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colour uniformity. With these qualities, the DU4371Z-ST is suitable not only for mapping projections, but also for every- day applications in educational institutions or private and pub- lic sector organisations. This laser light source doesn’t only deliver outstanding image


quality. Its lamp-free design also ensures maintenance-free operation of up to 20,000 hours. Using the HDBaseT in- terface, the image signal can be conveniently transmitted to the projector over long dis- tances by cable, and a stan- dard CAT5e / 6-LAN interface


which has been integrated in the DU4371Z-ST for digital audio content. This short throw projector is shipped from the factory with Crestron Room View software for network mon- itoring and management. The DU4371Z-ST lists for £2,390 ex VAT.


Barco’s next gen RGB laser rear- projection video walls


Barco introduced its new gen- eration RGB laser rear-pro- jection video walls and rein- forces its commitment to the mission-critical control


room


market. The newest generation offering strengthens the value proposition of rear-projection technology as the reliable, sustainable and long-lifetime visualisation solution, and will be available for both new in- stallations and to upgrade the installed base.


For mission-critical control rooms, rear-projection remains a key visualisation technology especially for mid- to large-size control rooms, that work with dashboards


and Supervisory


Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) content typically with- in the utilities and rail transpor- tation markets.


The Barco RGB Laser ODL se- ries, with its unique value prop- osition, was introduced in 2016 and has been the flagship solu- tion ever since, winning multi- ple industry awards. With the introduction of this newest gen- eration laser engine, the ODL series now gets a major update which further establishes the RGB Laser series as the premi- um solution in the market. This will strengthen and safeguard the unique value proposition of rear-projection cubes by further extending the lifetime, pro- tecting long-term serviceability


commitments up to 10 years, and offering a sustainable solu- tion considering the environ- ment and ergonomics. The high-brightness RGB Laser engine allows control rooms to operate in the optimal con- ditions for the end-users. The unique Sense X calibration sys- tem automatically and contin- uously adjusts brightness and colour over the complete wall during the entire lifetime, mak- ing sure the displayed images reduce eye fatigue in 24/7 ap- plications. Additionally, no heat is radiated out of the screens, which further optimizes the er- gonomics for the operators and simplifies the room tempera- ture control systems.


The next-generation laser en- gine introduces new laser banks, improving the light source lifetime in different operational modes. The guar- anteed 10 years of maintain- ability secures the system for the future, which is instrumen- tal for mission-critical control rooms. The accompanying WallConnect software has fur- ther


evolved, improving the


user experience during setup, configuration, operation and maintenance. Along with the ODL-series’ motorised 7-axis alignment, this makes the in- stallation process smoother and simpler. The system is also fu- tureproof and ready for remote


management and monitoring, optimizing the availability and lifetime within the mission crit- ical environments.


The new engine will be avail- able within the full RGB Laser portfolio, covering 70” to 80” sizes and supporting both FHD and SXGA+ resolutions. Multi- ple screen options are available to deliver the optimum result depending on the application, control room environment and budget.


Furthermore, existing custom- ers can upgrade their installed base of lamp & LED cubes, which means a complete tech- nology refresh can be accom- plished while keeping the me- chanical structure and screens. This not only lowers the cost and timeframe of the refurbish- ment, but also reduces waste and can often be accomplished without any operational inter- ruption. Being able to upgrade video walls (running already for more than 10 years) with the latest projection technology at a reduced cost, for another 10 years of service, is a key advan- tage of rear projection.


Existing customers can upgrade their installed base of lamp & LED cubes, which means a com- plete technology refresh can be accomplished while keeping the mechanical structure and screens.


New launch


Avocor get Microsoft Teams and Azure certification Scott Hix, CEO of Avocor, introduces the latest incarnation of the WCD range, recently certified by Microsoft for use with the Teams collaboration platform and Azure. He explains the rationale in favour of abandoning the first generation of the Skype compatible WCD if favour of the second-generation Teams and Azure certified models.


“About four years ago, we saw a great opportunity in the col- laboration category. Given our brand positioning and prod- uct positioning we saw the potential of taking a standard LCD, adding touch technology and then adding computers, optics for camera and audio. By taking what used to be a video conferencing system on the table, and combining it with our solution, and then tie it off to a cloud-based set of content. That for us what was exciting as it was going to be the next one, what I call the next potential billion-dollar market”, said Scott Hix. Hix continued: “Given all of the huddle rooms, which is kind of the new way in which we're setting up facilities, especially


post Covid. And


speaking of Covid, it has defi- nitely created some benefit to our interactive display cate- gory and that is the adoption and understanding of Unified Communication. It's almost as if in six to 12 months, we'll go through a learning curve that would have nor- mally probably taken three to four years. And what I mean by that is I have four children from ages 20, down to age 12. And on a daily basis now, which they never would have done before March 1, but on a daily level, they're utilising Microsoft Teams or Zoom, or a Google meetup.”


“They're literally doing vid- eo collaboration and now interacting,


whether it be


with their sports teams, their friends, their youth groups, or their classrooms. While my kids are heading back to col- lege or my youngest, who has to now do everything online for the next 90 days in the US, and we had to set up a virtual classroom for her and her friends in our house.” And what of the business community and the whole WFH trend? “The Unified Communication category is really taking a huge leap for- ward in the next 12 to 18 months. A couple of inter- esting phenomena happened as this market became so obvious to the big compa- nies. We began to get phone calls from some of the biggest tech companies globally like Intel, Logitech, and Lenovo. All of them saying how do we partner closer with you guys, because you've got the delivery mechanism for


this


UC space with your display technology? And one of those companies that showed up two years ago actually, right about this time two years ago, was Microsoft. And it wasn't the Team's group at the time - it was the Microsoft Surface


“By taking what used to be a video conferencing system on the table, and combining it with our solution, and then tie it off to a cloud- based set of content. That for us what was exciting as it was going to be the next one, what I call the next potential billion-dollar market”, said Scott Hix, CEO of Avocor.


group, saying ‘we've been work- ing on Office 365 and Skype is becoming more usable with- in our system’, we would like to work with a couple display companies to optimise a prod- uct, certify it for Microsoft to be compatible to what they call the LID (Large Information Dis- play) programme.”


The spec for Teams


So, the WCD was well on its way, until Teams was intro- duced and changed the game and the development of the display solution. “The initial plan, two years ago, was to build what became Windows Collaborate Display products. The only two companies were, of course, ourselves and Sharp. But a major thing happened to us 12 months ago. While we were developing that first-gen- eration product, the WCD, we found out that Microsoft was going to discontinue Skype. And really the thrust of Mic- rosoft's marketing energy and software development was the integration of all their software under


the Microsoft Teams


environment. So, they started talking to us about a second spec they wanted to create that was more robust, but it would also be more difficult to do.” How did Avocor respond? “We made a conscious decision to go ahead and bypass our first specification, or generation, and we invested


engineering


dollars accordingly. The Sharp product


is Skype certified,


but the exciting part for us is we are only the first to offer Teams certification but we're the only product out there with Teams certification.” And furthermore, “Our product has Microsoft Azure certification and, within the customer ecosystem, and that pretty much eliminates all the friction points for both purchasing, security concerns compatibility and it really gives us an unbelievable posi- tion from a product capability perspective and potential for working within the Microsoft System. Going forward with this will become a real advan- tage for us as a player in mar- ket with this new product.”


Continued next month Next month we look in detail at the second generation Avocor WCD and the combined capa- bilities of Microsoft Teams and Azure.


P12 AV News November 2019 P8 AV News September 2020


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