April 2016 – Mind-Objects

Set up Your Android Tablet for Presentations and Meetings

You have a tablet running Android and want to optimize your device for presentations?

The follwing settings (with links to further posts with detailed information) will boost your experience – and the one of your audience of course.

What you need are the following devices:

Your Android tablet (we used these devices)
A device for screen mirroring (we use and reommend an HDMI Dongle but there are alternatives)

Prepare your Tablet for Screen Sharing

Optimize your notification panel for Screen Mirroring
(Samsung Galaxy NotePro and Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition) Deselect the option “Multiwindow” to prevent the sidebar from distracting your work – just enable it on demand through the notification panel
Enable “Show Touches” for your audience, so that they see what you are doing
If you want to share your Mind-Objects screen in online-meetings you can use the App Cisco WebEx Meetings (or connect your tablet to a PC or MAC using SideSync and then use any online-meeting software to share the respective window showing the tablet screen)

Further UI Tweaks

Set your screen-timeout to 10 minutes for undistracted work with your tablet (settings > device > display)
(Samsung devices only) Disable S-Pen detachment options (German “Entnahmeoptionen”) by selecting “none” (in settings > controls > pen detachment options)
(Samsung devices only) If you are not using the S-Pen button functions and accidently pressing the button, you can disable the S-Pen button (settings > controls > S Pen > and disable “Air Command” (German S Pen-Befehle). Sidenote: the Tab A 9.7 has an improved S-Pen where you can’t press the button by accident that easy – so you won’t need to disable this funtion.
(Samsung NotePro) If you don’t need the “Magazine Screen” you can disable it like shown by a video from lawmanfj

Prepare for Content Sharing (using Mind-Objects)

Setup your e-mail account on the tablet (go to settings > general > accounts > e-mail) to be able to send screenshots directly out of Mind-Objects
If you don’t have an internet connection available you can also share your screenshots via Bluetooth or USB-Cable with other devices

Conclusion

With the settings above you are all set for using Mind-Objects in your daily work. If you are new to your website: check out our page about Mind-Objects.

We are happy to answer any of your questions – !

Screenmirroring – how to connect your Samsung Note Tablet with any kind of projector, TV or Screen

You have a Samsung GALAXY Note Tablet (e.g. GALAXY Tab A 9.7, GALAXY Note 10.1. (2014 Edition) or GALAXY NotePRO) and want to connet it with a projector, TV or any other screen?

There are several ways to do that. Since most of todays projectors, TVs or screens have either an HDMI or VGA connector we focus on solutions for these two.

We propose the three best ways for each in this article.

Solutions for HDMI

If your desired target screen has an HDMI connector, your best options are (in descending order):

	Link to our step by step how-to	Required Prerequisites	Pros	Cons
Best Option	Use an HDMI Dongle	HDMI Dongle (e.g. Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter or similar)	our favorite option – best screen quality, no cable – so you can walk around during presentations works all devices we tested	(may sometimes show a dark screen when you are not interacting with the tablet)
Second Choice	How-to: AllShare Link Cast Dongle	Samsung EAD-T10E Link Cast Dongle	our second favorite option – best screen quality, no cable – so you can walk around during presentations	may not work with every HDMI cable sind the version of the standard may be a different one – try to use the cable which comes with the Dongle when you can to prevent any problems
Third Choice	How-to: SideSync	Laptop (Windows or Mac OS) Samsung SideSync software (free)	the software SideSync is free and since most people have a Laptop with them, no further Hardware is required	you have to carry a second device next to your tablet the screen quality using the WIFI connection with SideSync is not as good as the one with the USB cable using the USB-cable limits your mobility
Back-Up Choice	MHL-Adapter	MHL-Adapter for the USB Port of your tablet	easy to use, reliable	your mobility is restricted due to the cables attached to your tablet

Solutions for VGA

If your desired target screen has an VGA connector, things get more complicated. But it is still possible: you basically have the same options as above, but you have to use a VGA converter in combination with the first two options:

