Touchscreens

[sarge]

I am just looking at putting in a touchscreen and could do with some pointers as to what to look for or avoid.

Thanks

[FN-GM]

The CeleverTouch it to big and heavy. The glass screen is a pain as well. You see yourself when using it. Also the gap between the glass and the screen can make things difficult when wanting for accurate "touches". Ctouch screens are matte and don't have this gap, they are also much lighter.

[Clevertouch_Rob]

FN-GM

The CeleverTouch it to big and heavy. The glass screen is a pain as well. You see yourself when using it. Also the gap between the glass and the screen can make things difficult when wanting for accurate "touches". Ctouch screens are matte and don't have this gap, they are also much lighter.

 

FN-GM - Are you referring to legacy products? All Current Clevertouch screens are Anti-Glare.

[FN-GM]

Its not that old. its 18 months old.

[Cache]

I've just seen a SMART 6065 demo unit which was delivered to a local primary yesterday. Not had chance to play with it yet as I've been involved in online testing all week, but going to have a play on Tuesday. I have seen it and it does look very very nice! Edited September 26, 2014 by Cache

[Chris_]

We've bought some Iiyama IPS panels with 6 points of touch. They're really smart and have a very crisp image. Just recently got an ELO screen but not really had much time to play around with it. Both screens weight a tonne!!

[timp]

The weight shouldn't be an issue, your reseller will be able to advise on the various ways they can be fitted. Like any purchasing decision look at the alternatives, test them yourself, most displays can be left on site for short trials ( if they can't then don't bother with that brand) check the warranties, software, size options and of course costs.

 

The Smart 6065 is a bit of an oddity. Offers 4K resolution, future proofed, but do you need that for education right now, probably not. Also very limited on connections, only a single HDMI input. Therefore any VGA based pc's need additional boxes to connect up.

 

CTouch, Clevertouch, Smart are the top 3 brands, CTouch with the widest range of sizes. Smart with the least. Check them all out before buying!

[XiJ]

All good advice as above.

 

We've out the llyama in many schools - wall mount, trolley mount and height adjustable trolley/wall mount so weight isn't a massive issue (the 65" are hefty no doubt)

 

The annoying thing with the llyama is the stupid Vesa mounts. Although that will change on the next model I understand.

 

VGA, HDMI, dvi + more inputs and very nice.

[labio]

We recommend Samsung; we're on a rolling program swapping Promethean boards out of one of our partner primary schools meaning they'll have a 65" in every classroom and we've seen take up on a smaller scale across a lot of our other partner primary schools - rolling three at a time. If you need any other info let me know We'll be happy to assist.

[Mr_Jiminy]

The CeleverTouch it to big and heavy. The glass screen is a pain as well. You see yourself when using it. Also the gap between the glass and the screen can make things difficult when wanting for accurate "touches". Ctouch screens are matte and don't have this gap, they are also much lighter.

 

I think you're possibly on about a much earlier model, anti-glare has been in the range for a while now. Plus the screens are going to be heavy, they're reinforced!

 

CleverTouch

C-Touch

Alpha Touch

BenQ

Iiyama

Genee

 

There's a lot of choice, it's worth getting demos arranged and weighing up after sales support, plus the bundled software.

[Mr_Jiminy]

Its not that old. its 18 months old.

 

Ahh that explains it, it's an earlier model.

[Avited_Lisa]

Hi

 

I would recommend getting as many on site demonstrations as you can. CleverTouch are currently number one in the interactive flat panel market, but CTouch are rapidly catching up, followed by SMART. SMARTs 6065 is a good product, especially with the object recognition which makes the transition for teachers much easier, however the lack of remote control and therefore freeze/still function can impact a number of teachers.

 

I've done a lot of work recently comparing the options so don't forget the BenQ option which is also popular.

 

CTouch, CleverTouch and BenQ will all do onsite demos if you are keen so its worth trying everything and seeing what your teachers think

 

Lisa

[northeast_technician]

Just had prowise rep out, very impressed

[dastrix]

Prowise is the best we found software wise, and we started rolling out this summer.

[maark]

Two problems we had with touchscreens:

Could not run smart software properly and staff did not want to use the bundled software.

You cannot freeze the image as with a projector - e.g. get an image to stay on the screen whilst then changing programs doing the register on your laptop - could not find a touch screen that did this though things may have changed.

[dastrix]

We decided to pay for the pc, and as for smart software that needs to disappear.

 

Although some of the software imports notebook files.

[northeast_technician]

I think with the prowise software you can use the reveal tool

[Wilderbeest]

They are all big an heavy. At least the 6065 has handles making mounting easier. Make sure your walls are solid or properly prepared with a suitable pattress.

We've had problems with the 6065's we have installed. There is a firmware issue which makes them pretty much unreliable/unusable - Smart has NO IDEA when this will be fixed. The 4K feature is more of a problem than a help. Nothing has 4K capability as standard, so you will have to add in some extra hardware to make it work. £45 PCIe cards work well. Then the 6065 image will be beautiful, but is an extended desktop - unless you have a 4K monitor on the teacher station, allowing you to mirror. You will need to get some software to add the command bar to the 6065. (Something like display fusion). After all of this, the icons are too small to be usable. You can scale up text and icons, but it's system wide, not display specific and applications such as Sims do not like scaled text. So, we have ended up a) using them as expensive TVs until the firmware fix finally materialises b) using them at lower than 4K if we are brave enough to attempt an interactive lesson. We will probably not be getting any more 6065 units. Nice idea - they just don't deliver the exciting Bett promise.

[OxfordBlue]

Native 4k content will look great especially on bigger screen sizes. Decent scaling down to legacy sources is vital, both 1080p and WXGA. Not all 4k screens are the same.

[Townsend]

I am currently working with several manufacturers of touchscreens - SMART have the e70, the new VIVIDtouch and the Benq, Promethean have deals on their ACTIVpanel. Clevertouch have their new range with in built ANDROID options - as do iboard and Genee.

Nice offering from Hitachi - but limited range of sizes. New product due from Iiyama shortly - but limited software option.

Personally, I do not find a huge amount of difference in the actual screens themselves - some look better than other - screens vary a little - touch is what it is. Software seems a major determining factor.

This is something I have done a lot of work on - so if I can help - PM me.

[Limy]

I agree with Townsend above, its the software that really differentiates many of the screens. Look at what software you have previously used. You don't have to continue to use the same but it is worth checking to see if any new software you are going to potentially use can open other software files natively. Another thing to consider is how the screens software will integrate with other technology you have in your classrooms. These are things like visualisers, iPads / Tablets and voting systems. Finally I have seen some screens that come with multiple separate software applications where as others combine the similar applications into one integrated solution. Its just something to consider from a useability and training point of view. Hope this helps.