Collaboration brings people together, but for it to be really successful it has to be made easy. The Presentation Switch Series from ATEN aims to integrate all AV sources without the need for extra devices.
With technology constantly changing it can be daunting to upgrade infrastructure. This is the case no matter the sector you work in but particularly so in the cash-strapped, time-pressured corporate and education environments.
Companies need their employees to work smarter, faster and more productively. AV collaboration technology can bridge this gap, allowing companies to expand their reach without expanding their physical spaces.
The modern workforce and the millennial student population share the same high expectations of real-time and easy connectivity with colleagues, managers or lecturers regardless of whether the screen is local or offsite.
Along with the rising demand for collaboration comes the need for properly designed and equipped meeting spaces. Learning environments should connect students and educators ideally with a system that’s easy for any educator to use.
Meeting rooms are used by people with various levels of technical ability, so it’s important to keep things simple. This doesn’t mean you can’t include advanced tech – just that the functionality needs to be made available in a way that is intuitive and easy to navigate.
Devices in the meeting room might be incompatible with one another. Many of them require individualised inputs that have to be passed around during meetings and presentations.
To improve meeting technology, companies should look for an AV system that supports different kinds of devices across multiple platforms, without having to worry about compatibility.
Investing in a well-designed conference room with a flexible videoconferencing system, intuitive presentation software and reliable sound quality will achieve higher productivity and learning outcomes than a poorly designed space, which can leave the people who are using it frustrated, confused and embarrassed by their inability to make the technology work.
These multi-in-one solutions incorporate leading edge functionality including video matrix switch, audio, extension, streaming, and analogue-to-digital conversion functions with unique features into one compact enclosure. The design simplifies AV integration by eliminating the need for numerous individual components and the compatibility challenges that accompany them.
With the user in mind, the series comes with a straightforward and accessible OSD and Web GUI to streamline operation for both local and remote participants. It integrates all the multi-format audio/video sources you need without calling for extra devices.
Models in the series are made with unique features to satisfy a wide variety of meeting space demands in meeting rooms, boardrooms, conference rooms, classrooms or other presentation environments.
The ATEN VP2730 is a 7 x 3 multi-functional presentation switch integrating a video matrix switch with scaler, streaming, audio mixer, HDBaseT extender and analogue-to-digital converter into one compact device.
With seven multi-format inputs to two HDMI and one HDBaseT high definition outputs, this device empowers larger meetings and facilitates collaboration between local and remote participants in boardrooms, conference rooms, lecture halls or distance-learning classrooms.
Those faced with designing a solution for a typical conference room need to integrate various sources that use different analogue and digital interfaces. Audio is a critical consideration with a requirement to both extract audio and connect to the existing audio system in addition to overlaying the microphone input on top of other audio sources to aid collaboration.
The VP2730 is a compact device that consolidates multiple source formats simultaneously and displays them as your choice of PiP (picture in picture), PbP (picture by picture), quad-view or more. Bidirectional AV source streaming is enabled via a web interface for small-scale meetings but it can just as easily integrate with advanced AV conferencing systems for enterprise wide meetings.
A special Moderator Mode lets the moderator discretely access any output display to switch content or change settings without interrupting the meeting flow; and there’s built-in support for audio embedding and de-embedding as well as mixing the mic inputs with any external analogue or digital audio source.
Challenges for AV integration in these spaces often come down to managing signals to and from displays up to 70 metres away. You will need to extract audio and connect to the venue audio system and ensure there’s no black screens when switching sources. That’s where long-distance extension via HDBaseT comes in.
The ATEN VP1920 is a 9 x 2 3-in-1 presentation switch integrating video matrix switching, audio processing and analogue-to-digital conversion. With nine inputs to two 4K outputs, it is designed to boost the efficiency and impact of professional presentations for all small-to-medium sized corporate and education presentation environments, such as meeting rooms, classrooms, training rooms, or any other presentation setting, such as exhibition centres or hotels.
Finding a switch that can integrate multi-various legacy and next-generation sources each with different analogue/digital interfaces is a perennial challenge but alongside this the typical meeting room needs to be PC-equipped for participants without laptops. The meeting moderator needs to be able to manage two PCs with a single keyboard/ mouse and yet the overall solution will ideally minimize device count to keep configuration simple.
The VP1920 packs a lot into its compact footprint. Switching is fast between six HDMI and three combo inputs (HDMI/VGA, HDMI/ DisplayPort, HDMI/Component/Composite) to two HDMI outputs with support for Coaxial, Toslink, stereo and audio outputs so no device gets left behind.
With USB control functionality integrated into one device, the VP1920 can switch the control focus independently to control two PCs. A special Source Preview mode allows users to quickly identify and switch to the target content.
No more guessing which port connects to which content source.
For this application, integrators are often faced with having to connect equipment with a mix of legacy and newer interfaces, perhaps including a document camera, touch panel, set-top box, audio amplifier, and more.
A solution will therefore require a matrix-style display of different sources ideally across two screens. It should be possible to further throw any interactive touch panel content on a larger projector screen for the class. And of course, the end user wants as simple a configuration as possible to avoid any incompatibility.
Here’s where the VP1920 scores big. It consolidates multiple source formats and integrates them easily with a digital podium whilst maintaining a small profile.
Your choice of Matrix, Mirror, and PiP display modes meet the needs of all types of event or presentation styles while the integrated touch panel mirrors the content to a projector screen.
System build is radically simplified by reducing the number of additional switches / converters and redundant USB extenders. With streamlined control from front panel pushbuttons, IR remote controller, OSD and RS232, the VP1920 also lowers operation complexity.
In sum, the ATEN Presentation Switch Series is the AV integrator’s Swiss-blade knife. The VP1000 Core series offers multi-format solutions for high-quality video and audio switching and converting.
The VP2000 range is ideal for collaborative presentation facilitating frictionless distance-free content sharing along with advanced audio.
Now, all you need to do is show up and start presenting!
Click here to learn more about the ATEN Presentation Switch Series.