Managing multimedia: new standards, products, software, and strategies are propelling schools into a smartly managed audio/visual future.

Presentation technology has come into its own on campus. But with the increased volume of projectors, plasma screens, electronic whiteboards, DVD players, and digital cameras comes the worry of how to keep track of it all. Those who are monitoring A/V equipment on campus are already looking to the IT department for some best practices. After all, IT managers were faced with the very same challenges 15 or so years ago, when desktop computers, Laptops, printers, and other peripherals became staples of higher ed learning. They've managed to inventory and network their equipment, and it is now time for A/V managers to do the same.

In some cases, A/V managers are looking at network and security systems to help manage equipment from remote locations and keep tabs on it. And in many cases, the A/V and IT departments are merging into one. Such a combined campus A/V-IT department is a prime example of the kind of convergence in technologies and technology management that has swept corporate America over the last five years. Now the term "convergence" is the Latest to be tossed around in A/V circles.

Converge is the word. But in point of fact, colleges and universities were some of the earliest adopters of the IT-A/V convergence concept, says Gary Kayye, of Kayye Consulting Group (www.kavve.com), a marketing and consulting firm to higher ed and other A/V industry segments. He explains that universities have accumulated quite a volume of A/V equipment, especially during the past five years as projector prices have come down. "Universities have 20 times the amount of [presentation] equipment that corporations have," Kayye points out. And even if corporations have the latest models and the newest systems, universities still have a greater level of usage of A/V technology, and thus greater numbers of projectors, display screens, VCRs, DVDs, and other components. "Corporations buy A/V equipment to help with training. But think about it," he quips, "all a university does is train."

Y2K history. What's more, says Kayye, in its own way, Y2K also helped move newer A/V equipment on to the campus and thus move the convergence movement along. Prior to 2000, university IT managers purchased computer hardware and software that would allow them to manage their systems better. After 2000, their attention turned to all assets, including A/V equipment. It made sense to start asking if there could be a more efficient way to manage everything, says Kayye. To date, he believes that more than half of the nation's Large universities have merged their IT and A/V departments. Now the trend is heading to small to midsize colleges, and community institutions.

Case in point is Sinclair Community College (OH), which runs its media services department as part of IT. Suzanna Thacker, cyberservice administrator of Media Services, notes that the department also has merged the help desks for A/V and IT. Students or faculty struggling with laptops, or grappling with DVD players and projectors out of sync in any of the 104 multimedia classrooms, can call a single, cross-trained team of staffers. One byproduct of such departmental and support mergers? A new generation of A/V sophisticates.

UNC: SUBLIME SUPPORT

Without a doubt, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was ahead of the curve when it Launched its convergence initiative in 1998. Now, five years later, UNC-Chapel Hill has an Information Technology Response Center dedicated to the optimum use of technology, purchasing equipment, training users, and troubleshooting problems. The seed of the center was planted in 1994, when UNC introduced its Institute for Academic Technology. Funded by IBM, the institute was attended by technology and academic leaders on campus who aimed to help professors develop applications and presentations. The institute not only morphed into the Information Technology Response Center, but the center, in turn, has spawned several support components. Joe Schuch, an early participant in the institute's activities, now dedicates his time to designing new learning centers and remodeling old classrooms so that they can accommodate appropriate presentation technology. As manager of Multimedia Classrooms, he also helps select equipment. Colleague Jeremiah Joyner manages the classroom hotline, UNC's help desk component. In turn, Joyner and his team of three technicians and one full-time student manager oversee and maintain the presentation equipment. In 2000, Joyner and his team launched a Web site (http://hotline.unc.edu/) that lists all multimedia classrooms on campus, all equipment available to instructors, plus instructions to get just about anyone started. But there's more.

Online hotline: total access. The online hotline has been categorized and cross-referenced, allowing professors to see whether any one of the 130 multimedia classrooms is low tech (an MCO distinction in the UNC system), middle of the road (at MC1), or high tech (MC2). Low-tech classrooms might include an active network port and an overhead projector, while a high-tech classroom would offer a desktop setup, laptop port, projector, motorized screens, and other equipment. Via the Web, a professor can obtain a Listing of all the classrooms and lecture halls that, for example, accommodate 75 students and have a projector, Internet connection, laptop, and DVD player. The browser-based support is backed up with one-on-one technology training provided by Joyner's staff, and onsite troubleshooting, if necessary.

Design and follow-up. But the support and management of A/V on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus runs even deeper, and starts with the design of A/V implementation and utilization. According to Schuch, UNC has distinguished itself by taking the design component in-house. While most IHEs bring in consultants and A/V resellers to design and outfit rooms, Schuch sees better control in having such a department on campus. Unlike a firm brought in to outfit a room, Schuch and his team don't leave after installation, but remain on site for repeated follow-up. "We have a direct line of contact with the users--and not just those needing help," he says.

