Setting-up the Toshiba A200-1VG Laptop and Canon XEED SX60 for XGA Images

Introduction

The Toshiba supports a limited range of screen sizes on its external monitor port. Those I have discovered are: 640 x 480; 800 x 600; 1024 x 768; 1280 x 800; 1280 x 1024; and 1600 x 1200.

The Toshiba’s native screen mode is 1280 x 800. Unfortunately the Canon SX60 does not include this in its very large repertoire. (See page 118 of the SX60 user Guide.)

Therefore if you set the Toshiba into mirroring mode, the Canon chooses its next lower available input mode which is 1024 x 768. It maps the central part of the screen to the projector, and then rescales it to give a very sharp representation of XGA at full SXGA+ resolution.

I have checked this out with the Projector set-up routine included in DiCentra, and find the projection is flawless. So if we set up a DiCentra competition as XGA, and check the projector with the setup routine we should get a superb show.

Set-up

Plug the Canon SX60 to the mains, remove the lens cap, and press the red power button on the top. In about 30 seconds you should get a blue screen.

Connect the DVI-VGA monitor cable to the DVI socket on the SX60.

Connect the VGA end of the cable to the Toshiba VGA output socket at left-side rear.

Boot the Laptop.

Use the zoom control on the SX60 or the remote to fit the image to the screen, and adjust the position of the image up and down with the drop-down foot, if necessary.

Use the Auto Set button next to the power button to set up the projector. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Put the laptop into mirroring mode by holding down <Fn> and pressing <F5> to get this display at the top of screen:

Toshiba1.jpg

While holding down <Fn> tap <F5> to hop through the options: laptop; mirroring LCD+CTR; external only; extended desktop 1-2; and its swap over 2-1; and then back to laptop only. You want the second option LCD+CTR as shown, to mirror the laptop on the projector screen. Release the function keys when you are there. Both screens may flash on and off several times for what seems a long time. (Relax! This is Windows trying to worry you.)

You should now see the desktop on the both screens.

Use DiCentra’s Projector Setup routine Competition>Set up Projector to inspect the image quality. Check the focus carefully, using the Focus control on the remote. The up and down arrows give coarse adjustment, and then the left and right ones allow fine adjustment, with single taps. You should be able to see the individual pixels of text in the XGA image if you are close up to the screen. The default Canon settings seem to give very good tonal range in the small hall with little compression at either end.

The Canon Menu Settings are shown below. First we have Display Settings. Note that the command Input Signal Select is greyed out because of the mapping that the Canon has done by itself. You’ll find that the next item is also a dead end, for the same reason.

Toshiba2.jpg

In this second screen Image Adjustment you want sRGB as the Image Mode.

Toshiba3.jpg

And the Systems Settings pane:

Toshiba4.jpg

To be enhanced as we learn more.

© Michael Wood, 29 October 2008

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