All-in-One System For BrightLink Pro

Grant's Perspective on ... Chief's  new All-in-One System for mounting the Epson BrightLink Pro in a conference room.

With the introduction of the Epson BrightLink Pro 1410Wi,  Chief has identified a need to aesthetically mount the projector for the boardroom, corporate training facility and conference room.

The system includes the IDEA projection screen that minimizes projector hot spots and also serves as a dry erase board. The mounting system allows cables to be hidden behind the screen but do not have to be run behind the walls. There is also a valance that hides the projector and projector cabling from view.  The valance and trim are available in 3 colours (cherry, aluminum and teak) to better match the room.

And with it being a Chief product, you know it is easy to install and adjust!

Grant

Mobile Rear Projection Whiteboard

Grant's Perspective on ... Da-lite's new rear projection whiteboard cart for interactive projectors.

Da-Lite has introduced the IDEA Interactive Cart (a new mobile whiteboard cart designed for use with interactive projectors). The cool feature is that the ultra-short throw projector is mounted to the back side of the cart so that the whiteboard becomes a rear projection screen. This eliminates the shadows caused by someone standing between the projector and screen.

I look forward to the opportunity to get my hands on this and try it out.

Grant

StarBoard Link Buy 4 Get 5

Grant's Perspective on ... Hitachi StarBoard Link Sale.

Hitachi is offering a "buy 4 get 5" deal on their StarBoard Link product. The StarBoard Link makes a dry erase whiteboard and regular projector and interactive surface. See the details below.

Grant

StarBoardLink Makes a Dry Erase Board Interactive

Grant's Perspective on ... the new interactive Hitachi StarBoardLink.

Hitachi has long been a part of the interactive market with their StarBoard series of interactive whiteboards. They have now brought the StarBoardLink to market.

The StarBoardLink is a good fit for the teacher that already has a projector and a smooth hard surface (standard whiteboard or wall) and would like to make their classes interactive, on a budget. This is the same technology as the Hitachi StarBoard but now without the board.

The StarBoardLink has an Infrared Image Sensor that is mounted at the top of the surface. The reflective bars are then mounted in a U shape around the Infrared Image Sensor.

The Infrared Sensor  is pre-drilled so that it can easily be permanently mounted at the top of your hard surface. With the sensor being mounted at the top of the surface it would be a good solution for rooms that have very low ceilings.

The interactive area is scalable. it can be set up with a 4:3 ratio ( 45" - 77") and the HD 16:10 ratio can be 45" - 90".

This adds another option for people that have been looking at interactive whiteboards or some of the other interactive systems such as the Hitachi iP-AW250N interactive projector and the Epson BrightLink and BrightLink Solo.

I have just read the StarBoardLink literature and look forward to getting my hands on the unit and putting it through some hands on testing.

Grant

Hitachi Introduces the iPJ-AW250N Interactive Projector

Grant's Perspective on ... Hitachi iPJ-AW250N interactive projector.

Hitachi has announced that they will be soon adding the iPJ-AW250N interactive projector to their product line-up. This ultra-short throw projector is a 2,500 ANSI lumen projector with a resolution of 1280 x 800 (16:10).

Their preliminary information refers to this projector as being "software agnostic". This means that any software that you run on your computer will work with the projector. You are not restricted to using proprietary software that is licensed by the hardware manufacturer.

I was pleased to see that Hitachi has included an HDMI input. HDMI is a cable standard for high definition (HD) equipment that carries both audio and video signals.

Below are Hitachi photos of the projector and infrared pen.

We are anticipating the release of  this interactive projector soon.

Grant

BrightLink Awarded a Buckaroo

Grant's Perspective on ... BrightLink Earns a Buckaroo Award.

I noticed a press release this week that the Epson BrightLink earned a Buckaroo Award from Pacific Media Associates.

The press release noted “At PMA, it is imperative we provide the projection industry with information on the most advanced and cost-effective multimedia solutions available in the market today,” said Dr. William Coggshall, founder and president of PMA. “The Epson BrightLink is a perfect example of innovation at its best, deeming it worthy of a Buckaroo Award.”

It is great to see the AV industries premiere research firm acknowledging the BrightLink as a breakthrough in interactive projectors. Even our shipping department recognizes the significance of the BrightLink based on the number of units coming in and going out.

Grant

IU-01 Interactive Demo At InfoComm

Grant's Perspective on ... IU-01 demonstration at InfoComm.

Epson had a demonstration of the IU-01 at InfoComm. This makes any existing projector interactive. The picture below shows the Epson representative with the infra-red pen doing an elementary school exercise. She gave a short demonstration to show the audience how intuitive and user-friendly the IR pen is and then let her audience try it.

