to that, but not reliably.

 

[athlon1.2]

I don't know why everyone talks about those sort of issues. I have 2 720P dell TVs, I plug the VGA port from my laptop, from my old Radeon 9600 card or the onboard HD3200 graphics and it always detects it as the right resolution 1366x768 or somesuch and the output looks perfect, even up close. No bluryness or any sort of distortion. So maybe the TVs you guys have used don't have proper inputs?

Anyways OP: Does it need to be wireless. The Best solution is going to be just run VGA or DVI wires to where they want the laptop. Anyone plugs in press the hotkey and it switches to external display. The IBMs have decent software for managing screen resolution profiles.