The following is part of a series of posts that discusses ideas and solutions geared to leverage the most out of resources while maintaining a high standard of quality. While some of these ideas may be incorporated into articles I am penning, I’m posting here in the hopes I can get some feedback and discussion on some of the solutions we have implemented or are going to implement.
The first part of the 'Classrooms under 7k' series can be found here. Part three will go into a post mortem of the process and we'll show you some pictures of the classrooms in action.
PRESENTATION CLASSROOMS FOR UNDER 7K – PART TWO: EQUIPMENT
Equipment was the main hurdle in our process - not only was the hardware crucial, but we had to ensure that our set of components locked together with a minimum amount of wiring and programming time to cut down on the installation costs. What follows is a list of components that is very close, but not the same as our original list. We have since found a very good AV contractor that has 'gotten' the gist around the budget-conscious-yet-fully-functional idea we were trying to attempt and his company has improved our initial specs with better hardware at a cost that is overall the same (under 7k). Some of the items on this list, due to the revisions, have not been tested (as noted), though they are very close to our original specification.
Projector: NEC NP500WS (not yet installed, we've been using an Epson equivalent) - approx. 1000 dollars
- This is a short throw projector - essential for the tight spaces we are working with and cuts down on the cabling costs as the cables generally equate to shorter runs. Also, we really like the short throws here as it's a lot harder to cast a shadow on the projected image. Has a 1280x800 image, and most importantly, a series of inputs that let us do all of our device switching on the projector <- this is crucial for saving costs as we alleviate the need for a device that switches VGA, audio, composite, etc. and ultimately gives us our cheap 'control panel' option described below.
Mounting kit - approx. 200 dollars
- We've been using a bar that extends from the wall, but are considering a ceiling mount option for the next iteration of these rooms as the ceiling mount gives us some more flexibility as far as calibrating the screen.
Logitech Z-4 speaker system - 70 dollars
- These are not very large rooms so we don't need a powerful sound system, and even if they are large rooms, I think this consumer based system would work just fine. There is a manual control connected to the subwoofer (that subwoofer ultimately rests in the podium outside of view) - we found that a nice big sound dial worked best with the users as it was intuitive and easy to use; not to mention it has an extra audio port for someone who just wants to play an ipod, etc. without turning on the system. We find the speakers, while small, look professional.
Cabling - Approximately 200 dollars
- Since the projector does all/most of the switching for the device, we need at least two VGA runs, 3 audio runs (two in, one out), and one audio, composite run for the VCR. We also ordered a custom plate and some nice cable wrap to keep the resulting umbilical that runs from the wall to the podium as clean and trip free as possible while maintaining maneuverability of the set-up. Going to sites such as monoprice.com kept the quality of these items up while the price down.
Screen – 110 to 500 dollars
- Manual roll down screens (over a white board, say) in 16:10 ratio aren’t the easiest to find, but are still rather cheap. We found them at 125 dollars a piece. In areas where we didn’t have to mount the projector over a white-board, we went for superior tension mounted frames, costing us a little over 500 dollars. Screen size for our classrooms averages 84 inches diagonal.
Podium – 350 dollars
- Finding a podium was difficult: we wanted something with maneuverability but a small footprint. We wanted space inside the podium to put some of the electronics of the system, but wanted only to worry about opening it for less used devices such as the VCR. We found a model that looks very nice, but shows the poor build quality when you open the various cabinet doors. Thankfully, the only door which we need to open for the VCR so it isn’t obvious that we paid only 300 dollars for the podium (and a touch more for someone to build it). This podium feels relatively sturdy and can roll around if needed as long as it is in the confines of the umbilical cord.
Control Panel (on computer screen), Extron IP Link Controller – 200 dollars
- Originally we were going to program the projector interface to do all the switching, and while that worked, the end result was not terribly intuitive for the user. The Extron device communicates and controls any projector with an RS232 port, giving us a unified monitoring/control interface regardless of the projector and a control panel for the user to use on the main computer. Right now we have the user control (with an intuitive interface such as ‘use installed computer’, ‘use document imager’, etc) only working in Internet Explorer, but hope to have icon sets on the Mac OS and Windows desktop in the next couple of weeks. Also, this device, since it is connected to the network, will notify security and the Technology department if it is removed from the network.
Document Imager: Epson DC-10s – approximately 500 dollars
- A nice, inexpensive document imager with a VGA out that fits into our system nicely and has a really small foot print. A bit unwieldy to use, but acceptable.
Computer: iMac 20 inch – approximately 1200 dollars
- Since the iMAC is a unified device, people will not need to open a cabinet to put in a DVD or use a USB port. It also, of course, boots to MAC or Windows.
High Definition TV – Slingbox PRO – 260 dollars
- We use Slingboxes for a lot of things here, from simulcasting, live demonstrations, and in this case, TV for each of our presentation rooms – easy to use, and the hardware can sit anywhere on our network.
Wiring, install – approximately 800 - 1700 dollars
- Your quote will vary, of course, and there is still a bit of work to be done on our department’s end for setting up the computer, etc.
Other – 750 dollars
- VCR, security cables, a tiny UPS, a VGA switcher/amp and other miscellaneous things which are unique to each room.
...and that is about it. I might post on another topic before moving on to part three of this series which will discuss what worked and what didn’t with this solution. Think you can do better? By all means contact me!
In our setup here at the University of Miami we use Mac Minis in our classrooms. They are cheap ($800), allow dual boot into Mac and PC and are very small and fits easily into small spaces within the podium. You can lock it down with a $40 bracket. We use the DVD player within the Mac as a backup to our DVD/VHS player. The usb outlets are connected to a USB cable in our cable cubby for easy access.
Great Blog, btw. Looking forward to future updates.
Kenneth,
I'd love to hear where you got that 40 dollar bracket. Does it look good? The Mac Minis (especially the new ones) are wonderful in areas for us where there are LCD screens that need a dedicated computer for people to use.
For the presentation classrooms, the iMacs work better for us as it [will] contain the control panel to switch between the document imager, etc. Of course, with 'revision 2' of the design (much of which you see above), one could easily argue that a button panel control could make up the 250 to 450 dollar difference in cost between an iMac and Mac Mini. I'll consider that on the next round of classes.
http://www.pc-security.com/mac_mini_pad.htm
You can see the bracket (and order it) using the above link. It is basic but very strong. They come with the super strength sticky pad and screws if you want to lock it down tighter. I only used the pad and it works fine. We keep our podium cabinet door unlocked so the DVD drive is accessable. We wanted to use this to keep anyone from stealing the PCs. So far so good.