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How Do I Project a Skype Interview From a Mac Laptop?

We are hosting a live interview with a filmmaker located in another city at our art gallery. We plan to use a MAC laptop, a video projector, and a large screen. What do I need to do to be sure it works and everyone in the audience can see and hear the conversation? Added bonus: Any suggestions regarding how to play the interview simultaneously over Facebook Live? Thank you!
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Heidi

Comments: One Response to “How Do I Project a Skype Interview From a Mac Laptop?”

    8 years ago

    There are many ways to do it. A simple one is to get the right cable to go from your Mac to the video projector. The most recent Macs all use Mini DisplayPort for video out, and the most recent projectors would use HDMI for input. So if that is the case with the devices you have, then a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI cable is what you need. Connect the two, and you are pretty much set. You can mirror the MacBook's screen to the projector, or use the projector as a second screen and put the Skype window there. Those settings are in System Preferences, Displays, but will only show up properly when you have the projector connected and on.
    You could also use an AppleTV and a wifi network to do this.
    As for sound, it depends on what you have there for sound. You can run a standard audio cable from the MacBook to the sound system in the gallery. Then choose Line Out in System Preferences, Sound for that.
    But the real answer to your question of "What do I need to do to be sure it works" is to get this all set up in advance, leave plenty of time to acquire different cables or fix problems, and test it out. Make sure you have it all working, even doing a test Skype call with someone, to know that you have it right. There are so many things that can go wrong -- wrong cables, wifi not good enough for Skype, sound system not adjusted for voice vs background music, etc.
    I suggest you find an audio/video person (friend, neighbor, colleague, etc) to lend a hand if you have never done this before.
    As for doing Facebook live -- you'd need to have software that could go from Skype to FB Live. Not sure if that exists yet as FB Live is so new. You can use OBS to just show the whole screen on FB Live, but that would require a lot of bandwidth to run two video streams at the same time. I would employ an expert to come and help you if you really want to do this.

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