checking VRAM in DirectX

A Windows operating system uses an API (application programming interface) called DirectX to allow programs installed on your PC to work with the video and audio of your computer. You can bring up the diagnostics tool for DirectX by going to Run and entering: dxdiag

The DirectX Diagnostic Tool will have tabs for each set of monitors and speakers connected to your computer. A tab named 'Render' will display information for the dedicated graphics card on your PC. It will show the VRAM for your PC - the amount of computer memory dedicated to graphics:

The very first tip of the night on April 12, 2015 warned to never try to use Trial Director or other presentation software for a courtroom electronic presentation without confirming that your laptop has sufficient VRAM. Trust me, I know from bitter experience that video clips for deposition designations with multiple segments will not play back correctly on a laptop without sufficient VRAM. The current version of Trial Director requires a graphics card with 4 GB of dedicated graphics memory. See the specs posted here.

Use the DirectX Diagnostic Tool to check how much VRAM the monitors and projectors you are connected to will require.

HDMI cable maximum length

When setting up a courtroom for an electronic presentation, you might think that having a very long HDMI cable would work to your advantage. It could give you more flexibility about where you position your tech table from the inputs for the audio-visual system. There are certainly a lot of very long HDMI cables available of 50 feet,

100 feet . . .

. . . and longer

But with HDMI cables, longer is not necessarily better. HDMI cables may be active or passive. A passive HDMI cable will allow signals to be sent in both directions. An active HDMI cable only allows data to go in one direction, and will include a processor. An active HDMI cable will get power from the device it is connected to. At a length of more than 25 or 50 feet a passive HDMI cable will no longer transmit video and document images with maximum speed and clarity.

More sophisticated audio-visual systems may route an HDMI signal from a computer with Cat 5 or Cat 6 network cables and then pass through to an HDMI cable for a display in order to prevent significant lag over long distances.

K-Lite Codec Pack

As previously discussed in the Tip of the Night for December 7, 2019, a video may not play in an application or on an operating system, unless the necessary codecs are installed. A codec will uncompress a video file, so it can be played. Typically video files are compressed to save storage space at the loss of some of the original resolution. These are lossy video files.

The K-Lite codec pack, available here, https://codecguide.com/, will allow Windows to play a wide range of video and audio formats. It should allow Windows Media Player to recognize most video and audio files. The Ogg video format (with an .ogg, .ogm or .ogv extension) is actually a container file which must be uncompressed before it can be played. It is not supported by Windows Media Player. See the list of supported files posted here. If you attempt to play such a file in Windows Media Player, you'll get an error like this:

If you prompt the Windows Media Player to try it, you'll get this result:

After the K-Lite Codec Pack is installed, an OGG file should play in Windows Media Player. I tested this on my PC tonight and confirmed that installing the pack made the difference.

Another common format video format which doesn't work with Windows Media Player is are Adobe Flash videos with the .flv extension.

However, if you are presenting videos with IPRO's courtroom presentation software Trial Director ,be aware that the K-Lite codec pack can cause problems. Tech support for IPRO warned me last month that the K-Lite codec pack has been known to interfere with the performance of Trial Director. It's usually recomnended that Windows Media Player be set as the default application for video and audio files when using Trial Director.