Why does my video look bad?

We have had several issues in this first week of school with pictures, documents, or videos that look fine on your computer, but then they look bad when they are projected onto a screen.  Do you remember trying to see the pictures on the Harford Day home page during our opening meetings in the library?

Have you asked CyberHead to set up a projector for you in the MS Commons or the MPR only to find out that it looks blurry or is too dark? Well, maybe you didn't do anything wrong, but it's still not something we can fix.

The basic answer is that things look different on computer screens than they look when projected onto a screen. When you see something on your computer, you are looking at direct, illuminated light. But, when you use a projector and a screen, you are looking at reflected light off the screen.  If you are creating content to show to an audience, either your class or a faculty meeting, there are some basic lessons to remember.

• Most pictures projected onto a screen will look darker than they did on your computer screen. If brightness is critical, test it on a projector before your actual presentation.
• When you are creating slides or documents, always start with black text on a white background. Remember that you are displaying content and you want people to read without eye strain. You are not trying to impress people with fancy fonts and colored backgrounds.
• You computer screen probably has a more detailed resolution than what you see displayed from a projector. Text that looks fine on your computer will look fuzzy during a presentation. If you are printing onto paper, use a serif font such as Times New Roman for the best look. But, that same font looks fuzzy during a presentation. When displaying text on a computer screen or from a projector, you should use a sans serif font such as Arial.
• People will develop eye strain much faster when looking at a screen compared to reading from a printed sheet of paper. Use a larger font that you think is necessary and write in short, but complete, sentences. If you have entire paragraphs for your audience read, either distribute printed copies, send it by email before the class, or display it on the screen and step aside quietly and allow your audience to read to themselves.

The basic takeaway message is that things look different on your computer screen than they do when displayed from a projector during a presentation. The HDS Tech Team can guide you toward reducing problems, but we can't fix bad design. Test your presentation or your video on a projector in time to make changes if things don't look right.

~The HDS Tech Team

This message is archived with other tech tips at the CyberGofer blog.