When recent school funding initiatives made it possible for the municipality to invest in education upgrades, Chuck Marzec, the district’s director of technology, turned to Larry Meister, president of IT solutions provider Mercury Networks. Meister, who has worked with the district for over a decade, collaborated with Marzec to determine which products and solutions would maximize learning benefits for the most students. Considering the timing, pricing, and available funding, they concluded that the LG CreateBoards could transform the experiences of every student and deliver forward-thinking classrooms that prepare students for a tech-filled world and job market.

The district last updated its projection-based classroom systems in 2012, before the explosion of new touch-sensitive smart boards that are sweeping across the education landscape. Attractive pricing helped convince the district that smart boards would be the most impactful, sustainable and widely deployable solution, offering greater capabilities than existing systems while standardizing every classroom to simplify daily management and long-term maintenance.

“LG’s easy-to-use CreateBoard interactive digital boards come at an incredible value, making them the best fit for Jamestown Public Schools. The district initially considered outfitting about half of its classrooms with a competitor product at double the price. With the CreateBoard, they’re essentially doubling their investment, creating streamlined experiences for staff and students in every room and school,” Meister explained. “The district’s previous projection systems were single-room solutions lacking significant communication options and new advances in interactivity or cloud-based learning tools. Now, with the LG CreateBoards, they have a unified 500+ display network that can be monitored, managed, and used to distribute content from a single location for morning announcements or emergencies. Additionally, the ability to set automatic on/off schedules ensures no energy is wasted, eliminating one task for today’s busy teachers.”

The district is excited about what the technology can unleash in terms of classroom participation and faculty lesson plans, including simple access to popular web-based tools such as Google Classroom. The 40-point multi-touch digital displays allow a variety of interactive lesson plans and activities that can invite multiple students to use the board at once, in addition to convenient streaming and mobile device connections for educators and students alike. For instance, teachers can quickly log in to their accounts for Google and other services by scanning an on-screen QR code with their smartphone, and then leave the room knowing that the display automatically logs out of all accounts when the wireless connection is severed.

“It’s hard to overstate the value of standardized solutions for our students, faculty and district as a whole,” Marzec says. “Running a school or district involves a lot of moving parts, and when we have teachers who may use multiple classrooms or even multiple buildings throughout a day or a week, giving them the same tools everywhere ensures there’s no time lost sorting out technical issues or troubleshooting compatibility with their prepared lessons. The same is true for today’s students who have never known a world without touchscreens. With a streamlined experience year after year, they can become fairly advanced users of the LG CreateBoard technology throughout their education, helping develop explicit technical skills alongside the school’s curriculum.”

With LG CreateBoards, teachers can easily augment lessons with presentations or videos, screen share lessons or content from their own devices and enable students to screen share projects from their devices. With the new centralized control capabilities, Jamestown Public Schools can also easily deliver video morning announcements to every room without any action required from teachers. Lessons can be saved and stored online for later viewing and study, including live annotations over text or video that enable teachers to provide context, information or discussion to delve further than standard textbook descriptions or pre-prepared content.

LG CreateBoards Enhance Teaching

According to Jason Hubbard, senior account manager for education at LG Business Solutions, implementing CreateBoards can also fundamentally change how teachers approach the classroom by freeing them to leave their desk when using digital resources.

“The two-way connection between laptops and the LG CreateBoard means that they can control and manipulate their computer or content from the CreateBoard, unlike a projection system or other non-smart solution where they have to be at the desk to exert control,” says Hubbard. “This offers educators greater freedom of movement and caters to a variety of teaching styles, which can aid engagement and attentiveness, directly affecting student and school outcomes.”

When consulting Mercury Networks, the district considered different manufacturers and options, landing on the LG CreateBoard solution based on capabilities, manufacturer support and cost. The upgrade project began with 10 initial installations at the high school, then an expansion to five schools, and then the final decision to outfit every classroom all at once ahead of the 2024-2025 school year. Each room’s audio solution is also being upgraded to provide better sound quality and ensure long-term consistency for all users.

“We are excited to see our teachers and students leverage these technologies for greater collaboration and enhanced discussions in a way that encourages participation and connects with students’ daily experiences and digital lifestyles,” Marzec adds. “Additionally, buying into LG’s ecosystem has offered us new opportunities to consider deploying connected digital signage displays in hallways, cafeterias, entrances and other public spaces to provide school messaging or community content such as student achievement reels or replays of events including sports, performances, guest speeches and extracurricular activities.”

