From mskremote@yahoo.com Fri May 18 21:07:05 2012
Subject:Re: Blinded By The Light

For those that are using laptops live and are suffering adverse stage presence from the light emitted by the laptop screen or might one day be asked to dep in a goth band here are some tips re laptop screen management.

All laptops have a feature where you can adjust the "brightness' of the screen. Most laptops automatically dim the screen when switched from AC to battery power as part of the different power profile settings for AC and battery,

This can also be manually changed by the you using the graphics card utility to change brightness and contrast, just like you can on a TV. These can be adjusted down to a level that suits each user. The lower the brightness setting the less power consumed and it will slow down the normal degradation over time of the display panel brightness. Like TV's these are often set to max to impress when displayed in retail outlets so there is usually plenty of scope to dial down brightness without affecting usability. 

Also I dislike laptop screens that have a sheet of glass over the screen to enhance perceived sharpness. The glass reflects light which can problematic on stage depending on where your laptop is placed in relation to the stage lighting. The standard LCD matte finish is much more practical for live use. 

Cheers

Mark. 

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