All projects begin with a few common steps: The architects meet with the professors and instructors to ask how they are currently using a space. Typical questions are: "How do you use this room, and how does it fall short?" "What would make a better space to conduct a class?" Knowing the players involved allows Schuch to be even more specific.

Design now; improve future installations. "We know that not everyone teaches in the same way, or uses the same media or methodology," he says. Once the basics have been defined, he studies the department's budget to see which product is the best fit for the room use. Cost for multimedia outfitting at UNC has ranged from a low of $10,000 (for a ceiling-mounted projector and screen, plus other peripherals), to $90,000 to $150,000 (for Lecture halls built for high-end audio presentation and synchronous distance learning to as many as four remote sites). But there is an additional benefit to such in-house management of A/V design on campus.

"By keeping the design work in-house, we can eye closely the design of future classrooms," says Schuch, "and build them based on the direct feedback from those currently using multimedia rooms."

Certainly, such an in-house structure takes financial resources. Schuch's design department racks up $240,000 each year, in personnel salaries alone. Schuch and each of his four full-time staffers have received facilitites training through the International Communications Industry Association (www.infocomm.org). Joyner's hotline effort costs a total of $250,000 annually for full-time staff, and $80,000 for 12 student assistants.

A NEW VIEW FOR SYSTEMS MANAGERS

Obviously, in outfitting a multimedia classroom, an investment of $5,000, $10,000--or a great deal more--deserves the protection of solid support and security. Yet while the IT world has for years employed networks to monitor desktops, laptops, printers, and other peripherals, the A/V world is just now getting systems in place that work in a similar way.

Monitoring A/V. Systems designed to monitor audio/visual equipment are ordinarily browser based, allowing an A/V-IT manager to call up a Web page view of a multimedia classroom and view the technology in use. Some even have alert systems that can send an e-mail message to a manager, in the event that a machine is tampered with or even unplugged.

Sony, Epson, InFocus, NEC, and other projector manufacturers began addressing the problem in 2000 by building Ethernet ports into projectors, in the same way computer manufacturers built such ports into their products. These ports allow a projector to have its own IP address and a place on a network. While not all projectors have such ports, many new ones do.

"The fact that the pore was there solved half the problem," explains Kayye. Still, even in the recent past, projectors had no basic technology standard, so a network that could "read" a Sony model might not be able to work with an NEC product. Of course, the problem could be solved if a university purchased just one brand of projector; one built with the same type of pore that would work with its computers. However, such a simple solution isn't usually practical. "Most universities can't afford to do that," says Kayye.

Once again, budgets are the reason. "Schools have to buy at the lowest price at any given time," says Kayye. This is especially true of public institutions that must subject technology spending to a competitive bidding process. The reality is that one Lecture hall may be outfitted with Sharp projectors, while another classroom sports only Panasonic products. "It became the opportunity of a Lifetime for someone to offer standard software," says Kayye.

New products. Enter a host of new products such as RoomView, introduced by Crestron (www.crestron.com) at this year's InfoCOMM; the NI series from AMX (yvww.amx.com); Global View from Extron Electronics (yvww.extron.com); and HP's OpenView (www.HP.com). All are designed to work with all projector models, providing they are built to a basic standard.

Such systems are so new that it is difficult to find them on campus. However, there are few early adopters. Sinclair Community College spent the summer connecting approximately 100 multimedia classrooms to Crestron's RoomView software system product. White the cost to connect a room varies, depending upon the amount of equipment, Crestron estimates that costs start at several thousand dollars.

Saving lamp life. Thacker at SCC has ensured that the system is programmed to perform such basics as monitor the hours of use Logged on any given projector Lamp. Through an online message, the system will also tell a manager when lamp life is low. Additionally, the system is programmed to shut off all projectors on a specific network at a specified evening hour. "Sometimes instructors just leave the projectors on. Having the system shut off the machines is saving Lamp life," says Thacker. While faculty aren't always aware of this, all A/V managers know that projector Lamps are expensive (sometimes costing several hundred dollars), and saving hours of use on multiple lamps can add up to significant savings. (Thacker estimates that it costs 17 cents per hour to run a projector Lamp. A machine accidentally left on for 12 hours will waste $2 in lamp life. Multiply this by 100 rooms, and a sizable institution could realize $200 per day in cost savings.)

Remote support/monitoring. Such systems also help with user support. Each room's corresponding Web page setup allows a manager located in the A/V-IT office to help a struggling professor turn on the right peripheral, or set a projector to the correct input mode. Thacker sees this as the first line of support for Sinclair's presentation technology, there will be fewer professors standing in front of projection screens, waiting for a helper to show up, she predicts. A 20-minute in-person response time may be cut down to just several seconds. There will, however, still be a need to help instructors on a one-to-one basis; routine projector maintenance simply cannot be handled remotely, and fitters and bulbs will still need to be changed or replaced.

