Zoom White Board

Duke University is evaluating the new whiteboard feature offered by Zoom, and already recommending it to faculty members. I received great insight from DLI about the new feature, and the university is optimistic about its potential. The new feature includes templates that aim to recreate real-life use cases, such as project management and agile methodologies. The whiteboard feature offers an interesting step forward, however the implementation may work better with standalone PM tools. Duke University is also looking into creating custom templates that would be more suited to their specific needs.

The integration of the whiteboard feature with Canvas and LTI Pro is being closely monitored, as the university is in the process of migrating to Canvas. The integration is slightly more robust in Canvas and includes a new whiteboard tab. The university is also evaluating Padlet, a faculty-preferred teaching tool, as a complementary tool to the Zoom whiteboard. There is a wide variety of use cases for virtual bulletin boards, and research has already been published on the topic. With the great insight from Chris Lorch at DLI, Duke University is optimistic about the new whiteboard feature from Zoom.

 

Sony Electronics

Sony brought some of the industry’s leading technology to Duke for members of the Duke community to view, touch and explore at the Bryan Center Studios for a limited time.

The event was open to all faculty and staff at Duke University, Duke Health and members of the Durham community.

Electronics include:

  • Crystal C-Series LED Video Wall — Micro LED display and video wall that uses cutting-edge picture-processing technologies to allow you to create extraordinary, large-scale, “ultra-real” visual experiences with clarity, contrast, and color.
    • Follow this link to the start of the CLED Demo
  • Sony FX9 video camera – A full-frame 6K sensor camera with Fast Hybrid AF, Dual Base ISO, and S-Cinetone™ color science, produces cinematic picture quality.
  • PTZ and Remote Cameras – Built for any space, these cameras and accessories use advanced technologies for remote lectures, meetings and presentations and can integrate easily into most standard systems with simple installation.
  • NUCLeUS – A scalable digital imaging platform for hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers, it streamlines the management and distribution of video content – plus still images and patient data.

Access the entire video here: Sony DDMC

Wolfvision CYNAP Pro

App-free dongle-free screen sharing!

Connect and share your screen using the wireless technology that’s built into your own mobile device. Our wireless BYOD solutions suit all iOS, iPadOS, Android, Chrome OS, Windows and Mac devices – with full support for AirPlay, Chromecast, and Miracast screen mirroring.

Record your content

Cynap Pro lets you record all your multi-window, multimedia content. Everything is captured in high definition and saved internally – perfect for use as part of your online educational program. The included Capture feature pack enables operation as capture agent for Panopto, and other compatible video management platforms.

Multi-platform web conferencing

Cynap Pro‘s multi-platform web conferencing solution runs directly on the device itself, and is designed to solve many of the issues most commonly experienced with BYOM web conferencing systems.

Complex multi-step setup, and bandwidth issues are eliminated, and Zoom, MS Teams or WebRTC-based wireless conferencing sessions are easily started and controlled, using a simple workflow, from a touchscreen, or any laptop, smartphone, or tablet.

Stream & record to mobile

Our unique vSolution App for iOS, iPadOS, Android, and Windows lets your audiences receive and record a live stream of presentation or lecture content from Cynap Pro onto their own smartphones and tablets.

Freedom to present

Cynap Pro plays, displays, records, and streams all commonly used media at the same time, giving you unlimited choice of materials during presentations, lectures, and active learning classes.

Access your data easily via cloud, network drive or from mobile devices – even your laptop is no longer essential – you can simply bring your content on a USB stick, or download it directly from the cloud!

Annotate over any open window

Add to your content material using our built-in annotation features – or note down your ideas using the digital whiteboard, and save the output of both for future use.

If you are looking for an all-in-one with only needing to add audio processing? The CYNAP line of products is a good way to go.

A New Kind of DDMC

Bryan Center Studio 1

We had great attendance for this DDMC meeting! Featuring a lineup of big hitters and an all-star cast in the gallery at Studio 1 made for a great event. A big thanks to everyone for your support!

Richard Mitchell made his return to the DDMC, wearing a well fitted Biamp Vest, to give us a rundown of the new Parle’ VCB2500 video bar that is shipping! He also provided overviews of Biamp’s new AV control product line, Video conference cameras, Devio conferencing, and an easy to use classroom designer. The Biamp product line does an excellent job of covering all of your educational technology needs.

Michael Greene and Chris Lorch from Duke Learning Innovation discussed the impact of digital learning technologies on the classroom and other learning environments and showed how active learning helps students think, create, discuss and solve problems rather than passively sitting in a class receiving information. They highlighted the use of whiteboarding to promote brainstorming and group work. Reducing the need for podiums, providing good sound and visuals, and promoting more instructor interaction with online students are all components that should be considered in this new landscape of HyFlex teaching at Duke University. DLI is Duke’s resource for faculty and staff to tap into the opportunities that hybrid teaching tools can provide.

