Tag: barco

Streaming in the classroom: Barco ClickShare

Patrick CauleyLeave a comment

READ ALL THE REVIEWS ON THIS PAGE – STREAMING IN THE CLASSROOM SERIES

Not too long ago I reviewed the Barco WePresent and found it pretty good especially at its price point. Now we are taking a look at the ClickShare. Barco offers a few options with their ClickShare product and this one is the CS-100, the current entry level. This can be managed remotely with additional software from Barco at an additional price, but we did not have access to that for our review unit. So let’s get into it!

There are newer models on the horizon but I am not sure if they are available for sale yet.

Price

$1000 for this unit. Yep – that’s a lot. I looked the price up at a number of different retailers and for the average Joe that’s what you’ll need to shell out. Barco is really focused for the corporate world and I am not sure they have an educational discount. The unit has a receiver and one button one transmitter. Also remember that this is the entry level model as well.

For that money you will get one base station, one button and a power adapter.

What can it do?

It will mirror your screen to a projector, monitor or television with just a click of the button. The BenQ Instashow and the ClickShare seem to work the same way. The receiver and transmitter create their own private network and transmit all the data over it. This reduces stress on the school’s network and usually keeps a much more solid connection since no other device is on it.

The base station has all the standard ports you would come to expect.

It has a power port (no power over ethernet here), a port for the included power adapter, a network port and an audio port for audio out. I like this and I don’t think we’ve seen it on any other device thus far. It’s a small thing (no pun intended) but I like it. There is also a USB A connector on the back and one on the front. I believe these are used to pair other buttons to the base station.

The button is small, plugs into the USB port of a computer and has a satisfying click when pressed. Mine was USB A but the latest models has a USB C option. In my testing, the USB A worked just fine with a standard USB A to C adapter and never felt like it was going to fall out of my laptop.

Set up was ridiculously easy. Simply plug the base station into power and then connect it to a display via an HDMI cable. Wait for it to boot up, then plug the button into your computer and wait a few seconds for it to boot up, then click the button and you’re connected! If you ever forget the default Barco screen displayed will guide you through it all.

Here is a video of of me connecting the button. It seems to take a long time, but once you press that button you are connected with no hesitation. Then when you press it again, you are disconnected. It is fast.

I do believe you need to install the software each time you plug the button in. I may be wrong about this, but I do find that a little annoying.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you can only mirror your screen and not extend it. For most teachers I don’t think this would be a problem. A lot of teachers I know don’t seem to care about that and prefer mirroring to the extended set up, but if you rely on it then it will cramp your style for sure.

As you can see in the image above, it even has iOS and Android apps. It even works fine with a Chromebook [need to check this out.]

Streaming Video

OK – with all of these reviews – this is one of the most important factors. Can it stream video well. This is what teachers want to have. Mirroring their screen is nice, but teachers are demanding more now and we have been searching for something that can rival the Apple TV. So check out the sample below from another TED Talk.

It’s not good at all. Every few seconds it seems to drop frames and audio for a moment. It is jarring and not acceptable in any situation. In a classroom just showing a slideshow, webpage, or some documents, this is fine. If you want to stream even a short video, this is not going to work.

Issues

Outside of streaming video and the high cost, there really aren’t any. I mean the setup is super simple, connecting to a computer or device is very easy and secure. It does require a power cord and I really wished it had power over ethernet and who knows – maybe the next generation of ClickShare will. I also wish the base station was a little smaller. We have projectors and they are a little bulky sitting on top of it, but I imagine you could easily mount it or even stick it to the ceiling.

Managing the ClickShare

This can be done remotely but like I mentioned earlier it requires additional software to be installed on a server and we did not have access to it. I am sure it will allow you to update the base station, add more buttons to a base station, turn it off and on again if necessary all from the comfort of the IT office, but really, these things are pretty bullet proof.

They don’t seem to need much in the way of maintenance. I imagine updating the firmware could be done via USB or even remotely if you connect to the device itself and push it from your computer.