	Links to step by step solutions	Required Prerequisites	Pros	Cons
Option 1	Wireless Screen Sharing for Android Devices with VGA	Samsung EAD-T10E Link Cast Dongle VGA Converter	no cables attached to your tablet – best mobility	getting the connection to your target screen is tricky because you need to know the exact timing when to connect the cables during the connection process
Option 2	Screen Sharing for Android Devices using a VGA Cable	MHL-Adapter for the USB Port of your tablet VGA Converter	easy to use, reliable	your mobility is restricted due to the cables attached to your tablet
Option 3: Workaround using a Laptop	How-to: SideSync	Laptop (Windows or Mac OS) with port or adapter for VGA Samsung SideSync software (free)	the software SideSync is free and since most people have a Laptop with them, no further Hardware is required	you have to carry a second device next to your tablet the screen quality using the WIFI connection with SideSync is not as good as the one with the USB cable using the USB-cable limits your mobility

More options

For screen mirroring we also use the Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter V2. The setup is as easy as using the Samsung AllShare Link Cast Dongle and our tablets showed the adapter in the notification panel as well. The Wireless Display Adapter does seem to work with any HDMI-cable which makes it even more reliable as the AllShare.

We also tried the Google Cromecast with an HDMI port (may also work with an VGA Converter but we din’t try yet). Our experience was mixed: while mirroring the screen from the tablet to a TV the screen froze after a few minutes. Further the chromecast only works when connected to a local WLAN – which may not be available at every location you visit.

Of course there are further options, we didn’t try yet so we can’t say anything out of experience right now:

Amazon Fire TV Stick (HDMI, may also work with an VGA Converter)
Connect to projectors or screens with a built-in Miracast protocol (should work directly without any adaptors or dongles)

Any questions? !

Wireless Screen Sharing for Android Devices with VGA

Sometimes you want to give a presentation or moderate a meeting in a building where no HDMI projector can be found – only VGA devices are available.

Another situation might be, that the HDMI cable coming from the projector is built into the wall and does not work wiht your AllShare Link Cast Dongle (e.g. it has the wrong HDMI standard).

In both cases you are stuck with the “good old” VGA. How can you start your screen mirroring anyway?

There are two solutions: a wireless one we describe here and another one using a cable (see Screen Sharing for Android Devices using a VGA Cable).

What you need

Samsung GALAXY Note Tablet (e.g. Tab A 9.7, Note 10.1. (2014 Edition) or NotePRO)
Samsung AllShare EAD-T10E Link Cast Dongle
a VGA compatible display or projector
a VGA converter (we used a Ligawo 6518829 HDMI to VGA converter and scaler)

How to Connect your Tablet to a VGA Device (typically an old Projector)

Working with a VGA converter is a bit tricky – the order and timing in which you have to connect the different cables is essential. The working solution we tested is the following:

Connect your AllShare Link Cast Dongle to a power source – do NOT connect the HDMI cable to the converter (just to the Dongle)
Connect the converter via VGA to the projector and to a power source
Start the screen mirroring on your tablet (like shown in our how-to using HDMI), then do the following:
1. Wait until the LED on the Dongle lights up in blue (steady – not blinking!) – then wait aprox. 2 seconds…
2. …and connect the HDMI cable to the converter

Now you should have a wireless connection to the projector. At the beginning you have to practice a little to adjust the timing.

Once the connection is established, you can even switch to another source on the projector and back or remove the VGA cable from the projector temporarily without loosing the connection between the Dongle and tablet. This way you can hook up the connection before a session and then give other speakers the stage in the meantime. Try to not disconnect the tablet with the dongle (e.g. don’t shut down the WLAN) before you finished your presentation.

Have a good presentation or meeting!

If you have any questions or need furhter information please use the comments below or . We are happy to help you!

Month: April 2016

Set up Your Android Tablet for Presentations and Meetings

Prepare your Tablet for Screen Sharing

Further UI Tweaks

Prepare for Content Sharing (using Mind-Objects)

Conclusion

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