Marzec also noted how LG’s attention to detail and willingness to provide assistance went above and beyond his expectations. In the past, technology providers had been much more hands-off, while LG acted more like a partner in terms of working to answer questions, resolve issues and ensure the district was fully satisfied with the outcome. The last installations concluded in early July 2024, with every classroom at every school ready to launch for the fall semester.

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on October 21, 2024. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

The post LG CreateBoards Enhance Teaching in Jamestown Schools appeared first on My TechDecisions.

“Tateside has been the preferred technology partner of London’s Soho Works sites for several years now,” explains Jack Cornish, technical director at Tateside. “Before the pandemic, the technology didn’t need to be focused on videoconferencing, but the working environment has since shifted and the client requested an update that would enable better bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and plug-and-play capabilities as well as a system that could support their preferred Zoom room functionality.”

With high-end interior design and a focus on maintaining immaculate aesthetics across all sites, Tateside needed to honor the unique identity of the various Soho Works sites whilst rolling out a solution that could be replicated to provide a consistent user experience across the brand’s workspaces.

“Our team provides both IT and technology integration for Soho Works,” explains Cornish. “The new meeting room standard is a Neat Bar Pro bundle housed within a Leon Tonecase to hide the technology and improve the overall room aesthetics, plus a Samsung screen. This standard has been rolled out across all Soho Works meeting rooms, based on a Zoom Room system, with adjustments made for specific sites.”

The chosen Neat Bar Pro bundle provides crystal-clear audio via three full-range loudspeakers while the advanced microphone array ensures clear vocal pick-up, with Neat Audio Processing built-in. Thanks to the wide-angle lens and image depth sensor, Neat Bar Pro can detect, enlarge and follow all in-room participants, resulting in more lifelike engagement during video meetings. Furthermore, seamless integration with Zoom ensured a Neat Bar standard was the ideal solution for the Soho Works project.

Ashton Bentley USB-C hubs, which can be neatly mounted under desks, are integrated to support network connectivity and provide fast charging of devices. The Neat Bar Pro bundle provides in-built camera and microphone functions plus a Neat Pad for easy-to-use room control. Each site required a slightly different configuration and solutions for other room styles, including a podcast studio at the Dean Street site and subdivisible meeting rooms at 180 The Strand.

“Overall, Soho Works are aiming for systems that are easy to use with minimal technical knowledge,” continues Cornish. “During these recent updates, we’ve completely done away with Crestron controls for input switching and have implemented a complication-free standard with auto-switching and bullet-proof BYOD connectivity.”

He continues, “Finding that balance between function and aesthetics can be a challenge, but with the solutions available from Neat combined with our bespoke integration, Soho Works now have an easy-to-operate, future-proof set-up suited to the modern working environment.”

The post Soho Works & Tateside Simplify Zoom Room Standard Across Multiple Sites appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Located in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province in  China, DKU is an educational and research university situated on a 1,200-acre campus. The university offers a range of  academic programs and a diverse, inclusive culture to students from around the globe.

The large-scale audio video project is part of the university’s second phase, covering 22 buildings on campus, including 29 classrooms, 20 conference rooms, and a visitor center. DKU set its sights on a number of top global brands. In the end, the Sennheiser TCC 2 ceiling array microphone stood out due to its superior audio technology, open technology path and rich success experience. DKU chose to install a total of 116 TCC 2s so that every space can enjoy the trusted Sennheiser audio quality.

The Sennheiser TCC 2 Solution

DKU offers courses taught by faculty from Duke University in the U.S. as well as other locations around the world. As a result, the university requires each classroom to provide an online learning experience as if it were face-to-face. Audio equipment, in particular, not only needs to be clear in sound quality, stable in transmission, and easy to operate, but it also needs to fit seamlessly into different room types and teaching scenarios.

The TCC 2 utilizes patented Dynamic Beamforming technology, which automatically tracks the position of speakers and switches between speakers in real time, ensuring that their voices are clearly captured. Teachers are able to move around and communicate freely with students while teaching, and the layout of desks and chairs in the classroom can be flexibly adjusted to enhance the classroom experience. According to Sennheiser, the microphone’s built-in 28 broadcast-quality microphone heads make the sound clear and natural, and remote teachers and students can also listen to the speakers clearly as if they were in the room/

In addition to classrooms, schools also place a high value on the design of audio systems in conference rooms. In teleconferencing, the seamless integration of audio and video is very important. In this project, TCC 2 integrates Biamp DSP and Sony PTZ camera tracking to synchronize the monitored speaker’s position to the camera, thus realizing real-time switching of the speaker’s footage, which makes the meeting more realistic, efficient and immersive.

