Audio-Visual Information for Faculty and Guest Speakers at SFSU

Contact your speaker at least 10 days before their presentation to allow time to make reservations and iron out any details. Waiting until the day before they arrive can cause problems with equipment availability.

All reservations must be made by SFSU faculty and must be signed out in person with a current SFSU faculty ID card.

Make sure they arrive with plenty of time to find parking, get to the classroom and set up for their presentation.

When you contact your Guest, ask them the following questions:

What kind of equipment will you need? Computer, Internet access, Video, Audio?

Computer:

Do they have their own laptop?

If yes, make sure they bring any adapters to connect to an XGA projector. We can project up to 1024x768 resolution. Make sure they bring their ac adapter.

If no, you will need to provide a laptop available from the AV Center. Call AV at 81494 to reserve the unit as far in advance as possible.

Ask them:

• Mac or PC?
• What program and version are they using? (Some files may not open if we have an older version of the software)
• Do they need any special hookups for audio playback?
• How much time will they need to set up?
• Advise them to bring a backup of their presentation on a flash drive in case something goes wrong with their laptop.

Internet:

All AV computers are set up to access the internet from a classroom. Please ask for an ethernet cable when you check out the laptop. We use network connections (ethernet) so they will need to configure their laptop for our system and bring an ethernet cable or have you check one out. This can be complicated and a phone call to the Division of Information Technology would be a good idea 415-338-1420. Wireless access is available in some classrooms, but the signal may not be strong enough.

Video:

Are they bringing a VHS tape or DVD?

• The AV Center has portable VHS or DVD Players to attach to the TV in your classroom. Call AV at 81494 to reserve a unit. Allow 15 minutes to hook it up and test the playback before your class starts. Remind them that some players cannot read DVD-R discs.

Overhead or Slides:

• The AV Center has units you can check out. No advance reservations required. Just come to the Distribution Office in BH 24 with your faculty card and check one out.

Audio:

• The AV Center has CD/cassette players available for checkout. No advance reservations required. Just come to the Distribution Office in BH 24 with your faculty card and check one out.
• All large lecture halls have wireless microphones installed.

If you or your speaker have any questions please call Laurie Sosna at 415-338-1492.

Classroom Services