John Ballinger and Tim Hunnicutt with Panasonic brought an impressive array of PTZ cameras, video switchers and auto-tracking technologies to studio 1. John spent some time featuring Panasonic’s auto-tracking, which uses high-performance motion detection and high-accuracy facial recognition. These features allow precise tracking of the subject with minimal tracking errors, regardless of the direction the person is facing, even when the lecturer has his/her back to the camera. In addition, since this function provides detection/tracking with streaming video from the camera, the video capture board typically needed for capture on a PC is no longer required. This reduces the processing load for video capture, thereby eliminating the need for a high-performance PC. I also want to note the new PressIT 360, an easy to use plug and play conferencing camera ideally suited for small collaboration spaces.

Finally, our own Stephen Toback presented a topic near and dear to his heart: How to build a 4k studio for under $4,000. Knowing that the Bryan Center Studios will not always be convenient or the right place to shoot your video, Stephen put together a concise list of features your 4k studio should have in order to be successful. Room size, shape, acoustics, and lighting should all be considered before purchasing cameras and microphones. Stephen’s 4k studio equipment list details everything you need to outfit a studio of your own.

 

For more detailed information, please check out our Panopto recording of this event.

 

Audio Engineering Society

The Audio Engineering Society Convention

AES New York 2022

What is three days in a crowded convention hall full of audio engineers like?

It’s a completely immersive experience!

Mic Placement

Abbey Road Studio 2

 

The theme of this years edition of the AES convention was clear. Immersive and spatial audio is going to be the wave that propels the future of audio industry.  The range classes covered the entire work flow of how to plan, set up, record, mix, binauralize and distribute audio for the masses. Middleware like Wwise, Dolby Atmos and game engines like Unity and Unreal Engine will give audio engineers the tools they need to transition their audio tracks from stereo to an immersive aural experience.

 

 

Some of the highlights of the show floor that will be of interest include a sit-stand ready made podcast table and Ultra Low Profile Adjustable Mic Boom from Forecast and  O.C.White Co.

Magewell Capture & Combine USB Fusion is a multi-input USB video capture devise with integrated sourse switching and layout control. Offering two HDMI inputs and one USB webcam input, USB fusion can switch between sources or combine two inputs simultaneously into one output (picture-in-picture or side-by-side) for capturing into popular software via its USB 3.0 interface.

Magewell

Magewell Fusion

The Klover Mik 09 parabolic microphone is by far one of my favorites of the show! Engineered for the modern videographer, the KLOVER MiK 09 parabolic microphone is known as our “shotgun killer.” Attach it to the camera’s shoe mount, mount it to a light pole, attach a pistol grip, or even hang it from the ceiling, for long-range audio that’s always ready. By far the most comprehensive and effective demonstration I have ever been apart of!

This mic rig deserves an award all by it self!

Mi Demo

KLOVER MiK 09

Over the years I found that going to gathering like this often reward us with information that you never knew you needed or simply not aware of. Conversations with peers lead to things you simply cannot live without.

Like Krisp’s AI-powered, bi-directional Noise Cancellation eliminates background noise from your microphone and your speaker.

krispWith Krisp toggled “on,” you can rest easy knowing that your voice—and your voice only—is heard clearly. But Krisp doesn’t stop there. Sounds on the other end of the line are identified and eliminated, so there are no distractions to break your focus during that important meeting.

For more information about these products and more.

Please contact me via Teams

Crestron

We had great turnout for our July 27th DDMC presentation with the kind folks at Crestron Electronics. Representatives Ryan Bernt and Greg Coddington showed up with a wealth of information. New and improved online and in person training, camera tracking, BYOD product updates, and cloud based control platforms.

 

Be sure to check out the recording for more details!

Crestron at the DDMC

Extron Electronics

Mark Bednarcik & Don Mitchell with Extron Electronics dropped into the DDMC and gave us a run down on some of the powerful tools that Extron has available for Collaboration spaces, Conference Rooms, and Lecture Halls. Also highlighting control and their new Virtual Control platform that will allow control of up to 50 rooms on one box.

Mark and Don pointed out the expansive online and in-person training that Extron offers. Worth checking out! Especially if your are in need of CTS or BICSI continuing education credits.

If you would like to review the meeting please follow this link to the DDMC Panopto to this video!

Panasonic Education Solutions

The DDMC met with our good friends at Panasonic this afternoon. All of us know they provide high quality classroom projectors. We just now discovered is they have a “pimp my projector” option with custom vinyl wraps! Custom Graphic/Logo/Colors. A 5-10 day Business day turnaround will get you stylin n’ profilin before the fall semester!