Visitor Center Acoustics

The Visitor Center is another highlight of this project. In order to provide excellent conditions for teachers and students to communicate, display and hold activities and exhibitions, the Visitor Center built by the school has a flexible layout and a bright and spacious space, with an area of 400 square meters and a height of 4.8 meters, in addition to the need for high-quality sound pickup, the site of the local sound reinforcement is also a very high demand. Three TCC 2s were installed in the Visitor Center, whose TruVoicelift acoustic enhancement feature delivers everyone’s speeches clearly to every corner, with natural, full sound quality and no distortion or delay, making for a truly immersive audio experience.

AV-over-IP Integration 

The DKU Phase II project, which took three years to design and deploy and complete, was not only large in scale but complex. The project’s audiovisual system included many types of products including Biamp DSP, Bose loudspeakers and Crestron control systems. Therefore, for the success of the whole project, easy operation process and seamless integration of products of each link are crucial, which is also the main challenge of the project manager.

Wan Li is the chief engineer at DKU and the university’s technical lead for the audio system design. His team adopted an all-digital and fully distributed AV-over-IP architecture for the University. The TCC 2 can be seamlessly integrated into the campus network with all brands of audio equipment via Dante, allowing IT managers to monitor and control the communication, interaction and control of various devices on campus in real time via cell phones, tablets or computers, greatly simplifying workflows.

Sennheiser’s business communication solutions have an open audio/video ecosystem with strong compatibility and can be integrated with different brands of devices and platforms. TCC 2 has been certified by Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Tencent Conference and Nail Conference to meet the preferences and needs of all types of users.

Praise for Sennheiser’s TCC 2

During the implementation of the project, Sennheiser’s technical engineers went to the university several times to carry out on-site investigation and debugging work room-by-room to ensure that the installation position and angle of each TCC 2 could achieve the optimal effect and realize the best voice clarity. This was highly recognized by DKU staff.

“The exceptional quality of the TCC 2 is unquestionable, and the Sennheiser team has been instrumental in the smooth implementation of the project. They provided full technical and training support and helped us make great progress in commissioning and optimizing the system.” Li praised, “In the school’s future development plan, we look forward to continuing to work with Sennheiser to further optimize the performance of the audio/video facilities and continue to enhance the immersive learning and collaborative experience for teachers and students.”

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on April 26, 2024. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

The post Duke Kunshan University Selects Sennheiser for Audio Upgrade appeared first on My TechDecisions.

UNC’s digital signage system was outdated and difficult to use. Some tasks required up to 24 steps to complete, discouraging users from creating even the simplest messages. What’s more, the system often required USB drives to load content onto signs. The College of Business was the primary user of this legacy system since the complexity deterred other colleges from adopting digital signage. These roadblocks caused two major issues:

• Screens frequently displayed outdated information
• Students faced communication gaps while navigating campus

UNC placed a high priority on improving student communications and engagement. It also sought to strengthen connections with residents and improve their communication technology. The university needed a user-friendly digital signage solution that could easily integrate with its other systems and scale as they grew.

The Appspace Digital Signage Solution

After an extensive search for a new digital signage provider with a scalable platform, UNC chose Appspace. The platform offered UNC flexible centralized management and control of posted content. It also provided a user-friendly interface, customizable templates and integration with other systems. UNC also needed Appspace to integrate with its class scheduling software, 25Live. The Appspace team used 25Live’s Publisher feature to feed the data into Webview Cards, resulting in a near-real-time integration that showcases class schedules and event information on digital signage across the university.

“We’ve been impressed by Appspace’s user-friendly platform and excellent support. Our adoption rate among students, faculty and staff has soared. University-wide visibility has improved significantly, thanks to dynamic content displays. Overall, it has been a fantastic experience with a strong growth trajectory,” says Joshua Purdy, senior desktop engineer, University of Northern Colorado.

Success of Appspace at UNC

UNC’s team was impressed with the overall implementation and the Appspace team’s knowledge and responsiveness. A seamless 25Live integration meant up-to-date class schedules and other information are displayed throughout the campus.

