Author Archives: Petar Mitrevski

iPad 2 – Full Video Mirroring

No more app nonsese – the ipad 2 mirrors the entire screen (other iOS devices will only allow mirroring in certain apps – e.g. Keynote):
https://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/

I’ve updated our documentation:
https://mediawiki.middlebury.edu/wiki/LIS/IOS_Projection

Securing laptops to a desk or a podium

Some options:
https://www.smartdesks.com/laptop-labs.asp
https://www.smartdesks.com/mfi-lectern-podium.asp
https://www.smartdesks.com/PDF/SPECS-MPLEX/MFP-302642-LKF.pdf

Freedom podium/lectern with Freedom link cart (actually the cart may be more useful for us than the podium!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1L5GS29mB8

For example we could lock a laptop to podiums where there isn’t enough space to attach a swing arm and desktop mount:
Kensington Laptop Locking Station ($80).

Probably the best would be a monitor swing arm (FWD110B Chief monitor wall arm mount,$80) with a Mac Mini mount / bracket such as the MacCuff, $50.

Converting analog to digital and vice versa

A few years down the road we may find ourselves in a situation where:

  • some of the computers on-campus will only have a VGA port
  • some of the computers on-campus will only have a DisplayPort (likely these will be Dell computers)
  • some of the computers on-campus will only have a Mini DisplayPort (all Mac computers distributed after January 1, 2009)

Thus, any new and existing smart classrooms will need to be reconfigured to support the three kinds of ports.

New and newly upgraded classrooms
In new or newly upgraded classrooms we will have the opportunity (and budget money!) to rebuild the system to support the new situation. In each classroom, we will have to replace a variety of switchers, adapters, projectors, and last, but not least, we’ll need to run one or two additional cables. As silly as it sounds, replacing the switchers, adapters and projectors will be straightforward. However, replacing the cables will not be as easy, depending on the classroom. There are two ways of replacing the cables:

  • Option A: Each classroom could have three cables: a VGA cable (for older Apple and Dell computers), a DisplayPort cable (for newer Dell computers) and a Mini DisplayPort cable (for newer Apple computers).
  • Option B: Each classroom could have two types of cables (a VGA cable and an HDMI cable). New Dell computers will be distributed with a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. Mac computers will be distributed with a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter.

At this point, option A seems like the ideal option, however, in some classrooms the existing cable conduits will not fit the two additional cables, thus Option B will be the only working approach. To implement Option B, Media Services would need to work closely with the Helpdesk and Library Circulation to purchase and distributed the necessary adapters.

Old smart classrooms that are not yet scheduled for a complete upgrade
Ideally we’d have the money and the time to upgrade all of the smart classrooms. However, that’s not likely going to be the case. We will need to implement a version of cabling Option B here. In some classrooms, a HDMI to VGA converter will be sufficient, in other classrooms we may need to also add a new switcher.

Equipment Needed

  1. Switcher: Extron MPS409. This switcher will convert DVI, VGA, component, S-Video, and audio to HDMI and vice versa. Yup, this switcher just made my day. It ROCKS!
  2. HDMI to VGA converter options: HDFury2
  3. Apple Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter
  4. Moshi Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter
  5. Startech DisplayPort to HDMI adapter

A few classrooms are also used for overflow. If we come to a situation where the cameras used for overflow or the switchers used in overflow only have HDMI ports, we can use an HDMI CAT-5 (ethernet) balust (one model that would work: Niles C5-HDMI).

In a few classrooms we need to project the same video to two different projectors, or to a monitor and a projector. For such situations we’d need a distribution amplifier (DA), such as the Kramer VM-2HxI.

Evaluating Multimedia Room Control

Lutron vs Crestron Lighting: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=875223
Crestron vs Extron vs AMX: http://www.vtctalk.com/showthread.php?t=39922
Archived chatter around similarities between Global View and RoomView: http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/crestron-extron-lawsuit

Good mailing lists for AV:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Crestron/
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Show-Control/

Choosing the right printer

If you find yourself needing to choose or recommend a small or medium printer, it’s worthwhile to consider the volume of pages that the printer prints per month.

HP (for example) publishes this information for their business/enterprise printers.

If the printer is replacing another printer, papercut can be used to give us an idea of how many pages the old printer has printed per month:

A printer that’s specced for less pages / month will have a decreased “life expectancy”, as is happening with AXN105. If a printer is failing repeatedly, you may want to consult the manufacturer specs to see if the printer is printing more than it’s meant to handle. On the other hand, purchasing an expensive high-volume printer that will only be used sparingly is a waste of resources. So consult the “Recommended Monthly Print Volume” specification from the manufacturer and, if there’s an older printer currently in place, consult the papercut statistics for the queue.

Hope this helps you in your journeys in printer land…

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As an additional recommendation, if new printers are needed, I would suggest sticking to ones that are listed as Office printers, have PCL5, PCL6 and Postscript Support, and a control Panel for easy configuration. Printers listed as personal printers or ones that use host based printing generally aren’t set up to be connected to via a server. You can usually find that information on the specifications tab when checking out printers specs online.

Jeff
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