College Planning & Management

JUN 2012

College Planning & Management is the information resource for professionals serving the college and university market. Covering facilities, security, technology and business.

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REAL-WORLD SOLUTIONS TechUpgrade Digital Signage for School's Messaging Needs T he initial discussions for digital signage at Marshall Uni- versity were spurred by a campus that wanted an effective way to increase awareness of campus events and improve communications with the campus community. Marshall's IT team knew the University needed a campus-wide signage solution that was scalable, could share information both departmentally and campus-wide, and ultimately meet the University's needs of improved communi- cations. Other important components were ease of use, interactivity, and the establish- ment of administrative controls on content and branding. After a pilot with BroadSign ended in December 2009, the results proved that digital signage was the direction Marshall should go, but Marshall's IT team needed to fi nd a vendor that could meet their growing needs. "We needed to act fast to fi nd a vendor whose product was a good fi t for Marshall. We had heard positive things about Four Winds Interactive's digital signage solution, so we gave them a call," says Eric S. Himes, director, Digital Media Services at the Univeristy. Marshall and Four Winds Interactive agreed to a two-month pilot. "Today, we are pleased to say that Four Winds is the only signage provider used by the Univer- sity. It was clear to IT that we needed to unify these projects and have a campus- wide signage solution that was scalable and could share information. The obvious camps-wide signage solution was Four Winds Interactive," Himes continues. "During that pilot, the software was great and service from Four Winds Interactive was, and continues to be, outstanding. We are very pleased with the product." Marshall has plans to expand the net- work to their two remote campuses and de- Students, faculty, and staff love the signs. Eric Himes usually receives 10 to 12 new message requests a week from various groups. "We started the fi rst pilot with 11 signs and now have 30 signs around campus," Himes says. "Departments and colleges continue to see the value of the Four Winds Interactive signage network." ploy the tools and screensavers of computers controlled by Marshall IT. They also plan to research different ways to generate revenue with the signage because the system will allow tracking of advertising campaigns. In addition, they have plans to develop interac- tive content with mobile devices. CPM FOUR WINDS INTERACTIVE WWW.FOURWINDSINTERACTIVE.COM TECH SHOWCASE WHAT'S NEW + NOTEWORTHY New 3LCD Projectors Hitachi America, Ltd. — The next generation of the Classroom and Conference Room 3LCD projec- tors, CP-X2015WN, CP-WX2515WN, CP-X2515WN, CP-X3015WN, CP-X4015WN, and CP-WX3015WN, off er networking capability, two USB ports, and new ImageCare functionality. With Hitachi's new Multi Projector function, project the same image to up to 12 projectors simultaneously. www.hitachi-america.us/ digitalmedia Surge Suppressors SurgeX — SurgeX power manage- ment and surge suppression devices protect installations of all scope. New IP-enabled models can moni- tor, identify, and fi x most power problems as soon as they happen, while providing unmatched surge protection. Detailed energy usage information also allows facility managers to create energy savings with this new technology. www.surgex.com 74 COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / JUNE 2012 Portable Projectors Sharp Electronics Corporation — Ready PG-LX2000 and PG-LS2000 are ideal for class- rooms and meeting room settings and off er high performance, wide fl exibility, and enhanced reliability. Both portable projectors are 3D ready and feature DLP BrilliantColor technology for rich and vibrant color reproduction and enhanced reliability. www.sharpusa.com/projectors Power Management SurgeX — Axess by SurgeX, a new line of connected power products, is an IP addressable, surge eliminating, and power conditioning management system that allows integrators to monitor and control power distribution platforms via the Internet, 24/7. Custom sequences can be created across the entire network with email notifi cations about various power phenomena. www.surgex.com WWW.PLANNING4EDUCATION.COM

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