Overall, the university has saved resources due to the integration with other systems and the availability of APIs for further customization.

The highly visible success of the Appspace digital signage implementation has helped UNC overcome skepticism in other departments, resulting in 72 digital signs across campus and growing. With their digital signage flawlessly displaying class schedules, campus events, athletics information, and performing arts updates across campus, UNC is now evaluating how Appspace Wayfinding can further enhance the campus experience for all.

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on February 16, 2024. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

The post Appspace Enhances Campus Engagement at University of Northern Colorado (UNC) appeared first on My TechDecisions.

“At ReliaQuest, our mission is to make security possible, therefore, it’s critical that we have access to the latest technology,” says Regina Marrow, ReliaQuest’s chief information officer and executive VP of operations. “On any given day, we are hosting customers from large enterprise companies, and the technology that we are using, and our operating centers, serve as the underpinnings of those interactions. So that technology must be world class and reliable because it reflects our brand. This technology directly impacts the effectiveness of those interactions because consistent experience is crucial for our teammates and customers.”

Choosing the Sony Pro BRAVIA Displays

ReliaQuest ultimately chose a range of 150 Sony Pro BRAVIA displays to help suit their business’s needs in their operating centers. These included the 55-inch, 65-inch, 75-inch, 85-inch and 100-inch models. AVI-SPL provided ReliaQuest with product guidance and delivered on the installation.

According to Marrow, the team selected the technology due to its combination of quality, reliability, durability, ease-of-use and design aesthetic. The displays are used broadly for playing videos and running meetings in their collaboration spaces, huddle rooms, conference rooms, common areas and performance centers, where the company holds its trainings. The Sony Pro BRAVIA displays are also used for multi-purpose collaborations with customers and teammates, and for digital signage in the open areas of its operating centers including in the cafés and reception spaces, as well as sitewide communications and company town halls.

The Pro BRAVIA displays were especially important to ReliaQuest for regularly hosting leaders at its operating centers for interactions ranging from executive business reviews to trainings. “The high-quality, consistent and reliable experience that we have with the displays gives us peace of mind. We know that they’re going to work every time and the images are crisp, they’re clear, they’re colorful and they’re stable.” says Marrow.

Sony’s Pro BRAVIA Displays Boost ReliaQuest Operations

Since ReliaQuest opened its new operating center with Sony’s professional BRAVIA displays and other technology, the overall experience has been enhanced for customers and teammates. A perk the company noticed about the Pro BRAVIA displays was that they had the ability to operate without interactions from the everyday user. ReliaQuest set up its displays so everything could be managed centrally. This proved to be helpful for teammates, especially when the displays run on a schedule to maximize the energy efficiency and minimize wear. Due to the Pro BRAVIA screen mirroring feature, employees can also work collaboratively by utilizing Microsoft Teams. With the company building having large windows and being located in areas with natural bright light, the displays have no issues providing good, vibrant image quality — even when it’s midday, says ReliaQuest.

In addition, the displays also benefit ReliaQuest’s customers whether they are hosted at ReliaQuest’s locations, or utilizing the company’s spaces for their own team meetings.

“As a global security provider for the largest most trusted brands around the world, we understand that quality matters and we take what we do seriously. We wanted a partner that has the same attention to detail that we do and prioritizes the same level of quality and excellence. We align with high-quality, world class companies because we know that helps us in our mission to serve our customers and to make security possible,” adds Marrow.

Shop and compare the latest Sony professional display solutions on our sister-site AV-iQ.

Editor’s Note: Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on January 5, 2024. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

The post AVI-SPL Enhances ReliaQuest UX with Sony Pro BRAVIA Displays Nationwide appeared first on My TechDecisions.

“There are many parts and pieces to deploying a videowall system for a project of this scale and complexity,” says Hans-Joachim Spies, founder and managing director at Mevis.tv. “As an integrator, it’s paramount that everything works together seamlessly. VuWall’s ecosystem exceeded our high standards not only for performance, but also for scalability, flexibility and interoperability. It dramatically reduced our integration time and eliminated any concern about compatibility between the various products within the AV and IP infrastructure. It’s an exceptional system for an exceptional project.”

