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Opinion
Presentation & Display: The Challenge of Next-Generation
10/9/2006
A projector in every classroom is a condition no longer exclusively found in higher education. K-12 districts across the country are installing thousands of projectors at every level. And, colleges and universities are now relying on projection, front and rear, to enhance instruction in all fields of study.
Unfortunately, room designers have often failed to solve the problems that must be addressed when using projection technology in an instructional space:
- Too much (any) ambient light on the projection screen
- Inadequate lighting of instructor and whiteboards
- Imbalance of whiteboard space/access and the projection screen
- Inadequate sizing of screen and sightlines from audience
- Instructor “wander zone” interfering with projector light field
- Distance education/IP cameras pointed toward screens
- Projector fan noise
When these problems are not solved, a projector can actually detract from the learning experience. Rear projection, when properly implemented, can solve many of these problems, but the cost in equipment and square footage is often prohibitive.
Yet, if implementing front projection has so many potential (and sometimes unavoidable) pitfalls, why do smart people keep doing it? The reason is that the image is so big. Trying to show an extremely detailed computer image to people sitting 25 feet away using a 42-inch plasma screen (or even a 60-inch model) is insufficient. People need to see an image that is of sufficient size to resolve the detail that is presented, over the distance across which it is viewed. It’s essentially a three-variable equation, with distance, size, and detail affecting each other to produce the optimal viewing solution.
Until rear projection monitors (or direct-view flat panels) are large enough to provide equivalent-sized images to projectors, there will still be projectors hanging in classrooms – faults and all.
Seeking Perfection
Industry marketers are always pitching the “Next Best Thing.” But how do we know whether a new product is next generation or simply next-incremental-improvement? Incremental steps are necessary and beneficial, but the term “next generation” should be something that moves us toward something. What is the ultimate classroom display system? Here are four criteria that would need to be met:
- Large enough for everyone to see comfortably
- High-enough contrast for images to look natural in all lighting conditions
- Flexible in accommodating various resolutions and aspect ratios
- Form factor that d'es not interfere with classroom activities
Current Technologies
Love them or hate them, there is little available right now in the area of projectors to suggest “next generation.” In terms of meeting the criteria of the ultimate classroom display system, front projectors do well in terms of image size.
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