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 Mitsubishi HC3 HT Projector  The HC3 is a true home theater projector featuring a native 16:9 aspect ratio for optimum viewing of HDTV and DVD signals. The HC3 can be placed on your table or shelf, or installed in your ceiling, for large screen (up to 200 inches diagonal) viewing of movies, TV and video games,
providing larger than life entertainment.
Mitsubishi HC3 Highlights: - 1300 ANSI Lumens - 5.9 lbs. - 2500 lamp life - HDTV Ready - Under $1000 Click for full specs  |
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 United Visual AV Insider - July 2005 Table of Contents: ********
1. TEI Adds Wireless Support to AxisTV Channel Players, Adds XP Channel Player
The company also announced a custom embedded Windows XP interface. The new AxisTV Channel Player replaces the XP Professional user interface with a player specific interface. The new interface provides better security, does a better job of making unnecessary processes less visible while making other features more visible. The new Channel Player is scheduled for release in early Q3 '05.
One feature of the server you have to like is users can use it with a number of operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Unix and Linux and can use Microsoft IE, Mozilla Firefox, Netscape and Apple Safari. Another feature you have to like is the $7,950 starting price.
The LX server lets presenters broadcast live presentations and conferences on the Web, including interactive polling and Q&A panels. Sonic Foundry says because of an intuitive interface, users can create, schedule and manage their presentations without assistance from the IT or AV staff.
One of the most significant functions provided by the LX Server is organization. It's an obvious benefit to be able to capture, store, broadcast or provide on-demand content, but it's a huge plus to get a real organizational tool to let users not only store the content in logical ways with listings and cataloging, but also to be able to search the content for retrieval.
The automated workflow lets users automate all phases of the rich media communication process - scheduling, organizing, publishing, managing and viewing.
The LX Rich Media Server also provides security, such as setting permissions and access rights, and offers system administration tools.
3. New Epson 3LCD Projectors
The main difference between the projectors is that the PowerLite 765c features PC-free presenting as well as 802.11g WiFi connectivity. The PowerLite 765c also has built-in software for projecting digital images from storage devices such as USB, external hard drives or directly from digital cameras. Slideshows can be controlled by the projector either manually or with automatic/timed advancement.
Epson says these models are currently the industry's only projectors to offer wireless compatibility with Apple's Keynote software.
The SmartMount line includes flat and tilting mount styles, with up to 12" of side-to-side adjustment. The larger screen mounts offer mounting to studs up to 24" apart. The universal flat mounts feature a thin (1.45" deep) wall plate to keep the screen close to the wall. The universal tilt mounts use a self-balancing design for tool-less tilt adjustment.
Every point on an AirLiner wireless slate's 6" (15.2-cm) x 8" (20.3-cm) active area has a matching point on the computer display, so when users move the pen over the wireless slate, the movement is mirrored on the interactive whiteboard or projector screen. The WS100 ships with a battery-free tethered pen, a battery-free wireless mouse, a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery, a power cord, a USB Bluetooth adapter for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS operating systems, and SMART Board software.
The slate and the battery-free pen have functions on them that are commonly-needed, such as access to applications, pen tools, eraser, black, blue, red and green digital ink, on-screen keyboard, screen capture, right click. It uses Bluetooth as the wireless technology.
The new ProjectorView software is free and completely web-based; there's no need for special client PC software. The IP Link Ethernet control interface connected to a projector stores the ProjectorView software which can be accessed using any computer, PDA, or laptop with access to the network. ProjectorView can be used with many Mitsubishi professional and residential LCD and DLP projectors, including the newest models introduced in the fourth quarter of 2004. ProjectorView is user-friendly and provides critical asset management functionality such as usage data tracking, automatic trouble detection and e-mail alerts.
The Turbo iDDR can be controlled by the touchscreen interface or with a keyboard, mouse and monitor. It also works with control systems from Crestron and AMX.
What's great about the Turbo iDDR is you get workflow functionality for professional presentations, AND it allows materials in multiple formats to be held in a single device, ready to be played out at a moment's notice. Specific targets include, but aren't limited to, for event, corporate, institutional, and worship production.
To transport presentations, the media producer can load the content onto portable media storage devices then carry it to the location. And of course it's IT-based, so within an organization it's just a matter of retrieving the content over the network. The Turbo iDDR also integrates with nonlinear editors and off-the-shelf network-attached storage systems using high-speed networking.