The Installation

SIMOS houses two independent control centers. This consists of the integrated control center (ILS) and the integrated traffic control center (IVLZ). The ILS provides around-the-clock operation and support for incoming emergency calls for the fire brigade and German Red Cross. Meanwhile, IVLZ is responsible for monitoring all of the city’s traffic and tunnel surveillance cameras. It also monitors electronic traffic display systems on the main roads, which are overseen by four dispatchers from the office for public order, civil engineering office, the Stuttgart tram and the police.

For this project, Mevis.tv installed two videowalls for each of the control centers. The ILS features a videowall comprised of 48 Barco UniSee 55-inch LCD displays. On the other hand, the IVLZ control room videowall features 14 Barco UniSee 55-inch displays. In addition, there are eight displays installed across two crisis meeting rooms that need access to the same sources. Although all these rooms are distinct, the VuWall system provided the organizations with a single, IP-based videowall processing and management system that connects them with a virtual infrastructure.

Ensuring High-Quality Performance

VuWall’s  videowall processor and VuStream encoders ensure high-quality video stream distribution across the network with low latency. It also ensures high performance for up to 4:4:4 of 4K video streams. The Application Server also provides quick access to websites, dashboards and applications from a single, centralized source. It achieves this with the necessary security and without overburdening the network. All these appliances are managed by the TRx centralized videowall management platform. As a result, it enables SIMOS operators to easily control and distribute visual information and data to any display or videowall on the network, says VuWall.

According to VuWall, the TRx is unique in combining AV-over-IP distribution and advanced multi-video wall and KVM management. Its engineering also allows it to be robust enough for multi-room distribution projects such as SIMOS.

The centralized platform ensures intuitive configuration, management and distribution of virtually any source type to any display without any programming. Its simple drag-and-drop capability also saves time for integrators and operators alike. Mevis.tv also benefitted from TRx’s API, which integrates with the organization’s Crestron building control system.

“We are so proud to see that SIMOS is leveraging the modularity, ease of use and reliability we’ve built into our ecosystem, fulfilling their objectives with this incredible project,” says Eric Hénique, EVP of international sales at VuWall. “Operators can see exactly what they need when they need it on the display of their choosing while providing the redundancy and low latency that control rooms demand. Plus, it all works seamlessly within their existing workflow for the most effective distribution of visual information.”

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on December 6, 2023. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

The post VuWall Enhances Operational Efficiency for SIMOS Control Center appeared first on My TechDecisions.

As part of the process, district administrators and staff reevaluated all infrastructure elements and their approach to campus safety, selecting AtlasIED IPX technology to modernize their intercom, audio announcements, and emergency communications systems.

The district began renovating in phases, prioritizing schools based on the state of the school buildings and the level of urgency of repairs. Before renovations, the schools in the district used similar audio communications technologies that had been in use for 10-20 years, including the public address (PA) system, clocks and blue light systems for emergencies.

However, the systems were siloed and did not integrate. During routine use, such as all-school announcements at the beginning of school days, the system functioned as needed, but during drills, the number of systems in operation caused the schools challenges.

“With the old system, when we conducted a lockdown drill, school staff needed to activate the different systems manually, which created steps and more possibilities for human error,” says Matt Erwin, director of facilities for North Syracuse Central Schools. Erwin manages maintenance and operations, plus security, health and safety, and the capital work for the district.

AtlasIED IPX Series for Campus Audio & Communication System

The district had two primary goals when upgrading the campus audio and communications systems: to improve the audio quality and find a plan to increase the speed at which a school could react and contact first responders during an emergency. They wanted to achieve these goals without having to install a system that was too complicated for staff and personnel.

Because the district used a Cisco phone system, Erwin and his team wanted a platform that integrated with these devices. As they researched and discussed options, their partners at Day Automation, a building automation and security solution provider, introduced them to AtlasIED, which they eventually chose as their long-term audio and communications solution. The AtlasIED IPX Series met all of the criteria for the district.

AtlasIED’s IPX Series features a range of communication endpoints that interconnect. The IPX endpoints integrate multiple functions into single products, including loudspeakers, two-way microphones, flashers, and an LED display for a clock, date, or other text-based messages that can be updated in real-time during an emergency.

Installing IPX Endpoints at Bear Road and Smith Road Elementary School 

Karl W. Saile Bear Road Elementary, known simply as Bear Road Elementary, became the district’s first school to install a new audio and communications system. Originally built in 1958, Bear Road Elementary was one of the district’s oldest buildings. During the Bear Road project, the school renovated half the building at a time to avoid a full closure and completely modernized the interior and infrastructure to accommodate staff and student needs.

