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.

The company reveals that Educscape powers the new e-learning courses. Moreover, it plans to showcase these courses and other projector solutions for education at TCEA 2022 at booth #1427. Per a statement, TCEA takes place on Feb. 8-10, in Dallas, Texas.

Features of BrightLink Academy

“Epson is dedicated to supporting teachers in the classroom – providing technology and tools that increase engagement and improve learning outcomes,” said Remi Del Mar, senior product manager, Epson America, Inc.

Del Mar adds that the new e-learning courses demonstrate different applications possible with the projector solutions. He also emphasizes that the solutions allow teachers to utilize the interactive displays to the fullest potential. By doing so, Del Mar says they can better enhance student learning in the classroom.

Read: Konftel Conferencing Solutions Upgrades Marymount Cuernavaca Schools’ Hybrid Learning Experience

Epson highlights the versatility of using projection in an educational setting. The company adds that it supports teachers and classroom engagement through BrightLink Academy. Per Epson, it helps teachers and administrators learn at their own pace in one centralized location.

In addition, BrightLink Academy will provide professional development resources. Thus, it will help schools integrate BrightLink into existing curriculum and create interactive learning experiences. Moreover, new e-learning courses will be launched periodically and include various topics. Some of the topics are:

• Designing engaging activities and lessons with BrightLink
• Google workspace for education and BrightLink
• Virtual field trips with Minecraft and BrightLink
• Utilizing BrightLink in the early childhood classroom
• Meeting needs of diverse learning with BrightLink
• Spark learning with document cameras and BrightLink

BrightLink Displays

BrightLink displays are also designed for laser-focused learning. They thus transform classrooms into immersive, collaborative environments. In doing so, they enhance productivity, creativity and ensure participation engagement.

Select BrightLink models deliver big, bright images up to 120-inches. They come equipped with 3-chip 3LCD technology. This technology brings in bold, brilliant color even in ambient light settings. The large displays also make ensure that the content to be clearly visible. This then helps students stay engaged, leading to better learning outcomes. Additionally, these flexible laser displays enhance ordinary walls and dry erase boards. This further eliminates the need for dedicated electronic boards or space-consuming flat panels.

TCEA Showcase

In addition to BrightLink Academy, Epson will showcase a host of display solutions for classrooms and around school campuses at TCEA 2022.

“At TCEA we are showing the many ways projection can be used within an educational environment – from gamification with Epson Pro Series, to immersive learning with Epson PowerLite models and hybrid tools, such as the award-winning BrightLink GoBoard. We look forward to providing show attendees with first-hand experiences of our latest applications for today’s classroom and the Eduscape e-learning courses that further complement our current offerings,” adds Del Mar.

Eduscape develops and delivers professional learning solutions to advance education for all learners and help school leaders rethink learning. The company comprises almost entirely of former educators. These educators have delivered professional learning solutions to more than 800,000 educators across 48 states and 13 countries.

This article originally appeared on MyTechDecisions’ sister site CommercialIntegrator.com.

The post Epson Unveils BrightLink Academy E-Courses for Educators appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Those new projectors are the interactive BrightLink^® 735Fi and 725Wi and non-interactive PowerLite^® 725W, 720, L200SW, L200SX, L200W, and L200X.

They offer long-throw, short-throw and ultra short-throw and interactive models to support a variety of teaching environments via a low-maintenance laser light source to deliver large, bright images.

That’s especially important as educators adjust to teaching to fewer, spread-out students both in the classroom and virtually.

According to Epson, the new flexible displays are optimized for schools and can help boost engagement, collaboration and creativity while preserving valuable whiteboard space for educators when the projector isn’t in use.

The BrightLink 735Fi offers ultra-wide 110-inch, 16:6 images supporting split screen and side-by-side viewing from multiple sources, allowing educators to present multiple streams and whiteboard displays at once.

The new releases include the non-interactive PowerLite models that can be paired with pre-installed interactive whiteboards for classrooms that demand short-throw solutions.