Would teachers like it?

If it is a BYOD environment then yes. I think they would though the BenQ Instashow is the same amount of money, works pretty much the same way and is vastly superior than the ClickShare. Of course, you  may not have access to the Instashow but there are good chances you do have access to the Barco. Of course the money is the real sticking point here. $1000 per unit is nothing to sneeze at and you may be able to cobble together a cheaper solution that works pretty well.

Will it replace our Apple TV’s

No – there is no way. Teachers want to stream video and for the money the ClickShare cannot touch the Apple TV in that regard. While the Barco product creates a near perfect connection each time and doesn’t rely on our network, teachers will trade away that stability to better streaming each time.

I do like how customizable the Barco ClickShare is and I can see the appeal from an enterprise perspective but not an educational one.

This is clearly a product that was developed for enterprise and is not a 100% fit with education. It is like an octagon fitting into a round hole. It will fit with a little force but there are better options out there that fit a lot better.

Streaming in the classroom: BenQ – Instashow

Patrick Cauley3 Comments

READ ALL THE REVIEWS ON THIS PAGE – STREAMING IN THE CLASSROOM SERIES

The journey continues! This time we are looking at the BenQ Instashow. A lot of people may not be too familiar with BenQ in North America, but they have it looks as though they have been making steady inroads into the continent. They may a bevy of products and this is one of them.

If you are familiar with Barco’s ClickShare (review coming soon) you will notice an immediate similarity, and you would be correct! It basically works under the same principal which I’ll check out below.

Price

OK – let’s get this out of the way. The BenQ Instashow is expensive. I looked the cost up on CDW and the cost for this system is $1100 USD. That’s a hunk of change people. The version I have is USB but they do have other connector types available to purchase and all are around the same price point.

One unit is good for one display. We do have two buttons that will allow you to quickly (and seemlessly) switch between one computer and another on the same display.

What can it do?

It can mirror your screen or allow the second screen to act as an extended display. Let me tell you fellow reader – it works really well. That is all it does though. No whiteboard, no multiple computers on the same screen simultaneously, just takes your screen and puts on a projector/TV.

You get a button or two and a base station. The base station obviously plugs into the projector or display and the buttons plug into the computer. The first time, you will need to pair the buttons with the base station. This initial pairing is pretty quick and you only need to do it once.

On the back of the base station you have few options.

As you can see, there is a pairing button, an Ethernet input, and HDMI connector and a microUSB connector (for power). Unfortunatelye the BenQ Instashare does not have Power Over Ethernet (POE). Meaning you need to use the micro USB port to power the device. The good news is that connecting it to a TV or projector’s USB port is sufficient to power the base station. The packaging does include a traditional plug if your device doesn’t have a USB.

What makes this different from the Mersive and the Barco WePresent is that no software is needed. There is no client to download, install and run to connect. It just connects. You plug in one of the buttons into your computer, wait for the light to turn green, press the light and you’re connected.

The lag is nearly nonexistent and the image is crystal clear. It really is pretty nice.

How this works is that the button and the base station form their own private (and encrypted) network. You don’t have to connect the BenQ to your schools’s WiFi or even the LAN. All you need to do is plug it into the display make sure it has power and you’re off and running. Something to note though, the dongle must be plugged in the entire time to work. Which means you are carrying that dongle plugged into your computer with you at all streaming times.

When it is connected to the display here is what is shown.

That is really all the instructions you get. No navigating to an IP address or anything else. Just very straight forward which is really nice.

Streaming Video

Ease of use is one thing, but performance is another. How does the BenQ stream video? It streams video great! There is no lag, no distortion of picture or dropped frames. Audio came through with no problems (though I did have to change the audio output on my Mac each time I connected).

It worked very, very well. I would go so far as to say it streamed video better than an Apple TV and at this price point it had better. Check out the example below. Again, I used a random Ted Talk because you get to see a lot of people talking on screen.