Also new to the Panasonic line of education products is their entry into wireless microphones with (11) new products that aim to be intuitive to use, lightweight and secure. Designed for lecture halls, auditoriums, the system has the flexibility to deliver excellent quality in spaces small too large.

New and notable is the Panasonic Lecture Capture & Auto – Tracking system. An all-in-one system to automatically track, record and stream video. Delivering a high quality, rich multi-source viewing experience. Co-developed & certified with Seneca and Panaopto for plug and play capabilities that should make for easy integration into existing AV systems. I have requested a (4) camera on site demo! So, stay tuned for further developments.

Check into our Zoom call here

2022 Northwest Managers of Educational Technology Conference Summary

This April I attended the Northwest Managers of Educational Technology conference held this year in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Since there’s nothing quite like this group in the Southeast, it felt well worth it to me to fly across the country to enjoy a little normalcy and connect in person again with fellow A/V professionals focused on education. Of course, I can’t deny that the location for this year’s event on the shores of beautiful Lake Coeur d’Alene was an added draw. The conference was well attended (I’m guessing ~100 attendees), and exceptionally well run. NMET is a close organization with a history that spans several decades going all the way back to the beginning of the AV industry as we know it in the era of analog media.

Lake Coeur d'Alene

TOPICS

  • Responses to the pandemic and various school’s efforts to work toward a “new normal” 
  • The CARES Act as a catalyst for A/V classroom upgrades: UNLV launched a huge new program during COVID called RebelFlex using CARES funds that is seen as largely successful that would likely not have been possible otherwise. (Duke, along with several other top private universities such as Harvard and Princeton chose not accept CARES act funding.)
  • COVID as a driver for A/V initiatives and standardization: Many schools saw decision-making for A/V and IT-related projects shift to the provost level and higher as schools developed alternative teaching strategies such “emergency”, “HyFlex,” “hybrid,” “co-mingled,” and remote teaching as pandemic responses. In most cases timelines for implementing major A/V projects sped up significantly as well.
  • COVID as a driver for A/V standardization: Oregon State University described how COVID helped their campus standardize on an enterprise A/V strategy that centered on Kaltura, Canvas, and Zoom, and quieted demand for competing tools. Interestingly, OSU does not use a dedicated recording tool such as Panopto but instead utilizes Zoom for all recording and pushes this content to Kaltura within Canvas course sites. 
  • Faculty support models for hybrid teaching: UNLV’s RebelFlex program experimented with hiring students who were assigned to in-person classes as tech support. While overall this seemed successful, there were challenges, such as the diminishment of the need for tech support as the semester went on and faculty became familiar with the new technologies involved. Additionally it was observed that faculty members tended to morph the roles of their student help into roles resembling TAs and research assistants over time, including using these helpers as moderators for their Zoom chats.
  • Building a Networking Group like NMET: Some of the conference attendees were surprised I came all the way from North Carolina to attend the conference. “You mean the Duke?” several asked. I explained there’s nothing in the southeast comparable to NMET, an education-driven organization focused on the intersection of A/V and IT. That’s sad, but not surprising in a way, since a successful organization like NMET isn’t built overnight. NMET began holding conferences in 1979 and is the result of the hard work and passion of several generations of A/V professionals who have comprised NMET.
  • The A/V Superfriends Podcast (https://www.avsuperfriends.com/): Some of the members of NMET together with other A/V professionals extending beyond that group maintain a very cool podcast for A/V professionals focused on the intersection of A/V and pedagogy in higher ed. They were actually recording new episodes of the podcast live in the exhibit area. Members of this group led several interesting conference sessions focused primarily on the impact of COVID for classroom technology. Recent topics of their podcast include: 
    • Managing PO’s and supply chain issues
    • Campus support structures
    • Auto-framing and auto-tracking cameras
    • Cabling infrastructure and TIA standards
    • The intersection of A/V and IT in hiring new staff
    • AV replacement cycles–do we set arbitrary schedules of 5, 7, 10 years or tie AV refresh projects to capital projects?
    • Bootstrapping light video production switchers into classroom systems
  • AV over IP: It was argued by some that the NDI (Network Device Interface) protocol represents the wave of the future, and that we should future-proof our classrooms by purchasing NDI-capable cameras
  • Benefits and drawbacks of Zoom certification: It was discussed this may be OK as long as not mandated or exploited for commercial benefit (cross reference Tandberg)
  • “Hybrid” (instructor-driven) vs. “HyFlex” (student-centered) classrooms
  • USB as the “common language of hybrid learning spaces”
  • Elevating sound quality in the rush to add A/V infrastructure to classrooms 
  • Keeping classroom AV UI’s simple and standard even in classrooms where there is great complexity under the hood
  • ePTZ (auto-tracking) cameras: Importance of good lighting, fixed positions are better than continuous tracking
  • Making a virtual lightboard: One presenter showed how he used Procreate and a green screen in front of presenter to make a virtual lightboard 