Read Next: Epson Announces Two New BrightLink Projectors

Epson describes the features of the new projectors here:

Flexible image sizes – The BrightLink 735Fi projects Full HD content, ultra-wide 110-inch, 16:6 images or 100-inch, 16:9 images, offering up to 77 percent more viewing area than 75-inch flat panels

Budget-smart solutions – BrightLink interactive projectors offer the lowest-cost-image per square inch vs. interactive flat panel displays³

Ultimate interactivity – The new BrightLink projectors offer dual pen- and optional touch-enabled interactivity⁴ for up to eight users to collaborate at once

Remarkable image quality – Displays bright, colorful, content from 60 inches up to 300 inches on virtually any wall for larger, more flexible images

Easy wireless display – Built-in 5GHz Wi-Fi with wireless sharing via Miracast-enabled devices or Epson iProjection software allows educators to connect, display and share content simultaneously to/from up to 50 connected devices

Lasting reliability and durability – Virtually maintenance-free 20,000-hour laser light source with no lamps² to replace

Fast, simple setup – Be up and running in no time, Epson laser projectors turn on and off instantly, delivering vivid images with no warm-up or cool-down period needed

Award-winning service and support – Epson’s best-in-class, three-year, full-unit replacement limited warranty along with free technical phone support for the life of the product

“Always keeping teachers and students in mind, we continue to deliver high-quality solutions that allow teachers to connect with and inspire their students,” said Tom Piche, product manager, projectors, Epson America, in a statement. “In today’s classrooms, it’s important for teachers to have these large and reliable displays to accommodate more spread out, social distanced classes.”

The post Epson Releases Eight New Education-Focused Laser Projectors appeared first on My TechDecisions.

All you need to do is choose the right projector.  Here’s a quick guide to doing just that.

[ Skip This: If you’re not keen on all the maths, the folks over at Projector People have a consolidated listing of all the short throw and ultra short throw projectors available – if you need help, their Projector Experts can assist you in your decision and they will do the math for you! ]

Guide to Buying Short Throw and Ultra Short Throw Projectors

The first technical think you will need to understand is “throw ratio.”

In laymen’s terms, you can imagine yourself with a flashlight in a dark room. When flashing the light at the wall from a close distance, you get a brighter and smaller circle. When you move back a few inches, you see the light covers a larger segment of the wall and dims slightly. The mathematical calculation of this effect is called “throw ratio.”

Technically speaking, “Throw ratio” is an equation that explains the distance from projector to screen compared to the screen size.  For example, a standard projector might have a 1.5:1 throw ratio. So, to get a 60-inch image; the projector would have to be 7.5 feet back from the screen.  Or, approximately 1.5” back for every 1” of screen. Any projector will have this ratio listed in the general specifications.

Currently there are four categories of throw ratio; standard, long, short, and ultra-short throw. We will have to rule out standard and long throw projectors and focus on either short or ultra short throw to get our big image in a small space. Here’s a chart to make this a little clearer.

Throw Ratio Chart

So, with an ultra short throw projector, you can get a 5 foot (60”) image with your projector placed just 1.4 feet (18”ish) from your screen. That’s a very big image in a very tight space!

Common Uses for Short and Ultra Short Throw Lenses

Every projecting situation does not require a short throw projector. But there are some situations in which a short throw or ultra short projector is the perfect solution. Small learning spaces, conference rooms where detailed documents are shared, trade shows where a big image gets big attention, and in-home theaters with projector placement limitations, or where the home owners don’t want a big projector hanging from the ceiling.

• Small conference rooms
• Small classrooms (schools, churches, public engagement spaces)
• Trade show booths
• Tight home theater spaces

Short and Ultra Short Throw Projector Pros and Cons

Pros

• Light not shining in presenters eyes during presentation
• Less obstruction of image, distracting shadows
• Can achieve a brighter large image from a lower lumen projector (effectively a 5000 lumen image from standard projector would require about 3000-3500 lumens to achieve with short throw)

Cons

• No shadow puppets
• Fans can be noisier in small places (look for lower dbs in specifications)
• Less flexible placement options (may have no zoom)
• Installation may require some offset, so less point and shoot than a standard projector

Can Short Throw Projection Offer Lower Cost Digital Signage?

Short throw projection is a growing segment of the projection market. New applications in digital signage have grown out of recent advances in short throw projection.

• Over 90” it is likely to be more cost effective to use a projector vs a large screen LED display because of the weight of the display, installation requirements and overall cost of the unit.
• New 4K ultra short throw units are on the horizon that can produce amazing images up to 140” diagonally, which would provide a cost-effective alternative to very expensive video walls.

If you’d like to know more about short throw as an alternative to LED displays, contact a Projector Expert to get more information.

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