Lights in the Way, Epson Saves the Day!

Grant's Perspective on ... boardroom light fixtures getting in the way of projectors.

Some of the common obstacles when installing an AV system into a boardroom are lighting fixtures. Placement of lights and other room design elements can be a hindrance to an AV system.

Often a light is immediately in front of the screen or light fixtures are hanging where a projector should be placed.

The photo below is a good example of these issues. We are thankful that many Epson projectors can be installed with (in this case) a short throw lens so that the cool looking lighting and the projector can live in harmony both from an aesthetic and functional point of view.

When building or renovating a boardroom we encourage people to consult with their AV company ( Inland Audio Visual) in the early planning stages so that the room design and AV design can work together. Notice the lighting pot immediately above the projector in the photo below.

Grant

Hitachi CP-AW252WN Ultra-Short Throw Projectot

Grant's Perspective on ... Hitachi's new CP-AW252WN ultra-short throw projector.

Hitachi has released a new WXGA, 2500 lumen ultra-short throw projector that incorporates ImageCare Technology. ImageCare lowers the overall power usage of the projector in several different ways.

ImageCare includes Intelligent Eco and Saver Mode. Intelligent Eco mode allows the projector to sense dark and bright images and automatically lower the power usage of the lamp so that the projected image looks great but with reduced energy consumption. Saver Mode is great for classroom situations. The projector will reduce the power applied to the lamp when an image remains static for a per-determined amount of time. Students focus on the screen as a new slide is projected but after they view it for about 5 - 10 seconds focus on the person lecturing until the next slide appears.

Another new feature is that a table top mount is available so that a desk top can be the projection surface. Add in the Hitachi EZ2-Pen and you now have an interactive table. Great for classrooms!

See the graphic of the imput/output panel below.

Grant

BrightLink - Product of the Year

Grant's Perspective on ... BrightLink Named Outstanding Product of the Year.

It is only the end of May but ProjectorReviews.com has named the Epson 450Wi BrightLink as  their Outstanding Product of the Year. It is very rare to find a review that positively gushes about a new product. This is if interest to everyone involved in teaching and training!

BTW - My ticket to InfoComm is booked and I'm really looking forward to seeing the new audiovisual products. I'm sure that I will be sharing pictures and comments from the show.

Grant

Epson BrightLink Interactive Projector at Winnipeg Open House

Grant's Perspective on ... Epson BrightLink 450Wi Best of Show.

Our Winnipeg Open House was last Friday. Glenn Corthey, Inland AV Sales Manager, reported that it was attended by a record number of people. It was great to host guests from Portage LaPrarie, Brandon, The Pas, Selkirk, as well as the Winnipeg area. 

The Epson BrightLink 450Wi interactive projector garnered a lot of positive attention. I watched a few of Jared Scott's demonstrations (pictured below at the Epson booth and Inland AV Presentation Theatre) and noted that the interactivity was very smooth. In other words, the BrightLink system responded fast, no drop outs, the projected image looked great and the annotations also looked great. The double-tap (like a mouse double-click) works just like it would on a tablet PC. The pen needs to make contact with the wall to write so as long as you maintain contact on the wall, a continuous line is made, just like a real pen. The fact that you use a regular wall as the projection surface means that the active image size is flexible.

While Canadian pricing has not been announced, the cost of the interactive projector will be significantly less than a traditional interactive whiteboard and projector system.
BTW- The system comes with the 450Wi projector, mount, 2 pens, 4 rechargeable batteries and charger.

Grant

Epson Announces Two New Ultra-Short Throw Projectors

Grant's Perspective on ... the Epson PowerLite 450, 460 Ultra-Short Throw Projectors

Epson has announced 2 new PowerLite series of 3LCD projectors for release early in 2010. This projector is an ideal fit for many classroom and training rooms where space is an issue. The projector is designed to be mounted very close to a wall and can project a 60" image with only 18 inches of distance. The 460 model delivers 3,000 lumens of white light output and 3,000 Colour Light Output.

With features such as USB computer connections and a microphone input, I can't wait for their release next month!

Grant