In this series, we offer quick descriptions of different and creative ways to use audiovisual equipment. Here, we present a real-life application using projectors and displays in a unique way.
Bringing the Outdoors Indoors
Sometimes, it's a shame to hold a big event, such as a party, inside, while gorgeous outdoor views are right out the door. The skyline of New York City, the Seattle Space Needle, the Rocky Mountains, and just about any river or ocean, come to mind.
A great way to let your guests appreciate the setting is to project the outdoor scenery on interior walls! Projecting scenery during a party is a great ice-breaker, too. Guests will meet each other by discussing the images.
We can use cameras to capture the happenings east, west, north and south of your venue, and project them on the associated walls. Your guests can watch passers-by on city streets, watch as the clouds shift over the hills or the tide rises and ebbs.
The cameras will capture the images and we'll install a number of projectors inside to get crisp, high definition images. We can project on some walls, but more likely we will recommend professional grade screens to be sure the images are as lifelike as possible.
Imagine a color-filled sunset happening in real-time, on your party wall. Or fireworks on the Fourth of July or New Year's Eve.
If your setting doesn't have a spectacular outdoor view, we can arrange for videos of any of your favorite settings. We can also bring other ideas to liven your party, too, such as video of monkeys in a zoo, the Blue Angels air show, or tropical fish from the Pacific Ocean.
The array of control systems today ranges from simple keypads or touchscreen panels for integration of a single lecture hall, to breathtakingly complex configurations that monitor, manage and maintain hundreds of pieces of equipment in dozens of linked rooms.
But regardless of "size," the concept remains the same: To centralize the operation of your media and environment with a single system that ties together whatever you use - computer video signals, DVD players, projectors, document cameras, videoconferencing equipment, screens, whiteboards, or plasma displays. You can also draw the drapes, dim the lights and adjust the room temperature.
Control systems make sense, especially with the advent of web-based control, allowing your gear to be managed on-site from your desktop, or even remotely by wireless phone or PDA. Imagine setting-up your presentation room in advance while sitting in traffic. Control systems also increase productivity and maximize equipment use by making every component easy to access and operate.
Let's see how several different types of organizations are benefiting from their new automated control systems.
It All Stacks Up
The main library in a Southern city underwent a major renovation that created a multi-purpose meeting space for several hundred, an auditorium, a theater, conference room, and computer training rooms. Essential to the project was the ability to link the city's branch libraries to the improved and bustling "downtown" facility.
Via an automated control system and videoconferencing equipment installed at the branches, each location is able to better fulfill its mission of providing educational opportunities to the public. Through its AV system network, any branch can tap in to the lectures, performances, meetings and programs taking place anywhere in the main library.
Sea It All
An ocean-front, luxury West Coast hotel and conference center interconnected its ballroom, meeting rooms, boardroom and learning center. Any audio or video source was "deliverable" to any combination of rooms thanks to automated control. It permits the property to handle several (or a single) business clients at a time, serving their multimedia, teleconferencing, training and entertainment needs.
The touchpanel control system is so user-friendly that AV functions can be learned in 10-to-15 minutes.
It Oughta Be a Law
A Midwestern law school networked its classrooms, offices, student services center, moot-court and mock-trial rooms under a careful blend of centralized and local AV system control. Microphones, podiums, projectors, video screens, lighting, and multimedia presentations can be managed from a media control center, or individually by instructors in a single room. The system integrator/installer is able to monitor and troubleshoot all equipment, assuring the school of seamless performance and minimum downtime for their legal-eagles in training.
Once graduated, these young attorneys would feel right at home in a Texas courtroom filled with LCD monitors for all participants, a large screen video projector, and half a dozen video cameras to record all the action. Touchscreen control panels available to the judge, clerk, and lawyers on both sides permit smooth and prompt examination of evidence - whether documents, depositions, or crime-scene diagrams. Dim the lights and lower the screen for an expedited, enhanced experience of high-tech jurisprudence.
You'll Never Get Board
The word "headquarters" takes on a dual meaning when the home office of a large organization decides to implement and integrate AV systems control. In one example, the professional image of a leading e-business solutions supplier required slick and sleek presentation capabilities across multiple meeting rooms. Touchpanels and PC's built-in to the podium execute anything from a high-resolution, high-impact "welcome" message on a large rear-projection screen to a customized video for a single customer on a flat panel monitor.
