Video and data projection

Why is my projector displaying compressed XGA instead of true SVGA when my laptop resolution is set to SVGA?

This is a very common problem. If you are using your laptop in simultaneous display mode, there is probably nothing wrong with your computer or your projector. (By simultaneous mode, we mean you have an image on both the projector and the laptop screen.) To solve your problem, use the proper keyboard command to turn off your laptop’s screen. This may not be convenient for your presentation, but it is the only solution. If you still need a display besides the projected image, you will have to use a signal splitter and a small computer monitor. United Visual’s rental or sales department can supply these items to you.

Explanation: If your laptop’s built-in screen is XGA (1024 x 768), no matter what resolution you select in Windows 95/98, the computer is still really sending out an XGA signal. A laptop screen is incapable of displaying anything less than its full size, so the screen simulates SVGA (800 x 600) resolution by surrounding the image with a black frame. (On some laptops, an image stretching utility makes the image fill the screen, but again, it is still sending out an XGA signal to do this.)

Unfortunately, your laptop computer can only output one resolution at a time to both the internal screen and external display. Therefore, if the laptop’s screen is turned on, you will always be sending an XGA signal out of the external port, regardless of what the Windows settings say. When you turn off the laptop’s built-in screen, the external port will switch to the true resolution that you have chosen in the Windows 95/98 settings.