Setting up a church projector with one laptop

One laptop, one cable and a projector or TV is enough to put songs and scripture on the wall. Here's how to set it up so it works the same way every week.

You don’t need a production desk to run projection well. Most small and medium churches run everything from one laptop. The key is making the laptop treat the projector as a second screen, so you control things privately while the congregation sees only the slides.

What you need#

  • A laptop. Crater needs 4 GB of memory and, on Windows, graphics with Direct3D 11. Most laptops from the last decade qualify, and the download page lists the details.
  • A projector or a large TV. Brightness matters more than resolution in a lit room.
  • The right cable. Check the ports on both ends. HDMI is the most common. Many newer laptops only have USB-C, which needs a USB-C to HDMI adapter. Older projectors may need VGA and an adapter.
  • A long enough run. If the projector is at the back of the room, a long HDMI cable or an HDMI extender saves you moving the laptop.

1. Extend the display#

Plug in the projector and turn it on. Then tell the laptop to treat it as a second screen, not a copy of the first:

  • Windows: press Win + P and choose Extend.
  • Mac: open System Settings, then Displays, and make sure the projector isn’t set to mirror.

With the desktop extended, the laptop screen is yours and the projector is the congregation’s.

2. Choose the projection screen#

In Crater, click the small arrow next to Go Live and pick the projector from the list. It shows every connected screen by name. Choose Fullscreen. Crater remembers the screen by name, so next week it finds the projector again even in a different port. The First Launch guide has pictures of each step.

3. Make it readable#

  • Use large text. Four lines of a song verse should fill most of the screen.
  • Keep strong contrast. Light text on a dark background works in most rooms.
  • Check from the back row. What looks fine on the laptop is often too small on the wall.

Crater’s theme editor controls fonts, sizes and backgrounds for songs and scripture separately.

4. Add a screen for the platform (optional)#

A TV at the front, facing the preacher and the band, saves them looking over their shoulder. Crater can send a stage view to it with the words, speaker notes, the next slide and a clock. The laptop needs a second video output for it, or a docking station. See Outputs and Stage Display.

5. Test before people arrive#

Twenty minutes before the service:

  1. Go live and put a verse on the screen.
  2. Check it from the back of the room.
  3. Step through one song to make sure the slides advance.
  4. Leave the logo up until the service starts.

If a cable gets knocked out during the service, Crater moves the projection to a small window and brings the console to the front. Plug it back in and the projection returns to the projector with the same slide.

Only one screen?#

If the laptop is the only screen, for example while streaming without a projector, Crater can still run. See using Crater with only one screen.