Can Sony Vaio Z drive a projector as 2nd monitor?

Hi,

Just wondering if the Sony Vaio Z can drive a projector as a 2nd monitor? I need to do some work and on the move yearly, so having a compact projector would be better than carrying a monitor when moving.

 

I dunno about the Z, but the Sony Z hasn't been reported to have any issues with just one extended/clone display...


Unrelated, but my Sony SC works with a Casio XJ A240 (which was more expensive then the SC ).

 

Why not? As long as the projector supports VGA or HDMI, it shouldn't care how or what the projector does with the information. I know the Z11 will work, not sure which you're asking about but i'm 99.99% sure the Z2 will work too.

 

I use a projector with my Z1 almost every day. It even works in 3D!

 

Wow 3d, crazy, I was thinking of picking up a portable PK301 projector. Will gaming take a hit if I use a projector? Or should I use it as a main projector and disable my computer one when gaming?

 

Games would run faster on a cheap 720P projector, they won't look as good as they would on the Z screen but they would be bigger.

I have an Acer H5360, works with nVidia 3D Vision and it cost $500.
It is only 720P but it looks pretty good, and I can play 3D Blu-ray from my computer.

 

No problem keeping the panel on, but arrange things so that the game only plays on one screen, in your case, the projector. You might have to set the projector as your primary display before launching the game. For best results set your LCD panel back as the primary display before turning off the projector.

 

I usually just use Win+P to switch to projector only. When I am done projecting I just rip the HDMI cable out and it switches back to the internal display. I often undock the same way, just rip the Z off the dock and it figures out what do do. I make sure that I don't have any USB hard drives doing stuff first of course.

I guess I might wonder... if you were playing a game why you'd want the Z display on at all? I don't play games, but when I have the projector plugged in to watch a movie I always shut the Z display off.

 

I get some kind weird message when I put on projector only, it has something to do with my power media dock, I also got horrible FPS when trying to play with 2 monitors on. Any tips?

 

If the game needs to be rendered on both displays you can expect a performance hit. The game should be playing only on one display - which one is your choice.

Try to get a better look at the message and tell us here; we might be able to help you figure it out.

 

I didn't realize you were using a Z2... There are a couple modes for the Z2 I think. I don't know much about it because I don't have one. The general consensus is that the Z2 pretty much sucks for playing games. The FPS is not that great and there is a bottleneck which causes it to speed up and slow down. I don't play games and I don't have a Z2 so I can't really help much with all of that. I may get a Z2 soon... but I won't be playing games and I probably won't use the PMD either, I think the Z2 will do everything I need with just the built in HD3000. I plan to use the vanilla Intel drivers.

 

When I set it to projector only, my laptop screen turns black and my projector is the only one active. The message i then get is "The display connected to the docking station is set to main display. End all graphic intensive software such as games, video playback, applications, and Web browsers befreo connecting or disconnecting the docking station." I have the HDMI cable connected to the PMD, whenever i try to launch a game itll take me back with that message. So I cannot play it.

 

^ What happens after that? Does your projector go off and the laptop screen come back on? AFAIK that message just means that you should set your laptop screen as the main display before disconnecting the PMD.

We need input from someone who actually has a Z2+PMD.