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Posted

Hi

 

We are looking to purchase 4 touchscreen 65" devices in a new block for maths, they previously had 9 year old 'Interactive Education' Boards which have seen enough action. We are looking at the follow models has anybody used them or thinking of going down the same route? The rooms have no AV at all so weighing up the difference between a projector install + interactive board V Touchscreen TV.

 

BenQ T650 65" TouchScreen

Promethean 65" ActivPanel Touch Interactive Display

Clevertouch 'S Series' 65"

Alphatouch 65" from vii-networks

 

Thank you.

Posted

We've sold and installed the top 3 to schools and we've not heard anything bad what so ever. The install can sometimes be costly due to the weight of the screens.

 

It's also worth considering Ctouch screens. I've seen a few demos of these and they look bulletproof

 

Luke

Posted
We've got some CleverTouch 65" models here. Not had a single complaint since they went in. One thing to note is that the touch sensitivity works even when the screen is switched off (standby) if plugged into the computer - so when a TA lounges against the screen and the mouse is bouncing all over the place on the teacher's screen, you know why! :)
Posted
We have 3 BenQ TL550 work perfectly fine here connected to a fixed PC.... One of which uses the USB extension mentioned in @exim post and it works fine...that's been there nearly 2 years, other 2 have been up for just a year, but had no problems.
Posted

Had issues with Clevertouch and most disappointing thing was the support. They kept going dark and Clevertouch wouldn't do anything unless we sent pictures. Hard to how on a picture! Also when they did come they were rude!

 

AlphaTouch are good and warranty is a straight swap out if needed. Never had an issue with one though!

Posted

Snagret - I am very sorry to hear that you have had issues and that the support you received from customer services wasn't to your satisfaction. If you can pm me your details I will look into this for you.

 

Best regards

 

Shaun Marklew

Sales Director

Sahara Presentation Systems PLC

  • Thanks 1
Posted

We had a CTouch on trial all last week and was well received by the staff that used it. I had a look at the BenQ at BETT as well as couple of others and there wasn't a huge amount to choose between them.

 

For us I think it will come down to price and and whether we can get the smart notebook resources to work with it!

Posted
well notebook will only work to 100% compatibility on a smart device, which is why for now I'm sold on the Smart E70 screens. Yes they're more expensive, but it will work how you expect it to work. I hear there is a limited discount period at the moment.
Posted

Anybody used the Promethean 65" ActivPanel then? it is coming in the cheapest surprisingly. They can convert smart notebook files to there Activ Inspire software but not sure how it compares. Think a week demo unit is required!

 

Wish I could have gone to BETT to see them all in action.

Posted

I saw them all recently at this years BETT and the ones I'm buying are the Prometheans!

Metal bezel, speakers OK, front placed buttons for volume etc, best anti glare coating. And by far and away the best responsiveness. All the others were quite some way behind a quick finger scribble on screen, the Promethean was only ever about half an inch behind.

By the time you factor in a licence cost for active inspire it makes the screen no more expensive.

My vote = Promethean ActivePanel 65"

  • 3 weeks later...
Posted (edited)

I have seen the Promethean ActivPanel Touch at the Link2ICT conference this week. Been waiting ages for Promethean to release a touch board and because of the delay in releasing them I was hoping for more from promethean to be honest. Seems like a bit of a "me too" product. Does not bring anything new to the table apart full ActivInspire licence coverage if you've already got ActivInspire trained staff.

 

It still uses infrared camera to detect touch. It will detect touch 2mm from the board surface. The makes it inferior to Classic ActivBoards for handwriting with a Pen

 

Comparing it to 2nd Gen LCD CleverTouch boards there is less issue with parallax because there is less airgap between outer class layer and LED panel.

 

Pro's

Matt Screen

Low friction coating on screen

Slimmer than Clever Touch (79mm vs 111mm)

Controls on board itself (not totally reliant on remote)

VESA mount for mini PC

No significant Parallax Problems

 

Cons

Only 1 HDMI input

Ports on bottom of screen (not side)

Controls on board are not well labelled

 

If you are not wedded to Smart or Promethean look into iBoard Touch boards as they have sloped IR reflectors which do not collect dust and debris like the CleverTouch boards (LCD, don't know if they've fixed that in newer LED version). Also has clear on board controls, side mounted ports and also feature a rudimentary touch based OSD controls (source selection is via touch OSD)

 

Not sure if these boards are fussy about USB extensions. Most boards seem to be to some extent.

 

Better than CleverTouch

Not seen the Smart E70 Boards so can't comment

iBoard better but has no ActivInspire

 

P.S. what ever screen you get don't run them as full resolution as you will make the icons and text too small to see at the back of the class. Also you will make buttons smaller and harder to touch accurately. Also make use of Windows text size adjustment which will help somewhat. Education city works really well.

 

P.P.S. Windows 8 modern/metro/new interface obviously works well with touch but why is the "desktop" classic interface exactly the same as windows 7 except for flatter colours. Why not make the buttons bigger and more touch friendly. Also Office 365 is not all that more touch friendly from my limited testing.

Edited by Alis_Klar
  • 3 weeks later...
Posted
Smart announced today that the E70 is discontinued. New panels on the way. I always thought this panel was a bit of a 'rush job' by Smart, not up to their usual standards. Maybe some bargain prices in the summer, a lot of stock to clear I believe
  • 3 weeks later...
Posted
Had issues with Clevertouch and most disappointing thing was the support. They kept going dark and Clevertouch wouldn't do anything unless we sent pictures. Hard to how on a picture! Also when they did come they were rude!

 

Did you get this sorted snagrat?

  • 1 month later...
Posted (edited)

I have also been charged with replacing the current IWBs in some of our classrooms. When I was at BETT I visited a stand by a company called (Shanghai) Easi Computer Technology who were showcasing their 'Portable' IWB. Has anyone ever used one of these? Are they any good?

 

Are Touchscreens replacing IWBs generally, or is it still worth having IWBs in classrooms?

@Millgate, @VeryPC_Colin_F if you have any recommendations that would be great, thanks :)

Edited by Phildw
Posted

Hey Phil,

 

It depends on the school really. I've still got schools buying Smartboards but the majority are going for the new Epson projectors such as the EB-485WI.

 

Regarding screens, the best one I have come across is the C-Touch units. Pretty much bullet proof. If you need demos/pricing, let me know

 

Luke

Posted
If anyone gets any solid information on the Philips 65" touchscreens it'll be interesting, with the price points those are coming in at and stock available in the channel, they look like a real market upsetter. Yet to actually see one though!
Posted
Hey Phil,

 

It depends on the school really. I've still got schools buying Smartboards but the majority are going for the new Epson projectors such as the EB-485WI.

 

Regarding screens, the best one I have come across is the C-Touch units. Pretty much bullet proof. If you need demos/pricing, let me know

Luke

 

Hi Luke, information on this would be good thanks :)

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