SamanthaD

Using basic DISCAS calculations a 75" screen should cover up to 7.4m. Using 2 side by side just extends the viewing width! (Typically we use an 86" for 30 capacity classrooms, so really have to ask if a 75" is going to cut it in a hall?) Stick with projection, but swap out the 4:3 screen.

Even if you don't want the interactivity, touchscreens tend to have toughened glass that on larger screens is a big plus. Anything 65" and over for us is interactive, whether we use it as such or not.

Hi Pete, First of all - good luck! I'm not sure many professional AV companies would want to come in and tidy up someone else's mess and then be responsible for it as the last people to touch it. I imagine most would be happy to come in and install a full system, but that doesn't sound like that's what you're after. The only AV company I ever recommend is GVAV - their National with branches all over the country (your nearest is probably Coventry but there's likely an area manager closer to you). We use them exclusively for all our AV contractor work - well worth an ask!

I always recommend GVAV - we have a contract with them for good reason, their staff are top notch, excellent after sales support and I've never complained about their prices...

I think if TCO is your biggest concern (and I understand it is!) then my suggestion would be stick with short throw projection. Moving to displays is a big change and deserves a business case writing for the money as it's not just the screen but bracketry, cabling, power, making good on the mess left behind when the old projector and screen comes down.... all needs to be factored in somewhere. At least with the projection option all your infrastructure is there and you just need to replace the projector. Also - and I say this a lot - don't be fooled into thinking a small screen is going to be enough. Size it correctly. Look up the AVIXA DISCAS tool, this is based on a lot of research and data for visual acuity. You can get a lot more image size for your cash with projection. It still has a place and sounds like it might make more sense.

What device is sending content to the screen? Apple devices always send HDCP no matter what content is being shown (and has prevented us from recording Macbooks on lecture capture for years), but I've heard some newer Windows devices may be following the same path. If the method used to "freeze" the screen is to take a screenshot then that is technically recording it, which may be why its throwing up an error.

We're pretty much an Epson laser house exclusively here - bear in mind that although there's no lamps to change basic maintenance such as filter cleaning is necessary, so put your projector somewhere you can still get to it! If you're going over 15,000 lumens be wary of laser risk groups - this is approaching risk group 3 territory where you have to consider eye damage (maybe not for your application, but just mentioning it for general knowledge) The further your throw the less likely you will have any distortion on your image, we usually do front projection with projector at the back of the room. This has it's own challenges including getting the signals to the projector (we use a single Extron DTP system and then have an AV switcher at the front to manage different devices such as laptops, PC, doc cam, blu-ray etc), and we control the projector via RS232 panels rather than remotes.

Haha! Still remember my service number clear as you like, over 26 years since I got it and haven't used it for 11...

This is staff related, but may just as easily happen for a pupil. Our username formats used to be First name initial, Surname initial, year of joining (2 digits) then 3 random digits. Quite similar to what a lot of responses here are following. However we have several members of staff that have changed their name by Deed Poll, and one of these members of staff has asked to have their username changed as they don't want to be associated with that name anymore, but to do so will break so many systems that rely on that it's going to be a headache for the Service Desk to do.... Also under GDPR if they do change name you have to update your records to ensure they are correct, so this might happen to you too. Needless to say now we have completely randomly assigned usernames for all new users.

OneLAN are very protective over the NTB image - it's a custom Linux distro and (so they say) needs to be activated on their server before it gets sent out. Unfortunately it's going to be buy new - and NTB's now require a 3 or 5 year license. With a 5 year license the overall cost is the same as it was for a new NTB originally, just going to sting you when renewal is due. You didn't say if it's a one box solution or part of a full CMS setup? Maybe worth looking into other options?

That might get the old dimmers working but if the wiring is condemned then it's an issue getting the dimmed power out to the fixtures - socapex isn't cheap! I'd suggest looking for some secondhand Alphapacks - able to be powered of 13a and can be controlled on the dimmer pack or via DMX. A few of those, some T-bar tripods and a bit of DMX to link it all up and you're old fixtures can breathe again... If you're stuck for a control solution the I use ChamSys regularly. The MagicQ PC software is free to download and play with, you can set up a visualiser as well dead easy (load a demo show), the dongle to get a universe worth of DMX is £90 with VAT and there's no licensing issues. Loads of tutorials online and support available, all you need is a machine to run it on (Windows, Mac OS and Linux are all supported).

https://www.swanflight.com/ https://www.castlecases.co.uk/ https://www.trifibre.co.uk/ All good case manufacturers we've used in the past - most if not all will do custom work at a price.