Pretty good eh?

When we had two buttons connected, all a person had to do was hit their button and the image switched instantly. There was no loading screen, no black screen while it was processing. It just switched. We did this many times even trying to see how fast it would go. The BenQ handled it all with ease. Very impressive.

It does take a little time to connect but more about that below.

Issues

It’s not all sunshine and lollipops with the BenQ though. It works pretty well with MacBooks, Windows laptops and Chromebooks, but it was a no go for iPads or mobile phones with USB. I am not sure why, but it wouldn’t react at all when plugged into my OnePlus 6. Does this mean it won’t work at all? Not sure, but we had no success with it.

Then there was the time it took to connect. I would hope that all I had to do was plug in the dongle and a few seconds later I could connect. Not quite. I plugged in the dongle and then after about 25-30 seconds I got a green light on the ring, but when I pressed the button to connect it failed. Here is a video of that happening. I sped up the speed by two but put a time code in the upper left hand corner for reference.

If you were thinking that you could pass the dongle around from student to student to seamlessly stream you better have some buffer time planned in between. This seemed to be the case with any of the computers we tried including the Chromebook. Sometimes we got it up and running in about 30 seconds, but it was always 30 seconds or more.

Once connected though, it was solid. It stayed connected and nothing we threw at it seemed to deter it at all.

The range of the BenQ Instashow is pretty decent at around 8 meters (26 feet) as advertised in its included documentation. It didn’t stutter or try to keep the connection. When it hit the limit it just disconnected instantly – this is nice. No games, no maybe I can stretch it today, it just stops.

The reason I include this in the Issues section is that if you wanted to use this in your theater or large multipurpose room, it may restrict where you can place it. Keep that in mind, before plunking down all that cash. In most classrooms though this would work without issue.

The last issue is the dongles. They’re not heavy or poorly built, in fact they’re feel good. In order for this to work, your computer must stay plugged into the dongle at all times. I had no issues plugging it in, and picking up my computer and walking around the room with it. It worked just fine. Even accidentally bumping the dongle didn’t interrupt the stream.

Managing the BenQ

Well, there is no management option I could find, but really there isn’t much to manage. Since they are plugged into the projector/display via USB, they pull their power from it. If it were to freeze, we would simply restart our projectors. Since we have laser projectors this whole process would take 15 seconds and then a short boot time for the BenQ. That’s not too hard.

I do worry about the dongles (buttons) getting lost as classrooms can move pretty fast but overall teachers could easily power cycle these units themselves.

Would teachers like it?

Hell yeah! Great video streaming and solid connection? You bet they would. I am sure they wouldn’t be too thrilled with the dongle but right now that is where technology is. I do like the fact that it works with Mac, Windows and Chromebooks. The long load times may keep teachers from freely passing the dongle around the room. The cost of a dongle is around $600 USD, so that may also keep teachers from passing it around as well.

Will it replace our Apple TV’s?

Not a chance. It is just too expensive. I like what BenQ has made, but the cost is waaaay out there.

$1100 vs $179 (that’s the 4K version)

There is no way I can sit in front of our CFO and justify the price per unit cost. I’ll be sure to keep my eye on the Instashow but at this point it may be a good idea to have one in the building for presenters.

Episode 176 – Happy New Year 2020

Patrick CauleyLeave a comment

Tony and Patrick are back for 2020 with a new episode. It’s been a while but I assure the wait was worth it. Be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Music or your favorite podcasting app.

