Projected images too dark

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Level 1

90 points

Projected images too dark

Presenting in mirrored display mode from various software including Vectorworks, iPhoto, Preview, PPT. Some projectors display images (eg in iPhoto) unreadably dark. There is usually no opportunity to test or research the projector before the presentation. Different venues, different projectors, no time to adjust - walk into the room, plug into the projector and start the presentation. Projector brightness control can help some, but images get washed out. Clicking through Mac profiles is usually not possible as the audience waits. Have not tested all, but no good ones yet. Usually in mirror mode because working in the software requires eyes on laptop - Vectorworks, mouse, tool palettes, etc.

Any tips to adjust things for good image quality while the audience looks on?
Would reboot while connected help?
Troubleshooting guides for presenters?

Any help appreciated.

-B

MBP 17" 2.5GHz, Mac OS X (10.6.5), 4 GB RAM

Posted on Mar 14, 2011 9:41 PM

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Answer 1

Apr 4, 2011 9:15 AM in response to Benson Shaw

I am experiencing the same thing. PPT and Keynote presentations are ok, but as soon as I have an image or video it is too dark. I have tried adjusting the projector, but that is really the wrong solution as images are fine from a Windows PC and other sources. I have tried adjusting the Gamma on the Mac video out, but that has left me with unsatisfactory results as well.

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Answer 2

PeterNn

Level 1

0 points

Apr 15, 2011 8:13 AM in response to Eric Myers2

I also have the same problem, which is very annoying, since all my colleagues (using a PC) show nice pictures and videos and mine are just not recognizable! The good display of the MacBook Pro can not compensate for such a flaw, as what counts is how your presentation looks like when you project it.
I have observed this problem many times with different projectors and Macs, so it is a general problem.

I changed the VGA color setting, as well as the projector contrast and brightness but it does not improve things much - objects from such as boxes, lines and text on color look normal, but any picture inserted into the presentation looks very dark and with low contrast (also true for videos). And the nice backgrounds in Keynote just do not look nice any more when you project them....

would be happy to hear some ideas or solutions if there are any 🙂

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