The team at Day Automation identified locations for IPX endpoints throughout the school and ran Ethernet cable to each site in preparation to connect the endpoints. The IPX endpoints are Power over Ethernet (PoE+)-enabled, receiving power and network signals through the same IT network the school uses to deliver Internet access. The IPX platform helped simplify the installation process for integrators by reducing the number of cable types needed.

Another NSCSD school, Smith Road Elementary, began its retrofit project in 2022 to update various technologies, including its audio and communications technology systems, and upgrade building infrastructure. Working around class schedules to avoid disrupting students, the school expanded and updated its campus IT network and created plans to locate IPX endpoints.

Once the construction teams pulled Ethernet cabling to predetermined locations in both schools, the contractor teams began installing IPX endpoints, including the dual-sided IP-DDS endpoint mounted from side walls and hung over high-traffic areas like hallways.

They also added IP-SDMF indoor wall-mount endpoints in classrooms, the main office, the cafeterias, the gymnasiums, nurses office, and all rooms to ensure comprehensive building coverage. On the ceilings, the district installed the IP-8SM in multiple locations, which offer a loudspeaker and an omnidirectional microphone to allow two-way communication and monitoring from the speaker location to any PC or phone handset.

Related: How Mass Notification is Evolving to Manage Emergencies

Mass Communications through Singlewire and IPX Devices  

The IPX Series also helped NSCSD incorporate campus safety capabilities with the help of InformaCast Mass Notification Software from Singlewire. Using InformaCast, during an emergency, designated school personnel can initiate the software from a mobile device wherever they are on or off campus. The software then instantaneously sends text messages to faculty, students, parents’ mobile devices, alerts law enforcement, and activates attention-grabbing audio communication, flashing visual alerts and LED text messages on the installed IPX devices throughout campus.

Also, using InformaCast, the IP-8SM ceiling speakers can be configured to allow first responders to communicate with people near the loudspeaker or listen in to that area. The speakers can be critically important when personnel, students, or perpetrators barricade themselves in classrooms or other rooms.

When connected to InformaCast, the loudspeakers become a critical two-way hands-free communications tool for law enforcement or school personnel to deliver directions, provide or receive real-time updates near the speak location, or listen to activities within a space.  The loudspeakers are especially important when staff, students, or perpetrators barricade themselves in classrooms or other rooms.

The district has implemented new routine and emergency safety procedures in the schools with InformaCast and IPX due to the upgraded capabilities offered by the technology. It has begun to train staff regularly to help them become more familiar with operating the equipment. Training staff for both routine operation and operating the system during an emergency when people are under much more stress has the potential to lead to human error. This is why automating the system using pre-recorded messages offered via InformCast can help reduce the chance of human error during a real incident.

While the expectation is that much of the system’s use will be for routine daily announcements, InformaCast software helps automate many of the formerly manual steps in the older system’s procedures.

“Gone are the days when we had to find a panic button or go to a specific location to access the PA system,” says Erwin. “The new AtlasIED systems give us much more functionality at every point within the building. Based on the successful installation at Bear Road and Smith Road, we now look at mass notification across the entire district differently.”

A Better, Safer Experience 

From the district’s experience at Bear Road Elementary and Smith Road Elementary, it plans to install IPX and InformaCast throughout the rest of the district school buildings. As plans develop and ongoing training continues at the schools currently outfitted with IPX and InformaCast, Erwin and his team are eager for additional school buildings to use the new technology and create a better and safer experience district-wide for the students and staff moving forward.

Click ‘View Slideshow’ to see additional photos of the district’s IPX technology upgrade at Bear Road Elementary and Smith Road Elementary schools.

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on November 6, 2023. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

The post North Syracuse Central School District Streamlines Communications with AtlasIED IPX Technology appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Levesque first experienced Sony’s products in 2018 when one of the company’s sales reps visited the URI campus. Impressed with the products, the university started slowly updating its projectors to Sony’s as part of their new classroom revision cycle. URI now has close to 120 of Sony’s laser projectors in nearly every classroom. The university started off with the VPL-PHZ10 and VPL-PHZ12 installation projector models. Now they’ve expanded its use to include the ultra-compact VPL-PHZ60 and VPL-PHZ61’s as their main models, which offer 6,500 center lumens and 7,000 center lumens of brightness, respectively.  These laser models also feature a fast start up and shutdown for saving time and energy.