  1. Happy New Year – Resolutions?
    1. TDK12 – Practical advice for expats 
    2. Tdk12.net 
  2. Tony’s Cyber Security Series
    1. Don’t spend $10,000 train your staff
    2. Train your staff first
      1. Certification training CISA, COSN (join this organization), FEMA, Homeland Security
  3. Barco WePresent review
    1. Don’t trust vendors
    2. Viewsonice Viewboard – https://www.viewsonic.com/us/products/shop/viewboard.html
  4. Cubit Robotics
    1. https://itbabble.com/2020/01/16/cubit-robotics-probably-better-than-what-your-are-doing/
    2. https://cubit.cc/

Download this episode here

Streaming in the classroom: Barco WePresent

Patrick CauleyLeave a comment

READ ALL THE REVIEWS ON THIS PAGE – STREAMING IN THE CLASSROOM SERIES

When it comes to screen sharing few names are as renowned or respected as Barco. They have a history of building quality products and delivering solid results. So today, I have been playing around with the Barco WePresent. A streaming box that will allow you to connect your device to your projector/display. There are three models that you can chose from.

  • WiPG-1000
  • WiPG-1600W (the model I am reviewing)
  • WiPG-2100

As you can see from the picture above, the WePresent is a pretty compact design much like the Mersive Solstice and not much bigger than an Apple TV.

The WePresent 1600W has two USB A ports on the front. You could plug in a USB with media on it and play it right from there or you could plug a mouse into it to access some of the on screen features.

On the back, you will find a VGA port (pretty rare these days) another USB A port, an HDMI out port a port for power (it’s there, just a little hard to see from the picture) and an Ethernet port. The Ethernet port not only let’s you plug right into your network for a stable Internet connection, but it will also power your WePresent if your switch has Power Over Ethernet capabilities. As I mentioned before this is very nice as it is much easier to pull an Ethernet cable where you want it as opposed to running an extension cord or adding a power outlet to a room.

You may notice the antenna on the device. Those can come off but they are there for a stronger signal.

Price

They seem to range in price from around $500 – $650 per device. Much cheaper than Mersive Solstice but still more expensive than an Apple TV. Of course, the WePresent (like the Solstice) will let you connect with any device (Apple, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android). This is nice. As opposed to Apple TV’s on Apple ecosystem.

What can it do?

Well, not as much as the Mersive but much more than an Apple TV. The Mersive could let you connect a bunch of devices at once while this model (1600W) can only accommodate 4. The 2000 model can handle up to 32 (according to its spec sheet) but why in the world would you want to do that?

Here are some of the other options:

  • Whiteboard
  • Playing media directly from a USB
  • Locking the device down so no one can connect to it
  • Seeing who is connecting
  • Muti screen (up to 4 on this model)
  • Settings (sort of)

It outputs 1080p full HD. There is no 4K option and while 1080p looks fine, up close on a 4k display it can look a little blurry. Not a deal breaker and most classrooms with projectors have 1080p or lower.

The settings isn’t really settings. On our model there are only two options. You can calibrate the device (this is for touch interaction) and the other one is to make a Plug & Show (PnS) token on a USB.

The PnS (not the best acronym) is a USB that will have the Barco software needed for a new computer/guest presenter. It will also link that computer with that partiular WePresent device. If a guest does show up and needs to present wirelessly, then this will come in handy and be much faster than downloading the app, installing the app and then testing the app. It will (should) all work right from that USB. You can make as many of these as you want as well which is nice.

MirrorOP

This is the softare that you need on your device to connect to the WePresent. It’s very easy to use and makes it super simple for anyone to connect. Merely open the software, find the WePresent you want to connect to, input the code (always displayed on the screen) and you’re connected. My computer screen did not fill the image like it does using AirPlay as you can see below.

I found there was a little lag between my mouse on my computer and the display but what was nice is that it was a predictable lag. No matter when I connected or what I did, the lag stayed the same. It never sped up to try and keep up or jerk around the screen. It was smooth and looked good.

When more than one device was connected, the screen was set up into quadrants. This was not great. If there were just two devices, then half the screen was wasted. This is one thing the Mersive did much better than the WePresent.

The WePresent does have Apple AirPlay built into it, so if you have an an Apple computer or iOS device, you do not need the Barco MirrorOP app installed. What I found here is that when I did connect via airplay the lag was still there, but my computer screen filled the entire screen no black bars.

