Collaborative Workspaces
Collaborative workspaces are areas used to promote communication between co-workers or students. In the corporate market, peers developing individual portions of a larger project will gather periodically to ensure the two efforts work together properly. Classrooms and libraries utilize collaborative learning areas for student interaction during group projects or advanced team study environments.
In the corporate market, peers number from 2 to 8 and utilize a single display in which to share content. In most cases, attendees share content from one or more of the individuals to discuss within the group. Video conferencing is a common tool introduced when sharing information with remote individuals or groups.
The Challenge
Designers and integrators face tough obstacles when designing collaborative workspaces including small isolated workspaces that are subject to periodic relocation, various high resolution signal types, and frequent upgrades in equipment.
In addition to the geographical and signal constraints of the system, integrators must supply an easy-to-use interface that allows each person control of their presentation. Control must be seamless, integrated, and intuitive to be effective. Many designers and integrators have turned to costly 3rd party control systems - adding to the installation complexity and price.
Meeting the Challenge
To meet this challenge, Presentation Switchers developed the PS510, the industry's first modular digital under-table presentation switcher.
The PS510 is a low profile, under-table-mounted switcher that quickly becomes a part of the table. The under-table design allows short cable runs from the connection box (e.g. Extron Cable Cubby® or Altinex Tilt'N Plug™) to the PS510 with cables mounted directly under the table. For the display, a single HDMI or VGA cable extends from the PS510 to the display. No more long cable runs with distribution amplifiers to a remote equipment rack - everything is right at the table. This design lowers overall integration costs and makes this solution extremely portable.
As a member of the Series 500 family of digital presentation systems, the PS510 is compatible with Series 500 input cards including the newly announced "Dual HDMI and VGA Input" cards. The PS510 features 4 input slots with simultaneous HDMI and VGA video outputs and a stereo or mono line level audio output. In the example above, this PS510 is connecting 5 laptop computers and 1 document camera of various types to a single LCD display.
Similar to other Series 500 enclosures, the PS510 features integrated display control. For example, when the first individual connects his/her computer to the system the PS510 recognizes the active signal and instructs the LCD panel to power on. When the last person disconnects his/her computer from the system the PS510 tells the LCD panel to shut down. This simple and intuitive feature saves time, power, and money - making the system easy to use and cost effective.
Expandability + Future Proof Design
The modular design of the PS510 allows customers to expand or change the system at any time. With a single screw, the user can remove, change, or add input boards. For example, today's design might require support for laptops with VGA and DVI connections. In six months, the location may need to support HDMI and DisplayPort laptops. Input boards can also be inserted while the system is powered for a truly "hot swappable" system. With the PS510, changing the configuration of the PS510 is extremely easy and requires no programming of the PS510.
In Conclusion
Integrators and designers face significant obstacles when designing flexible and reconfigurable collaborative workspaces. Presentation Switchers has embraced these problems by developing the PS510 - the industry's first modular digital "under-table" presentation switcher. The PS510 is field expandable or changeable, supports a variety of analog and digital signal types, incredibly easy to use, and is easy to install and maintain. No other product on the market offers this level of flexibility and value.
Presentation Switchers is quickly becoming the worldwide "go-to" source for digital presentation systems.