User manual

12 ExtroNews 12.1 January/February 2001
UNIQUE TECHNIQUES
Last spring, UCF began their latest foray
into the A/V world with a multitude of
multimedia systems in mind for a new
classroom building. This building was
designed to integrate technology with
architecture for the creation of cutting-edge
educational environments: seventeen
multimedia classrooms, two auditoriums, an
anatomy lab, a student multimedia computer
lab, two notebook PC classrooms, two
distance learning rooms, and a faculty center.
(This article focuses on a typical multimedia
classroom system.) All systems are controlled
by Crestron control systems, with a
dedicated touch panel in each room. UCF’s
Multimedia Facilities Design and Support
staff members developed the A/V systems
plans, and the Orlando office of MCSi
Consolidated Media Systems was responsible
for the systems integration.
For the podium in each classroom, two of
the goals UCF had in mind were to
standardize all podiums for professors and to
allow input from an internal podium PC as
well as a professor’s laptop. Standardization
would make technical maintenance easier
for tech support and minimize training time
and effort for faculty and support staff.
Permanent connection access for two inputs
ensured that professors did not need to swap
out a computer to hook up their own
laptops. It also gave professors the capability
to instantly switch between the podium PC
and a laptop.
Interfacing
UCF staff explained the choice of Extron
products, “UCF has used Extron products in
the past, and we are satisfied with their high
bandwidth and reliability. All products with
RS-232 control use Extron’s SIS™ [Simple
Instruction Set], so that makes programming
a lot easier. We also selected Extron products
for their quality, performance, and
manufacturer support.”
Some manufacturers’ RS-232 commands
are quite obscure and lengthy. For intuitive,
time-saving programming, Extron offers
simplified RS-232 commands to minimize
programming requirements. These
commands are collectively called the Simple
Instruction Set. Also, every Extron product
that is RS-232 controllable ships with free
control software for use with Windows
operating systems. This software uses a
graphical user interface to make control
simple and convenient.
The Technological Forefront of Education
T
he University of Central Florida (UCF) was recently selected by
Yahoo! as one of the most wired institutions of higher learning in
the United States.
Front view of a high-capacity, multimedia classroom.
Classroom building with cutting-edge A/V systems at
University of Central Florida.