On a sad note, the Barco did not always show up in my AirPlay list on my MacBook Pro. I even restarted my computer but still no WePresent, but when I restarted the WePresent it suddenly showed up. This did not happen often but it did happen more than once.

However, connecting through the MirrorOP app never failed.

Streaming video

I’ll start off with the obvious. It is not as good as the Apple TV. It’s close but not as good. However, it is much better than the Mersive Solstice – by far. In the room we were testing it in, we had built in speakers in the ceiling and while the Mersive sometimes would play through them and other times play through my computer speakers (I never cold figure out why it would switch between the two), the Barco always played through the ceiling speakers. Making that one less thing for teachers to worry about.

Here is a short clip of the lag with the video.

What we found is that if there were a lot of quick shots (think of a Michael Bay movie) then the lag would increase. If the movement was pretty minimal, then the lag wasn’t too bad as you can see above.

Managing

Like the Mersive Solstice, it is possible to manage them all from a single dashboard. I am unsure of the cost. Barco calls their solution the XMS Cloud Management Platform and it will let you manage all of your WePresent devices and your ClickShare devices. According to their video (below) you will need to install a physical Barco XMS server on your network or a virtual XMS server.

I imagine this would be extremely helpful if you have these devices throughout multiple buildings or throughout a large building.

Would teachers like it?

That depends on two factors. Are your teachers using MacBooks and do they want to stream videos? If your teachers are using Windows devices or if they have the choice to bring in whatever device they want to us, then yes. They will like this. It will give them the ability to walk into any space and connect wirelessly and do what the need to do. If your staff is all on MacBooks, then I think the response will be mixed. I have a feeling that the WePresent would be more reliable than the Apple TV but the fact that it disappeared a couple of times from the AirPlay list would annoy me.

If teachers want to stream a lot of video then it is hard to recommend this device. The lag, while much better than the Mersive, still is not what I consider acceptable.

Will it replace our Apple TV’s

No, but we are seriously considering getting two or three to put in our shared spaces so guests can easily connect. The ease of use, reliability and the fact that any device can connect to it makes the WePresent appealing and considering the 1600W is over 50% cheaper than the cheapest Mersive Solstice makes it even more so.

I still need to test out the Airtame 2 (review coming in February) which retails for $399 USD to get a better idea.

Episode 156 – Angry Grandpa

Patrick CauleyLeave a comment

My apologies IT Babblers – I should have posted this a while ago. At any rate check out the latest episode of the IT Babble podcast. Tony and I discuss imaging difficulties with Mac OS High Sierra, AirTame and what it means to be Tech Savvy. As always you can find us on iTunes or on your favorite podcasting app.

  1. World Cup Fever & 4th of July
  2. Important High Sierra Changes for IT Admins by Adam Engst of TidBITS
    1. https://tidbits.com/2017/09/11/important-high-sierra-changes-for-it-admins/
    2. It is very hard to do
    3. MDM Solutions – Why pay to push out a free image
    4. Mac Migration Assistant – https://support.apple.com/en-us/ht204350
    5. Mac OS Server – https://www.apple.com/macos/server/
    6. Deploy Studio – http://www.deploystudio.com/
    7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIV6Bt3L1ks
  3. Tech Savvy, Are You Sure? By Tony DePrato
    1. https://itbabble.com/2018/07/05/tech-savvy-are-your-sure/
    2. Thinking long term
    3. Making tactical decisions
  4. Airtame
    1. Wireless streaming for a mixed environment
    2. www.airtame.com
    3. Set up
    4. Digital signage
    5. Cloud management
    6. $249-$299 USD
    7. Who is this good for?
    8. Barco – http://www.barco.com
  5. Chromebook monitoring tools – GoGuardian vs Netop
    1. https://www.netop.com/
    2. https://www.goguardian.com/
    3. What’s the same?
    4. What’s different
    5. What my school went with?

Download this episode HERE!

https://itbabble.podomatic.com/enclosure/2018-07-23T06_35_06-07_00.mp3″