Several manufacturers also have introduced their own presentation management software systems. Sony's PJNET! management software is one example. Now that Sony projectors--as well as models from other manufacturers--can be IP addressable, such software can monitor every piece of equipment, showing how many hours of lamp life are Left for specific projectors. Such software can be programmed to shut down an entire system at a certain time of the day, or to run in "cool down" mode. Software systems even can troubleshoot and diagnose problems. Of course, Sony's PJNET is designed to work with Sony's network projectors--no small detail. Most projector manufacturers that have produced such new software management systems have designed them to work with their own products, which is going to Limit how functional they will be for the IT-A/V manager on campus--unless, that is, all future projectors are purchased to be compatible (a concept that no doubt occurred to the makers of the software/projectors). More open-standards systems (and Like upgrades) are expected to evolve as second- and third-generation versions are brought to market.

% of colleges and universities that have projectors:    84%
% with ceiling-mounted projectors of other fixed
installations (vs. projectors on carts):                97%

Source: Kayye Consulting Group's annual survey of A/V use in
higher ed; data collected between November 2002-January 2003.

Average price for an installed projector in 1998:    $22,000
Average price in 2003:                               $6,000

% of A/V equipment on the market can be connected  to a network    37%
% that will be enabled for network-connect by mid 2004:            75%

RELATED ARTICLE: How secure is secure?

The good news: Each new generation of projectors is becoming more lightweight and portable. The bad news: Such convenience creates its own security nightmares. After all, the new, smaller projector models for classrooms can easily fit into a backpack. Even models made for larger venues are lighter than they used to be. Luckily, a host of new security features abound. One new model sounds an alarm when the machine detects unauthorized tampering. Others sport built-in panels that require user passcodes. Some even display a custom-programmed message when the machine is turned on. (What could be more frustrating to a thief than a, "Welcome to XYX university" message that just won't go away?)

Still, while such measures might impress administrators, A/V experts encourage users to think like students (who won't know about the passcode protections and programmed welcome messages until well after they've run off with their booty). The protections will make the stolen goods unusable, warn the pundits, but they won't prevent the thefts in the first place.

That's why Baylor University (TX) still relies on your basic high-strength cable and lock. Anthony tapes, Baylor's technology project manager points out that some of the school's projectors are designed so that the machine fits into a security slot, additionally attached by a cable. Some of the university's schools also use a security screw system that requires a special tool to remove the projector from its mount.

Such measures seem to be working. Baylor, which has a hundred multimedia rooms outfitted with projection technology, has only lost three projectors during the past seven years. That's security.--JMA

RELATED ARTICLE: Presentations on the move.

Presentation products that won't tie you down.

Multimedia Mobility

Now you can have high-tech multimedia presentations anywhere with Dukane's Mobile Presentation System (MPS). The cart system features integrated audiovisual components and can easily be rolled to any location. The MPS is customizable with your choice of projector, and includes a document camera, cart-mounted speakers, a DVD/VCR player, electrical power, cable connections, audio switcher, and more. The MPS comes fully assembled with all power cords and signal cables installed and routed. Simply connect to a computer (PC or Mac) and start the show. When not in use, the MPS can be completely secured with all components safely locked inside the rugged metal cart. For more information, visit www.dukane.com.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Lightweight Powerhouse

Mitsubishi's Mini-Mits line of ultra-small, ultra-lightweight projectors has a new member: the XD50U. It weighs in at just 3.4 pounds and boasts 1,500 ANSI lumens. The XD50U features a 1,500:1 contrast ratio for rich colors, brilliant whites, and deep blacks. It can accept a variety of inputs, including HDTV signals, and features a wireless remote control. The projector is exceptionally thin, measuring just 2 inches high, and offers XGA (1,024 x 768 pixels) native resolution. The XD50U has a suggested retail price of $3,495. For more information, check out www.mitsubishi-presentations.com.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Capturing the Moment

Toshiba combines a powerful projector with the imaging capabilities of a document camera in its new TLP-S41U. The new product boasts 1,600 ANSI lumens, 400:1 contrast ratio, native SVGA (800 x 600) resolution, and automatic keystone correction. The TLP-S41U also includes a detachable document camera that users can position however they wish to increase flexibility and range while displaying 3-D objects, fine-print text or photographic samples. Weighing 6.2 pounds (with the camera attached), the TLP-S41U is budget priced at just $1,799. Go to www.toshiba.com for more information.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Quiet Classroom Projector

Hitachi's new CP-S210W LCD projector, geared to the higher education market, packs exceptional brightness in a lightweight package. The entry-level 6-pound projector features a full range of connectivity options (RGB, S-Video, RCA, and component) making it a versatile presentation choice in a variety of situations. The CP-S210W is rated at 1,200 ANSI lumens and has a 300:1 contrast ratio, making it ideal for most classroom setups. A Whisper Mode feature reduces the projector's noise level, and vertical keystone correction adapts to a variety of seating arrangements. To find out more about the CP-S210W, visit www.hitachi.com.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]