“We tend to just put the VPL-PHZ61 in now because the brightness is great,” says Levesque. “If it’s too bright, I can decrease the brightness and make the projector last longer. I also like the size because they’re light for when I have to install them. It’s really easy to go up and put them in. It takes me no time to put one of these up compared to other projectors I’ve worked with, and I don’t need assistance because I can basically install them myself.”

Bravia Installation

In addition to projectors, URI has also installed Sony’s Pro BRAVIA displays across their campus. Prior to the pro BRAVIA installation, there hadn’t been a standard for displays on campus. Due to there being a variety of displays in different locations, it was difficult to keep track of which ones were being serviced, if they had the right equipment to be maintained, and how they operated.

“We’re a small department that kind of does everything on campus at this point, and we couldn’t keep it up anymore,” explains Levesque. “When we saw the displays, we were blown away by the image quality that we were getting compared to what had been installed.”

URI now has more than three dozen Pro BRAVIA displays between the sizes of 65 to 85 inches. The university’s displays are primarily utilized for reinforcement in their classrooms. Certain classrooms have a secondary display in the back of the room, and extended displays in the front of the room. A lot of Pro BRAVIA displays are also being installed for digital signage across campus to provide information to students and the public. Levesque is advocating for them to be installed on campus for other uses such as the school’s Memorial Union which is also in the process of swapping their displays over to pro BRAVIA’s for digital signage needs. URI is also currently utilizing Pro BRAVIA displays and audio reinforcements to make their conference rooms more modern, especially when it comes to hybrid meetings.

Clearer, Brighter Projectors & Displays

Since updating its equipment, Levesque and others have noticed positive results such as saving time and money on repairs.

“One thing we’ve noticed is when we put the Sony ecosystem on campus, it just works,” says Levesque. “We get them in, we put them up, and we really don’t have to think about them. I don’t have to visit the displays or projectors all the time and change their lamps or filters – they just work. We set the displays on an internal schedule to power them on and off for us utilizing the Pro Mode (BRAVIA pre-loaded functionality) and they work great. I don’t get calls like I used to anymore.”

URI’s students and staff have also noticed some changes. Faculty members have continuously told Levesque and the rest of the AV team how great the projectors’ image-quality is, and how its reality creation feature is helpful when presenting lessons because everything looks clearer and brighter.

“We have amazing service and reps with Sony,” Levesque says. “Sony has been great when it comes to any issues that I have or even doing future design work. We are incredibly happy here.”

Click on ‘View Slideshow’ to view more photos of the Sony projectors and displays used in URI’s classrooms and meeting rooms.

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on July 27, 2023. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

The post URI Selects Sony Projectors & Displays For Classrooms and Conference Rooms appeared first on My TechDecisions.

InfoComm arrives at an exciting time for Kramer, as the audiovisual experience provider maintains a strong vision. With the accelerated convergence of AV and IT, Kramer expects the transition from product to experience in the buying journey, and a value shift from hardware to software.

The company says it is not only capitalizing on market trends and customer needs, but also leading them. This includes the introduction of a new and enhanced version of the VIA platform, Kramer’s wireless collaboration and conferencing platform, and a new quicklaunch for Education solution. In addition, the company also debuted a new series of interoperable audiovisual signal management products and the new KDS-100, an open-standard 4K60 AVoIP streaming solution.

Kramer CONNECT also showcased an extended portfolio of premium USB-C products, as well as an inaugural range of Services like space design, installation, and technical certification.

To showcase the potential of its audiovisual products, Kramer’s InfoComm booth also featured interactive, life-size examples of a fully equipped hybrid classroom, meeting space and sports bar.

Kramer Partnerships 

Kramer also highlighted new partnerships with Sennheiser, Samsung and Yealink. Kramer’s alliance with Sennheiser has led to the creation of a hybrid teleconferencing solution, based on Sennheiser’s Team Connect Ceiling 2 microphone and Kramer’s AFM-DSP20-AEC audio matrix switcher.

Meanwhile, Samsung and Kramer have teamed up to enable Kramer’s quicklaunch collaboration software to seamlessly work with Samsung’s Flip and QMB display series, for immersive smart learning and collaboration experiences in any type of classroom or office meeting space.

