Congratulations to the winners of the 2018 Best of InfoComm! Below are highlights of these winning products:
LAYER LOGIC, CORETOUCH
(layerlogic.com)
Whether it’s figuring out the right input on the display, connecting the laptop, uploading the content, or adding the remote participants, there always seems to be some technology getting in the way of starting the meeting on time. CoreTouch provides a simple and inexpensive way to integrate up to four computers that are simultaneously touch-interactive onto any touch screen. The judges like that there’s no software to download and the program can work with any OS—simply plug in your device and start sharing.
SONIC FOUNDRY, MEDIASITE RL MINI
(pages.sonicfoundry.com/RL-Mini)
Sonic Foundry introduces the Mediasite RL Mini, proving that great lecture capture can come in small packages. The newest member of the company’s classroom-based recording family provides the automation and high-quality capture Mediasite is known for in a compact, affordable device, ensuring even more students never miss a lecture. The RL Mini is fully automated and schedulable, designed to be run from the Mediasite Video Platform or Mediasite Video Cloud. It gives students instant access to valuable video study materials and provides system administrators with everything they need to manage, secure, share, search, and track the video content. Though pricey for K–12 at $2,995, the Mini is still less expensive than many lecture capture systems and now includes polls, quizzes, and the ability to aonnotate.
INFOCUS, 86” JTOUCH PLUS
(infocus.com/products/inf8630ag)
The 86-inch JTouch Plus INF8630eAG is the largest open Android-based interactive touch display solution from InFocus, built specifically for K–12 classrooms and higher education spaces. The expansive 4K anti-glare display is an ideal solution for presentations, interactive learning, and collaboration, giving users the ability to customize and annotate documents, browse the Web, and run Android applications at the front of the classroom. The judges like that the touch display works as both a whiteboard and a monitor and that teachers and students can easily cut and paste documents, post to the board, and annotate the images.
HALL RESEARCH, EX-HDU
(hallresearch.com/page/products/EX-HDU)
The EX-HDU allows users to connect their HDMI + USB from their PC to a wall plate transmitter and have both signals extended to a receiver up to 200 feet away. The patent-pending single-gang wall plate sender has a two-port hub for USB connection and one HDMI input—so no power supply is needed. The plug-and-play extender is ideal for interactive displays and KVM extension, and it’s compatible with all PCs, MACs, and Android tablets and does not require driver installation. The judges think it’s a unique solution, as it combines a variety of different products into a simple and easy-to-integrate kit.
RORYCO, CROWDBEAMER
(crowdbeamer.com)
Crowdbeamer is a presentation system that streams any HDMI or VGA video signal in real time to all wirelessly connected portable devices. One crowdbeamer can broadcast to up to 175 different smart clients (smartphones, tablets, and portables). Using a free app—available for all major operating systems—the audience can capture the presentation, add personal notes, and export the content to other business apps. That audience engagement helps presenters create long-term impact with their message. The judges like that users can connect to a private network and can easily download the app and see the presentation on their devices. They can then save the presentation to their cameras or export the pdf and save to Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.
CHIEF, ELECTRIC HEIGHT ADJUST MOUNTS
(www.legrandav.com/Products/Chief)
Chief’s new electric height adjust series provides greater accessibility to interactive technology. The new cart floor-support and wall mounts have a 310-pound (140.6 kg.) weight capacity to support heavy-duty interactive displays, and they also give an option to users who may prefer an electric solution over a non-motorized one. The judges think these features make it ideal for schools, since it can easily adjust to different heights appropriate for students from kindergarten to high school.
CRESTRON ELECTRONICS, INC., DM-NVX SERIES WITH DANTE SUPPORT
(crestron.com)
Engineered in the Crestron DigitalMedia Lab, the DM-NVX is the only secure network AV solution that now supports Dante and AES67. The exclusive, patent-pending technology eliminates the latency associated with network video. DM-NVX provides a high-performance, real-time AV encoder or decoder that transports 4K60 4:4:4 video over standard Gigabit Ethernet and enables fully-scalable, enterprise-wide 4K content distribution.
CRESTRON ELECTRONICS, INC., CRESTRON AIRBOARD
(crestron.com)
AirBoard enables the viewing of electronic whiteboard content on any display device, thereby solving the problem of remote participants not being able to see the whiteboard unless they’re seated with a direct line of sight. AirBoard is essentially a camera on an arm that attaches to any electronic whiteboard via the included mounting kit. With PoE, only a single Ethernet cable to the LAN is required for video, communication, and power. The AirBoard is ideal for distance learning.
CRESTRON ELECTRONICS, INC., MEDIA PRESENTATION CONTROLLER M5
(crestron.com)
Crestron MPC is a family of two-series control systems designed for installation in a wall or podium. Perfect for classrooms, meeting rooms, lecture halls, and training facilities, the MPC-M5 provides a fully programmable user interface featuring an attractive and intuitive layout of push buttons with customizable backlit labeling and wireless remote capability.
CLEVERTOUCH, PLUS SERIES
(clevertouch.com/education)
Clevertouch’s Plus Series includes easy-to-use LUX software and an intuitive walk-up-and-use experience. Connectivity is a cornerstone of the Plus Series; its open platform enables teachers to share content or media from any connected tablet, smartphone, or laptop directly onto the Plus screen. The Plus Series comes with Snowflake MultiTeach and Lessons Online software, featuring a diverse range of pre-designed lessons. Every Plus Series comes with the Cleverstore—a carefully vetted collection of popular teaching apps that are free to download with no in-app purchases or advertisements.
VIEWSONIC, NMP660 CHROMEBOX
(viewsonic.com/us)
The ViewSonic NMP660 Chromebox can transform any Google classroom into a collaborative learning hub or provide content management as a signage player and desktop virtualization solution for conference rooms. Paired with the company’s ViewBoard family of interactive flat-panel displays or any ViewSonic display, the NMP660 Chromebox delivers a complete and secure Chrome OS and Google Play experience. The NMP660 Chromebox offers a quick out-of-the-box setup, an integrated Google management console, and built-in security features— making it an ideal solution for educational environments.
SHARP ELECTRONICS CORPORATION, PN-UH701/601
(siica.sharpusa.com/Professional-Displays/Models)
Sharp’s new 70” Class (69 43/64” diagonal) PN-UH701 and 60” Class (60 5/64” diagonal) PN-UH601 commercial displays are ideal for education environments. The true-to-life precision of 4K-Ultra HD resolution enables students and faculty to see subtler textures and finer details. The PNUH701/601 displays have a powerful RS-232C command set, which permits flexible remote control capabilities from connected devices. They also come with lockout capabilities, including a public mode function for instructors and school administrators to control who is viewing the content.
