AV support
IT Services maintain the audio-visual (AV) equipment in centrally bookable rooms. Use the the room booking system to check what equipment is in each lecture theatre or seminar room.
If you're hosting an event at the University, visit the AV support for conferences and events pages for more information.
How to use the AV equipment
Contact the IT Service Desk if you need help setting up AV equipment for teaching or meetings or to request a training session.
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Turn the system on and off, and select which media you'd like to display.
There are two types of control panel in teaching rooms, one with a touchscreen and one with buttons.
Touchscreen control panel
Button control panel
What to press
- Display on and off turns the projector on and off.
- PC allows you to use the classroom PC in the room. Log in with your University credentials.
- HDMI displays your laptop screen and play audio from your laptop once you plug in the cable.
- VCR (video players), DVD and Blu-Ray let you display videos to the projector. Make sure the device is switched on before you try to display it. You'll usually find it under the desk in the cupboard and the remote controls will be on the desk.
- Doc Cam lets you display documents to the projector. Controls like freeze, focus and zoom are on the Doc Cam device.
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- Turn the projector on by pressing the display On button. The projector will take around 20 seconds to turn on.
- Plug the HDMI cable on the desk into your laptop. You may need an adaptor if your laptop doesn't have an HDMI port.
- Press the HDMI button on the control panel.
- If you're using Windows and your screen isn't displaying, hold Window key + P to change the project settings on your laptop.
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Every classroom has a PC for presenters to use.
If you're working on your presentation beforehand, save it to your home drive or OneDrive so you can easily access it when you arrive at the classroom.
- Switch on the classroom PC.
- Press the PC button on the control panel, even if it's highlighted already.
- You may need to move the mouse to wake it up.
- When you're finished, press Display Off.
Presenter view
Presenter view lets you view your notes on the classroom PC, while the audience views the notes-free presentation on the display screen. You can find out more about it on the Microsoft Office website.
- Once you're logged in, hold the Windows key and P key on the keyboard.
- Click Extend.
- Open your PowerPoint presentation.
- Type F5 on your keyboard to begin your presentation.
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Use the document camera to display printed documents to the projector.
- Switch the doc cam on.
- Press the doc cam button on the control panel.
- You'll find the zoom, focus, and freeze buttons on the device.
- Switch off the doc cam when you're finished.
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- Press the Display On button on the control panel.
- Ensure the DVD or VCR is switched on.
- Press the DVD/VCR button on the control panel.
- The remote control handsets for the DVD and Video Player Image Video players will be on the desk.
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Use camera controls and presets on the extron control panel to adjust the camera. In lecture theatres, you don't need to touch the camera itself.
Camera controls
If you touch the extron control panel, a new option 'Camera controls' appears on the main menu.
Camera controls allows you to move the camera angle up, down, left and right.
Presets
There are also presets which you can use to switch angles more easily. For example, option 1 capture you at the lecturn and option 2 captures the whiteboard. Check what each preset captures when you enter the class.
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All the microphones in the room feed into the same audio source. This means that once you've selected the room system as an audio input in Panopto or Teams, every microphone in the room will capture sound. This includes the following microphones:
- lecturn
- tie-clip
- handheld
- shotgun (new)
This allows you to switch between microphones during your class without needing to adjust the audio settings on the computer.
Shotgun microphone
The shotgun microphone extends towards the audience. This means in-person student contributions will be captured during a Panopto recording, webcast or Teams meeting.
If you're holding a tutorial in a lecture theatre and would like to split your students into smaller groups during class, mute the room audio on Teams while they have their discussions.
Video guides
This quick guide shows you how to use the AV equipment in teaching spaces. It covers how to connect your laptop, display content, and adjust the volume and camera controls.
To begin, tap anywhere on the control panel, then choose what you want to display — for example, your laptop.
Connect your own laptop using the cable provided.
If you want to use your laptop with Panopto or Teams, also connect the clear silver USB cable.
Use the volume controls to adjust or mute audio.
To display physical documents, select Doc Cam on the control panel.
Open the document camera, place your document down, and use zoom, freeze, or focus so your class can follow along on the big screen while you write.
If your teaching space has a Blu‑ray player, you can display it by selecting Blu‑ray on the control panel.
To display the teaching PC, select PC.
Sign in by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete and entering your password.
To record the lecture using Panopto:
• Open Panopto from the desktop
• Sign in
• Select a room camera from the video drop‑down
• Adjust the camera controls on the panel
To check that the extended screen is shown on the projector, hold Windows + P.
Select Extend to use presenter notes or Duplicate to mirror your screen.
You can adjust the camera view using pan, tilt, zoom, or select presets for common teaching positions.
To use the microphones, undock and switch them on so the light turns green.
Adjust microphone audio using the control panel.
For IT assistance during your class, tap Help and contact AV Support on extension 3674.
When you’re finished, tap System Shutdown and confirm to turn off the system.
If you have an upcoming lecture and would like to book training or request support with setup, please contact the IT Service Desk.
This video outlines how to set up a hybrid teaching session within a teaching space, allowing you to bring together students who are attending both in person and online.
To get started press the on button on the classroom control panel to power up the teaching equipment.
Once the system has started log into the classroom pc using your university username and password.
After logging in you'll be ready to launch Teams and begin your hybrid teaching session.
Before your class begins aim to join the Teams meeting around 10 minutes early.
This gives you time to check that your microphone, camera and screen sharing are all working as expected.
To share your screen select the share button, screen window or tab and click entire screen.
As students join the session welcome both those in the room and online.
This helps create an inclusive learning environment and provides a quick opportunity to check that everyone can hear and see clearly.
Optionally you can monitor the Teams chat on a separate device or display it on the pc.
The room cameras can be adjusted to suit the needs of your session allowing you to switch between an eagle eye or front camera view.
During activities it can be helpful to turn off your camera and microphone giving you the flexibility to support the students in the classroom and blocking background noise for those joining online.
Hybrid teaching helps you connect with students whether they are in the room or joining online.
With little preparation and practice you can build confidence in using the technology and creating an engaging learning experience for everyone.
If you would like further support on how to set up technology for hybrid teaching contact our IT service desk and we can arrange one-to-one support.
Written AV guides
Each teaching room should have a printed guide explaining how to use the AV equipment. If there isn't a guide, please let the IT Service Desk know.