Kramer and Yealink have partnered to improve efficiency in meeting spaces by integrating Kramer BRAINware, Kramer VIA Go, Kramer VIA Connect2 and Yealink MVC II room systems. This collaboration gives presenters full control of Microsoft Teams meetings, the sharing of content, and room elements such as lighting and shades, all via a single, easy-to-use touch panel.

Alongside these partnerships and new products, the company remains focused on ensuring its customers’ business continuity, investing in a robust supply chain that ensures Kramer products are consistently available across hubs worldwide. Kramer has also established regional offices and leaders across EMEA, APAC and the Americas, to enable it to get closer than ever to customers and their local requirements.

A version of this article originally appeared on our sister site Commercial Integrator. 

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The Tech Challenge

When COVID threw a wrench into in-person classes, we quickly recognized the need to develop hybrid learning environments that support the ongoing success of our staff and students,” said Director of User Support Services Jon Bannan. “The most critical need we identified was that any solution must be dead simple to operate, or otherwise risk introducing interruptions and frustration into educators’ daily schedules. The ClearOne COLLABORATE Versa Lite CT system stood out as a high-performing solution that’s compatible with virtually any computer, mobile device or collaboration platform, making it easy to deploy in multi-use spaces that host different educators throughout the day.”

ClearOne Solutions

Featuring the ClearOne BMA CT, a beamforming microphone solution that blends in with drop ceilings, the COLLABORATE Versa Lite CT system provides clear audio pickup and while simplifying connection of AV peripherals and computers through the ClearOne Versa USB Hub. It offers powerful features including acoustic echo cancellation and adaptive steering, which intelligently switches between the unit’s multiple directional microphones to optimize pickup based on the current location of speaker or meeting host.

To date, MTSS has installed 53 Versa Lite CT systems in small- and medium-sized classrooms in conjunction with a variety of camera solutions that offer automatic tracking to keep the presenter in frame as they move around the room. Combined with the adaptive steering capability of the BMA CT, these systems provide educators ultimate flexibility and allow them to step away from the front of the room white maintaining consistently excellent audio and video quality for remote learners. Most rooms also include a projection system, while some feature a digital display.

“Three years after we began this project, we would be hard pressed to find a student, parent or educator who expects anything less – it’s essentially a requirement now,” Bannan explained. “In the competitive college landscape, staying ahead of technology trends is vital to achieve enrollment goals and provide all students equitable access regardless of individual situations or external disruptions. Additionally, using the same solutions across campus has raised the tech confidence of staff and offers a simple, intuitive setup that even guest speakers or event hosts can operate with ease.”

After witnessing the widespread success of the Versa Lite CT solutions, MTSS turned its focus to the college’s lecture halls. In order to deliver the same simplicity and quality for its larger classes, the tech team developed a solution that combines multiple powerful BMA 360 ceiling microphones with a Converge Pro 2 DSP mixer, again in conjunction with a variety of tracking cameras.

The solution ensured the complete coverage for the larger rooms while enabling connection of up to 12 additional lavalier, lapel or other types of microphones commonly used for panel discussions and multi-speaker scenarios. The BMA 360 makes system design even easier by allowing up to three distant units to be daisy chained together using P-Link, requiring only a single home run cable to the DSP.

“As we began deploying the new audio capture solutions, we worked closely with ClearOne’s knowledgeable reps to ensure each space operates smoothly and delivers a consistent experience for staff and students,” Bannan added. “The high level of support we received from the very beginning was a determining factor in our product selection, and has provided us with assurance that any issues we encounter with installations or operations can be quickly remedied.”

Ongoing Sound Reinforcements

The deployment is ongoing, with each year’s budget providing additional funds to integrate more classrooms and spaces, including conference rooms. The first to be upgraded was the President’s conference room, which houses BMA 360 and BMA CT systems that effectively solve for the room’s challenging acoustic environment that includes many hard surfaces. This specific room also utilizes the BMA 360 Voice Lift technology that delivers equalized sound reinforcement to all areas of the room, so no attendee is left straining to hear the speaker.

“The College of New Jersey moved deftly to provide all stakeholders with the latest innovative solutions for remote learning and hybrid classrooms, and their efforts to standardize the campus’ technology are already paying dividends for staff and guests,” said ClearOne Regional Sales Director Jason DiCampello, who worked directly with Bannan. “The need for reliable, high-quality audio and video solutions in education is only going to grow, and we look forward to continuing to work with TCNJ to provide long-lasting solutions that support staff and help the college meet its goals.”

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