VENDORS

  • Kaltura: Kaltura was one of three main sponsors of the conference. As mentioned above, Oregon State University, which was the main organizer of the conference, is a Kaltura customer. It was noted that Kaltura, unlike most other vendors, still offers an unlimited storage and bandwidth licensing tier, although it was mentioned it is “expensive.”
  • Panasonic: Panasonic was another major sponsor of the conference. Their projectors and displays were used in conference venues.
  • Elmo was showcasing its wide array of document cameras from a $200.00 USB to similarly portable wireless options starting at ~$800.00 to its flagship 4K, 12x optical zoom version designed for fixed classroom installations, the PX-30E (MSRP $3700.00). Interestingly, while WolfVision is the 500lb gorilla in the doc cam space, Elmo actually invented the document camera, and is the older company.
  • Epiphan was showcasing its well-known Pearl live encoder lineup along with its cool new device, the LiveScrypt. The LiveScrypt connects to Epiphan Cloud to add live ASR-based captions to your live production. These captions can be embedded with your live streams or sent out to monitors in the room for display for in person or hybrid events. There is a charge of $10.00/ hr to use the cloud-based ASR service in addition to the $1,500.00 cost of the device itself.
  • Alfatron had its wide range of PTZ cameras on display, ranging from a MSRP of $700.00 to $2150.00.
  • Shure had a booth showcasing equipment by Stem, a company they recently acquired. Stem offers complete solutions for outfitting conference and meeting rooms with a range of mics, including tabletop, wall, and ceiling mounted ones, together with a hub and an integrated control system for managing the individual elements.
  • Smart was demoing its latest lineup of interactive displays
  • Legrand AV showcased a wide range of products focused on physical classroom infrastructure, including displays, display mounts, projectors, PTZ cameras, speakers, device controllers, and network switches. Legrand is a large company that owns Vaddio, Chief, Da-Lite, and Middle Atlantic Products.
  • Cleardigital featured its modular display wall called Vue featuring very smooth touch surfaces and replaceable panels as well as other products such as a PTZ cam, the RL400, a portable doc cam and an all-in-one conference camera.
  • Newline Interactive was featuring its newest interactive and non-interactive displays ranging from 27” to 98”
  • AVer gave a conference session demo-ing its new autotracking PTZ camera, the TR333V2. The TR333V2 offers:
    • 30x optical zoom
    • Sophisticated pre-set configuration, including the ability to move in and out of continuous tracking and fixed position mode based on how an instructor moves in the classroom
    • 4k
    • 3G-SDI, HDMI, IP, and USB output 
    • Full or half body tracking

Sennheiser

The DDMC hosted Sennheiser’s Steve Wingo who spoke about two very interesting technologies that might serve our community.

Team Connect 2

The TeamConnect Ceiling 2, with its patented automatic dynamic beamforming technology, was already a leader in conference room audio technology. Now, with the addition of TruVoicelift and advanced zone control, TeamConnect Ceiling 2 combines the advantages of a boundary microphone and a microphone array. Therefore, it is the best solution for both (video) conferencing and in-room audio, for example in classrooms, lecture halls and boardrooms. TeamConnect Ceiling 2 now offers our customers unparalleled levels of control with the addition of a priority zone (allowing a single area in the room to be highlighted), 5 advanced exclusion zones (for pinpoint targeting and removal of unwanted noise sources) and more. All of these new features are activatable and configurable via the latest firmware update for the TeamConnect Ceiling 2 and via the latest version of Sennheiser Control Cockpit. Easy to install and, due to a flexible microphone ceiling mount system, easy to integrate. Let us help you understand the difference TeamConnect Ceiling 2 can make for you and your business.

MobileConnect

MobileConnect consists of three main components: The MobileConnect Station is the “audio-to-network bridge” that picks up the audio signal in the room and streams it to any preferred streaming network. Using the pre-existing WiFi access points, the signal is provided to up to 100 smartphones per Station, using the MobileConnect App as a receiver. When using multiple Stations, the MobileConnect Manager can be used as the single point of administration for all MobileConnect Stations. If not needed, MobileConnect can also be operated in the so-called Standalone Mode, where single MobileConnect Stations can be run and administered using a local web interface.

 

Take a look at our Zoom Call for more information: https://duke.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=66a9a1eb-f4cc-498e-99ac-ae6100fed53c