Phoenix Phiesta XXXVI: “Ph⨀⨀lin' with Phriends”

Slide Presentation Guidelines


Greater Phoenix Mensa Provided System
Speakers who need to present slides as part of their presentation will be provided access to a projector with built-in mono speaker, Windows laptop, slide changing remote with laser pointer , power strip and screen. Use of that system simply requires providing to us a Microsoft Powerpoint file (.PPT or .PPTX) by email or cloud file sharing in advance or at the time of presentation on a Windows-readable USB thumb drive or SD Card. The full specifications of that system are detailed below. We will use Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer to play the slide show.

If you have any questions about our setup or use of your own laptop, contact our Webmaster, Dave Pivin.


Epson EX7240 Pro WXGA (1280 × 800) Projector
• Video Inputs: HDMI, VGA, S-Video and Composite
• Audio Inputs: HDMI and analog RCA Audio.
• Audio speaker for room-wide mono-audio
• Remote control
• More Details in User Manual HERE.
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Lenovo IdeaPad 110-15IBR w/15.6” Display
• Windows 10
• Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Connected to the Internet via Hotel WiFi or GPM Hotspot for YouTube or other streaming content.
• DVD Player
• USB 2 and 3 port for thumb drive with speaker’s presentation or slide clicker.
• Support for Google Slides, OpenOffice and LibreOffice Open Document formats.
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Ruby Presenter Pointer VP4590
• Wireless via USB dongle connection to computer
• Acts as remote mouse
• Laser pointer
• Slideshow control
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Presenter Provided Laptop
You may use your own laptop if you prefer. For Windows Laptop, connection to the projector is best done via HDMI cable that will support both video and audio. Connection by VGA cable is supported and we provide the cable, but sound may be connected via a headphone plug to your laptop to RCA audio jack on the projector that we will provide.

Support for Apple laptops is limited. We provide an HDMI cable that can connect directly to an HDMI port if available. We have one Apple DisplayPort to VGA adapter that must be reserved in advance of your presentation. You will have to provide your own adapter for other Apple connections like DVI, USB-C or Thunderbolt.

If you have any questions about our setup or use of your own laptop, contact our Webmaster, Dave Pivin.

How to Prepare Your Presentation
Presentation setups may be checked in advance from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM or during Lunch Break on the day of the session. Coordinate this with Program Chairperson. Presentations may be sent via email if small enough or linked to shared cloud file for advanced availability and review. We can store locally and check performance with our setup in advance. A thumb drive is provided in the presentation room so that we can transfer presentations from your laptop to ours.

Microsoft PowerPoint VIewer supports any PowerPoint presentation done with PowerPoint 97 or later. That also includes any presentation files exported into PPTX format by Apple Keynote, OpenOffice, LibreOffice or Google Slides.

Some advanced presentation features like animations and videos created in non-Microsoft tools may have issues when converted to PPT format. It is best to review performance on your own computer using the free Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer before attempting to use our system in the basic configuration. We will be happy to connect your computer to our projector assuming we can complete the physical connections described above.

Use of a handheld or lavalier microphone is typically not required for the room size we have. The projector’s speaker has demonstrated adequate volume with input provided via HDMI or audio cable from the computer's headphone jack. High quality stereo performance is not supported in the basic setup but may be arranged with advance notice.

If you have any questions about our setup or use of your own laptop, contact our Webmaster, Dave Pivin.

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