Logitech R400. If only for the on/off switch on the side!

If you can, try forcing the HDMI output's resolution and, more importantly, the refresh rate. We've found a number of newer laptops trying to push UHD @ 60Hz which the system just can't handle, but drop the rate to 30Hz and it's fine. Not sure if it's the display (unlikely if EDID is working correctly) or the cable (more likely - there's a lot of bandwidth required for UHD @ 60Hz!).

For us it's either Authenticator app or SMS. I use SMS as I don't always have a second device with me, but always have my cellular watch that I can pick up the code from. Might be less secure but is a lot more convenient (for me anyway!)

I think to fit into a 19" rack space you're looking at a 22" monitor, if it's protruding outside your rack then a 24" might work. Be aware of the weight of a touchscreen though compared to a normal monitor, looking at the mount design I can see the forward / backward screws are in slots rather than holes so if a finger prod is a bit too hard it might move the bracket backwards... Recommendations? I always think the Iiyama range is pretty bulletproof if you really want a touchscreen, but my real recommendation is to get a normal monitor with a keyboard and monitor shelf. Even maybe one of the fancy pull out jobs like this?

My old Macbook Pro is the 2012 model, last one with a built in optical drive. Upgraded with 16Gb of RAM and 2Tb SSD, it's going to do me another few years yet before I let it retire on me!

Pop Gun Toy Gun Top Nun Top Bun

We were aware this was basically Hitachi under a new name. Sounds like the name change hasn't actually changed much else! Glad we stuck to Epson.

Overkill for most here maybe, but we run Sonic Foundry's Mediasite (approx 130 rooms, all automated to record scheduled lectures, sometimes 8 in a day. It's a big operation). The automation and scale works well for us. Panopto may also be a good solution for some. Some solution agnostic lessons that we've learnt though to think about. Audio is more important than video. The majority of our content is Powerpoint slides and voice, no cameras. We're lucky in that Mediasite allows us to record 2 video streams, so in some rooms cameras have been installed for capturing writing surfaces. But the majority of them only capture what's on the screen. Policy matters. Our unions were very keen to ensure the recorded content would not be used for staff assessment, and staff have to explicitly agree to have their lectures recorded (with the option to opt out for no reason). Guest lectures have to agree to being recorded as well, with a carefully worded release form signed beforehand. Copyright becomes an issue - who owns the lesson content? What happens to that content when a member of staff leaves? And will you need to revisit student permissions regarding being recorded on audio and possibly video? Storage - if this is not automated it's quite a manual task. Are you compressing the files? How long are you agreeing to store the content for? How easy will it be to access? Naming conventions? Some food for thought!

And the connector. IEC C13 connectors are only rated to 10A @ 250v, so a 13A fuse is not acceptable and SHOULD fail a PAT test. I've had many blown fuses where clients have used a 3a fused C13 cable on something with a 6 / 7a draw and wonder why it doesn't work.... Hence why I suggest changing the cable with the ones that come with the devices as good practice.

If all your IEC leads are still in the bag it might be worth actually renewing what you're using. I know they last forever but things like fuse rating etc change within them so I feel it's good practise. Storage wise we use Really Useful Boxes with a few shelving racks. The lids are secure (if the box is full and the lid doesn't close you've got too many of that cable type), they're stackable and really robust. As for VGA - I'd be tactical and throw them all out. If a cable goes down then sorry - it's no longer supported or available. Perhaps we should invest in some new monitors....... ;-)

Hi, Notice that occasionally the AV and Multimedia thread gets a post relating to Anti Virus software - should we rename the AV and Multimedia thread to Audio Visual and Multimedia, and maybe the Security thread needs changing to Security and Anti Virus? Just think by doing this there will be better engagement for Anti-Virus related posts! Sam.

I raised this with Gen 1 Flips - it would be a great product for us if we had some way of outputting the video from them so we can record it, and project it onto larger surfaces (ie an HDMI output). Never materialised so never bought one.

For touch panels we use iiyama - for us RS232 control is important and as little software on the actual device as possible. All the collaboration / whiteboard tools are Office 365 based, and as users float from room to room keeping data on the device is a no go.