The IU-01 is the same system that is the interactive heart of the BrightLink. It is not for sale at this time so we will stay tuned for a release announcement

BTW - The BrightLink has been getting a warm reception be it at InfoComm or the demonstrations that have been happening at Inland AV locations.

Grant

Epson BrightLink Canadian Pricing

Grant's Perspective on ... the Epson BrightLink Canadian pricing is announced.

 Epson Canada has announced the pricing for the Brightlink 450Wi interactive projector. Educational pricing under the Brighter Futures program is also available.

Contact your closest Inland AV location for pricing and then you can complete your own "Do the Math" worksheet I posted last week.

Grant

Epson BrightLink 450Wi Brochure Now Available

Grant's Perspective on ... new Epson BrightLink brochure is now available for download.

I have been amazed at the buzz that the Epson Brightlink interactive projector has been generating. I can't believe the number of readers who have come to my blog with "Epson BrightLink" as their keyword search.

Epson has published a new "BrightLink 450Wi One Simple Solution" brochure. This 18 page brochure covers the features, benefits and includes a "Do the Math" worksheet.

We are all waiting for the official release (and Canadian pricing) of the BrightLink in the next few weeks. I was one of the lucky ones who had a chance to see the projector first-hand at the Inland AV Open House in Winnipeg and can't wait to start having them delivered.

Grant

Webcast Presentations: Digital Projection, Kramer & BrightLink 450Wi

Grant's Perspective on ... Inland AV Open House Seminar Webcast

The Inland AV February 12, Open House event in Edmonton included 3 seminars that were webcast live. The presentations have been archived and are now available for on-demand viewing.

The 3 seminars are:

1 -Digital Projection Overview - Paul Gomes, Digital Projection
2 -  Analog to Digital Transition and Your AV Investment -  Ed Tchoi, Future Image Systems
3 - Epson BrightLink 450Wi: The New Interactive Projector - Jared Scott, Epson Canada

Click here and you will go to the webcast registration page (screen capture below).  Register and you will access the webcast lobby page. Click on "watch now" (I encourage you to view with the Explorer browser and watch the Silverlight formatted presentations) and the webcast window will open. Use the index points drop down menu (bottom left hand corner of the webcast screen) to go directly to any of the 3 seminars.

The screen capture below is from the Epson BrightLink 450Wi seminar. Jared Scott, Epson Canada introduces and demonstrates the new interactive projector.

In addition to the content of the webcasts, I wanted to mention that webcasting is a service of the Inland AV Rentals department. Webcasting extends the reach of a live event offering a great ROI.

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 BrightLink 450Wi Winnipeg & Edmonton Seminar Announced

Grant's Perspective on ... an Epson interactive projector seminar added to Inland AV's Reaching For AV Gold Open House.

The introduction of the Epson BrightLink 450Wi interactive projector (see blog post from last week for details) has generated so much interest that a BrightLink seminar has been added to the January 29, Winnipeg event and the February 12, Edmonton event.

Everyone that is involved in education and training is very interested in learning what this interactive projector can do.

Grant

Epson BrightLink 450Wi Interactive Projector

Grant's Perspective on ... Epson's interactive projector will change the whiteboard market

Epson has just announced a new interactive projector that will radically change the educational market and I believe it!

Interactive whiteboards have become a hit with teachers helping deliver classroom content. Students love interactivity in their lessons, therefore they understand and retain the information better. Now the Epson BrightLink 450Wi can project onto a regular whiteboard or wall and perform like an interactive whiteboard but (here's the clincher) without the interactive whiteboard component.

Up to now, interactive presentations have required both an interactive whiteboard and a projector to provide the interactive functionality. Now all you need is the projector! This significantly lowers the overall purchase cost and keeps the classroom looking less cluttered (and safer).

The projector comes with an annotation pen. This pen is used by the teacher or student to electronically "mark up" the image that is on the wall as the pen communicates with the projector to make the annotation visible. The advantages of the pens are that they are more reliable and accurate than fingers. I always do a circle test by drawing a large circle and looking for drop outs. I think of the pen as the "car keys" in that they are locked in a teachers desk and brought out when needed.

The 450Wi has an ultra-short throw lens allowing it to be wall mounted just above where the image is projected eliminating annoying "shadow puppets" caused by the teacher being between the projector lens and the screen.

Epson has announced that they will be demonstrating this break-through technology in Winnipeg, January 29, 2010 and in Edmonton, February 12, 2010.

Grant