Dear faculty, students, and staff,
Information Technology department is very pleased to announce the availability of the new and fully upgrade) classroom audiovisual (AV) system.
Overview and Training sessions for the new system are scheduled as follows:
- Wed 19 Aug, 2:15 pm (40 min), room 2152
- Thu 20 Aug, 11:00 am (40 min), room 2152
- Mon 24 Aug, 2:00 pm (40 min), room 2163
The new features of the system are as follows.
Improved AV Control user interface
We have built the new user interface on last year’s familiar controls but greatly simplified it. Controls to map sources to projectors are visually clear and operation is logically implemented. Audio, screen, lighting, shade, camera, and recording controls are also easier to use. The new feature of switching the touch screen between AV control, annotation, and Windows 8 touch are easily accomplished via dedicated buttons mounted on the lectern.
Annotation using touch screen
You can annotate any video source (PC, laptop, document camera, videoconference, video playback) using the system touch screen. Annotation features include free form drawing (underline, circle, etc.), highlighting, spotlighting, and whiteboard capabilities.
Windows 8 touch input
The lectern PC, now running Windows 8, accepts touch input on its primary screen via the installed touch screen. You can use Windows 8 touch, swipe, and pinch and zoom gestures on the touch screen when using the lectern PC.
Wireless projection for Windows 8.1/10 and newer Android
The Miracast protocol has been adopted by Windows (8.1/10) and Android (4.2 or higher) as the industry’s standard wireless projection protocol. You can select Miracast as a source for a projector and then connect either a Windows or Android device to the Miracast receiver to wirelessly project (with sound) from your device.
Quick switch between projection modes
The new AV control user interface permits the quick switching between projection modes (e.g., from dual projector to single projector, or vice versa) without having to power off the entire system.
I’d like to acknowledge the very hard work of Doru Meltei in putting together this system. We have been working on this system’s design, procurement, development, construction, testing, and debugging since early 2014. The entire design, implementation, and programming has been done by Doru. This has been a challenging project with complex system integration requirements. The system’s 18 locations have about than 750 components connected with 2,300 cables and controlled by a few thousand lines of code. Over the project’s duration about 10 different engineers and technicians have worked to build the system. Please join me in applauding and thanking Doru for his untiring effort and hard work. While the real test of the system happens when you use it for teaching and learning, I feel that we have done everything we can to give you a high quality AV experience.
Please join us for the overview and training sessions scheduled for this and next week. Please contact us if you have any questions about the system.
Thank you.
—
Khalid Sarwar Warraich | Chief Information Officer