In another case, a large, national trade association began to visualize a needed, new boardroom. Flexibility, efficiency, and aesthetics were all part of the equation. Automated control permitted the final, stunning result that "buries" technology inside fine furniture and elegant décor. Microphones, laptop connections, projectors hidden in the ceiling, automated screen, whiteboard, blackout shades, and plasma monitors are all smoothly managed from a small touchscreen. A presentation can be made from any seat at the table, and the room can communicate with other sites.
Unity of Purpose
The actual interface for the control system is the piece that is most important since it is the prime point of interaction by your users. Choices include pushbutton remotes, handheld panels, or color video touchscreens, wired or wireless. We'll make sure you get the easiest, most intuitive control systems interfaces and we'll provide the training and service, too.
Check with us first when you need help taking control.
10. Terrific Tours
New technologies are completely changing that and even company executives who never thought they could conduct entertaining and educational tours are now leading the masses through the shop floor.
Sound
One of the best new developments to assist tour guides are sound systems that direct voices only to those intended to hear them. The attendees wear wireless headsets and the tour guide wears a wireless microphone, as well as a headset. The guide can speak during the tour and the attendees can ask questions - overcoming the problem of machinery sounds drowning out the voices and also, without distracting plant employees.
These new microphone and headset systems are especially important when the tour is conducted for as many as 100 people. Without the microphone and headsets, it would be impossible for the attendees to hear the tour guide without the guide shouting over other noises. The new systems let your company show off your showroom in ways never possible before.
Sight
It's interesting to watch a production line or particular automated machinery at work. You watch it happen and it can be impressive, but it doesn't always mean anything to the average viewer. Many companies are now installing flat-panel displays near each significant production location. The panels show how this particular piece is manufactured, what it looks like when assembled and how, where and why it fits into the finished product. A video at the end of the tour can show the product in use.
One of the benefits of the new technologies is that you can host several tour groups at once, without worrying about the sound overlapping.
The AV Insider is brought to you by:
United Visual, Inc
For information on any solution or product presented in the AV Insider please call 800-985-9375 and ask to speak to your account representative.
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Sonic Foundry has a new rich media server which allows users to work with the presentations captured by the company's Mediasite rich media recorders. The LX Rich Media Server controls live broadcasting, Web publishing and provides other content management features, such as scheduling and organizing stored presentations.
Epson has a pair of new 3LCD projectors, the PowerLite 760c and the PowerLite 765c. The projectors feature XGA (1024 x 768) resolution and a maximum brightness of 2500 ANSI lumens. They are small (7.6"D x 10.9"W x 2.7"H) and weigh under four pounds.
Peerless Industries introduced the SmartMount family of mounts to be used by professional installers for mounting flat screens from 10" to 60". The series, a significant addition for the company, includes nine universal and dedicated models of flat and tilting mounts. Peerless says the SmartMount line is targeted to a range of environments, from traditional conference rooms and offices, to high-traffic retail stores, airports, stadiums, hotels and healthcare facilities, to even high-end residential entertainment.
SMART Technologies' new AirLiner WS100 wireless slate lets teachers and students wirelessly control their computers and content. AirLiner wireless slate will ship with SMART Board software and can be used with SMART Board interactive whiteboards and Sympodium interactive pen displays. AirLiner can also be used independently with computers and projectors.
The new Turbo iDDR is specifically designed to replace video tape recorders and the associated hassles of storing videotapes. But the Turbo iDDR does much more, such as clip creation, and it can handle a variety of video formats, including compressed HD. It has up to 40 hours of storage.
Getting the Most out of Your AV
It's been said that necessity is the mother of invention. Perhaps nowhere in the world of ProAV is that more true than with automated control systems. With the proliferation of smart classrooms, boardrooms, training rooms and the need to connect a variety of locations (whether across the world or across the street), the utility and efficiency of affordable control systems allows almost anyone to become a skilled pilot, easily navigating multiple devices at one time.
Many manufacturers like to conduct tours of their plants to local groups, schools, news media, investors and customers. However, many companies find that the noisy environment of a manufacturing plant is not conducive to an entertaining or educational experience. In addition, simply watching machinery or people at work doesn't often convey the story of what is being produced.