How to
Display a Video Signal on the Large Flat TV
The large Toshiba flat screen TV monitor in the meeting room can function as either a computer
monitor (accepting signals through a VGA jack) or as a TV monitor (accepting analog signals through
a coax connector). The monitor is switched between modes using software controls from a computer
attached to a serial (RS-232) port. As I write this, we have the computer configured with two monitors.
If you are using the Toshiba as the only monitor for the same computer that controls the screen, and
you switch to video mode, you lose your computer monitor and will have difficulty switching it back to
computer monitor mode.
1. Open the small door at the bottom front left corner of the monitor. You can simply pry it open
with a key or even your fingernail. Connect a video feed cable to the monitor. The monitor
uses a BNC connector. This is the same type connector as the StellaCam uses. If you are
leading the cable from the coax wall jack, which is an 'F' type connector, you will need either a
special cable with F type at one end and BNC at the other end, or you will need an F to BNC
adapter.
Illustration 1: Location of the
access panel
Illustration 3: Location of the
coax wall jack. This leads to the
observatory dome and the
library.
Illustration 2: Coax BNC
connector on the left with a
cable in place. Power switch is
on the right but hard to see.
Illustration 4: A BNC
connector
2. Turn the Toshiba monitor on using the rocker switch above the power cable near the VGA cable
inside the bottom of the monitor. You should hear a cooling fan start up inside the monitor.
3. Boot the computer connected to the monitor. Launch the program called 'Video Wall
Controller'. This will open a window as shown below. You should see the same window open
on the second monitor. You may have to scroll around on the second monitor to find the Video
Wall Control window. Make sure you have this window on the second, subsidiary monitor
so that you will still be able to see it when the Toshiba flat screen goes to video mode.
Click on the button labeled 'VIDEO1'. The monitor will go blank, a label will appear in the
upper left corner saying 'VIDEO', after about a 5 second pause the video image will appear
(assuming the StellaCam or other video source is active).
4. When you are done using it as a TV monitor, return to the 'Video Wall Controller' window and
click on the button labeled 'RGB1'. The video image will disappear from the screen and there
will be a pause of a few seconds with a label 'RGB' in the upper left corner of the screen, then
the computer desktop will reappear.