Extron TLP700MV Touch Screen System

Grant's Perspective on ... Extron TLP700MV Touch Screen Installation.

We have just finished an installation of several training rooms in downtown Winnipeg. We took some archival photos of the racks and I wanted to post one that features an Extron TLP700MV. This is a great touch screen that has a couple of nice features.

There is a rotary volume control for quick and easy audio volume changes instead of the up and down buttons that need to be clicked repeatedly. The unit also has 10  hard quick access  keys around the touch screen so that drilling into different pages of the touch screen is kept to a minimum.

I also like the fact that the system is hidden inside a row of  great looking cabinets.

The photo of the rack is below. I also included a screen shot from the Extron website so that you can see the TLP700MV detail.

BTW - I live just north of Winnipeg and like many people in Manitoba are dealing with the Red River flooding. Here are a couple of photos that my family took while taking a walk on a highway by Selkirk after the river waters receded leaving debris and icebergs behind.

Grant

Hiding Amplifiers & Speakers

Grant's Perspective on ...

Last weeks short blog post on hiding cables was straight forward - keep cables out of sight.  This post is about what I call making a "clean" installation.

For example, take the basic ceiling mounted projector installation.  The projector becomes a fixture within the room once it's installed. I strongly believe it's important any additional peripherals take the same route and become "built into" the room.  An audio system (amplifier and speakers) are common AV peripherals  included on many projector installations.

Utilizing a very small sized but powerful amplifier that can be tucked up onto the projector mount hardware eliminates a wall mounted audio rack within the room, or a mixer amp placed haphazardly on a table, filing cabinet or hidden in a credenza under the coffee mugs.

There are many options when selecting speakers.  A pair of speakers can be wall mounted on either side of the screen, one or more flush-mounted speaker(s) in the ceiling, or a speaker designed to look like a ceiling tile (usually used in boardrooms for aesthetics).  These speakers are all driven from the small amp located on the projector mount and therefore the cables are also hidden above the ceiling. See a photo of a ceiling tile speaker below.

Another neat & tidy peripheral is a simple control system.  The keypad and controller are both housed as a single device and is flush mounted in the wall similar to a light switch.  The controller eliminates the need for the projector's remote control (which ultimately gets lost) making it easy for presenters to locate the controller on the wall and take control of the primary control functions: projector ON/OFF, input selection (COMPUTER, DVD, LAPTOP, etc), VOLUME UP / DOWN; and perhaps a few more: VIDEO MUTE or SCREEN UP / DOWN.  They may even perform an auto-shut down of the projector and more sophisticated systems can control lighting and HVAC.  This saves lamp life and energy - how green is that?! See a picture of a simple Extron wall plate style controller below.

These inexpensive solutions both contribute to a "clean" installation.  Basically nothing is loose in the room. You could remove all the furniture to create an entirely empty room yet still have a presentation!

Grant

Viscount Gort Hidden AV

Grant's Perspective on ... projector lifts in the Viscount Gort ballroom

My last post asked people if they think that hiding the AV equipment is important. This week I'm at the Viscount Gort Hotel going over the final details of the audiovisual installation portion of their recent major expansion and renovation. They have included three infrared projector lifts as a part of the banquet room design to hide projectors when not in use. In this case it is for more than aesthetics, theirs is a multi-purpose ballroom and the lift helps protect the projector when it is not in use.

Here is a grainy picture (sorry just had my cell with me) that I snapped of one of the Inland AV service technicians installing the lift.

This is a great example of how hidden AV is becoming standard practice. Remember to vote on our importance of hidden AV poll, over on the right hand side of this page.

Grant