Duke’s OIT Media Technologies group was able to secure an Extron ShareLink 200 N from Kontek as an evaluation unit for the Nicholas School of the Environment AV team. This is their quick review of the device:
The Extron ShareLink 200N was very easy to configure and only took a few minutes to have a device connected to the unit.
We registered the Extron ShareLink to as a DHCP reserved IP address on our private wired network, so connecting wireless devices do not automatically find the ShareLink. However, you can easily input the IP address manually and it connects normally. We’re sure other locations where being on the same subnet (ShareLink and laptop or mobile device) would be quicker and easier to connect.
The screen sharing setup and process with a laptop is; Open a web browser, input the IP address in the address window, the device will take you to the Extron ShareLink application download page. Next, download the app for your computer. After the application has been downloaded, open the app and it will search for the ShareLink device. But, because in our case they are on different subnets, WiFi/Wired will not find the Extron ShareLink, so you would select “manual” and input the IP address and security code from the screen.
The screen sharing setup and process with an iPhone mobile device is; Download the Extron ShareLink MirrorOp app from the App Store. Open the app, select the top right ShareLink icon with 2 antennae, select manual input, input the IP address from the screen, input the security code from the screen, and you are connected. Your options of presenting are Library – files stored on your phone in documents or photos. Browser – open a standard web browser. Camera – access your camera live video. Cloud – open files in Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive. Shot &Show – take a screen shot and share it.
Note that using an iPhone app, it does not mirror your screen. You can only share the previously mentioned options. Unfortunately, sharing a specific app from your iPhone isn’t supported. Apparently this is a downgraded feature due to Apple’s proprietary nature, I am told it does mirror from Android products.
Another thing to note; If you share either a laptop or a mobile device and plan to share multiple devices simultaneously, you must decide ahead of time and not select full screen. If you select full screen the next device that shares will take over full screen. If one device shares in the top left and the next device shares full screen, it is written over so each presenter needs to decide and place their screen in a specific quadrant.
iPhone audio or playing a video did not work for our group.
