What is a widescreen display?
A widescreen display refers to a display monitor (either one attached to a desktop computer or a laptop screen) that has a "widescreen" aspect ratio, typically 16:9 or 16:10. Up until recently, computer displays had a "full screen" aspect ratio of 4:3. These displays appear closer to a square shape, whereas a widescreen display looks like the screen in a movie theater. The term "widescreen" simply refers to the aspect ratio of the display and does not indicate the type of display (CRT, LCD, plasma, etc. These can all be full screen or widescreen).
"Full screen" 4:3 Displays |
"widescreen" 16:9 Displays |
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Why are we switching to widescreen displays?
Widescreen displays are more cost effective for CIT. When widescreen displays are manufactured, it is cheaper for the materials to be cut in a widescreen aspect ratio. They also allow us to keep up with the current trends and standards in technology.
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When do I get a widescreen display?
Any Calvin employee receiving a new computer workstation will be receiving a widescreen display. This applies to new workstations currently being purchased from Dell, but not newer used equipment being re-deployed.
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How will my widescreen display effect how I create or edit PowerPoint presentations?
If you have received a widescreen display or a widescreen laptop, you do not need to do anything differently. Currently, our Smart Classrooms are still using the full screen aspect ratio of 4:3. Therefore, you should continue creating your PowerPoint presentations in 4:3 mode. This is the default in PowerPoint. When you preview a 4:3 PowerPoint presentation on your widescreen display, you will notice that there are black areas on the right and left sides. However, the projectors, display monitors, and projection screens in the majority our Smart Classrooms are still configured to the 4:3 aspect ratio, so your PowerPoint presentation will look best if left at 4:3.
If you would still like to change your PowerPoint presentation to a widescreen format, Windows users...
- Click the Design tab in the ribbon
- Click Page Setup on the far left
- Change the "Slides sized for:" option to 16:9.
Mac users...
- Select the File menu > Page Setup
- Change "Slides sized for:" to 16:9.
If you save your presentation as 16:9, you can always change it back following the previous instructions and selecting 4:3. You may present a 16:9 PowerPoint presentation in a Smart Classroom, but you will see black areas on the top and bottom. We recommend using the default 4:3 setting even for widescreen display users, to maximize the area of the projection screen being used.
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I am in charge of preparing a PowerPoint presentation that will be shown on a display or screen I know is widescreen format, what do I do?
NOTE: The Fine Arts Center and the Bytwerk Theatre have widescreen projectors. If you know you are making your presentation in one of those locations you should create your presentation in a widescreen format.
If you know for sure that your presentation will be displayed on a widescreen display (either a wallboard, the projection screen in the art history classroom, a widescreen monitor or laptop at an info booth, etc), you will want to create your PowerPoint presentation in widescreen format or change it to this format. If the presentation is already created, you can convert it to the widescreen format.
Windows users...
- Click the Design tab in the ribbon
- Click Page Setup on the far left
- Changed the "Slides sized for:" option to 16:9.
Mac users...
- Click the File menu
- Page Setup
- Change "Slides sized for:" to 16:9.
Be sure to save the presentation again after making this change. Note - be sure to preview the presentation to verify that all the graphics display correctly. Switching from 4:3 to 16:9 will slightly stretch the contents of the presentation. The change to text is barely noticeable, but certain graphics like circular objects might be affected and you may want to manually re-size them after switching to 16:9. If you have not yet created your presentation, change the size to 16:9 first to avoid having to resize graphics.
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My laptop (or my student's laptop) has a widescreen display, how will this effect Smart Classroom usage?
If your laptop or your student's laptop has a widescreen display, you will connect it to the projector as usual (find the VGA cable labeled laptop, connect it to the laptop's VGA out port, if necessary use the correct function key to toggle the projector display on). Our Smart Classroom projectors (with the exception of the art history classroom) are set to the full screen 4:3 aspect ratio. Once your laptop is connected, as long as you have the correct video driver installed, your laptop should automatically adjust its own aspect ratio and display resolution to match that of the projector. You may see your laptop display flicker and then settle on a resolution that looks large and/or grainy on the laptop, but it should look correct on the projected image. When you disconnect the VGA cable, the laptop will return to its previous resolution with a widescreen aspect ratio. If it is not working, verify that the correct display driver is installed.
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Will we have widescreen displays in the Smart Classrooms?
We will not be deploying widescreen display monitors in Smart Classrooms during the 2008-2009 academic year. This is because our projection screens are all full screen 4:3 aspect ratio, so projecting a widescreen image means that less of the screen is used and the overall image is smaller. Also, some of our projectors are not compatible with displaying widescreen resolutions.
Some Smart Classrooms already contain iMac computers with widescreen displays, but the display resolution has been configured to a full screen aspect ratio (hence why you will see black areas on the right and left sides of these displays).
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