Vaddio Debuts Classroom Automation System

Vaddio has introduced its new AutoPresenter and Presenter Pod camera and content control systems. According to the company, the AutoPresenter is designed to make it easier to present and create content in the classroom by combining the automation of people and content into one system.

"The AutoPresenter is designed to truly allow a teacher to have an automated classroom," said Rob Sheeley, president and CEO of Vaddio, in a statement. "For years, integrators have been designing classrooms with large control systems with the goal of making it easier for teachers to teach. What we've discovered is that teachers don't want to deal with the complexities of operating a control system; they want automation."

The AutoPresenter can switch up to six video inputs in analog component HD, RGBHV, and SD video. Individual video transmissions, including fades, wipes, and dissolves, can be programmed as required, while each video input can be up/down-converted to create a common aspect ratio and resolution, says the company.

An additional output converter will convert YPbPr component video to a DVI/HDMI digital output for integrating with Tandberg and Polycom codecs. The AutoPresenter allows the presenter to automate up to 72 predetermined presents for any type of content, the company adds. The PIP option allows any of these types of content to be shown at five different screen positions in three different sizes within each preset.

The complementary Presenter Pod camera with PresenterSense, used in conjunction with AutoPresenter, allows the presenter to automatically walk up to a presentation area and have the content appear in the main display, while retaining a PTZ camera preset shot of the presenter in the PIP window, says the company. PresenterSense tracks the presenter's movement, while two large buttons located on the Presenter Pod offer the presenter flexible control over the automated content and other necessary content sources. A third button is available for PIP adjustment within any preset.

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