About University of Denver
Founded in 1864, The University of Denver is a private university sprawling across 125 acres just south of downtown Denver, CO. The school offers over 100 undergraduate programs and more than 120 graduate and professional programs. With approximately 11,600 students, DU ranked among the top 100 universities by U.S. News and World Report. Kiplinger’s Financials ranked the school 64th in the nation in 2015 for best value in private education. In addition to its academics and affordability, the university is also committed to environmental conservation and sustainability efforts. DU is the largest wind-energy buyer among Colorado colleges and universities, with renewable energy credits equal to 31 percent of its energy usage. The university has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050.
Challenge
University of Denver’s Digital Media Services department wanted to provide its instructors with an intuitive classroom presentation system that had both wired and wireless connectivity. The university wanted to upgrade 46 classrooms at the same time. The technology had to be easy to use and easy to support, yet robust enough for heavy classroom usage.
Franklin Jackson, Digital Media Services Manager for the University of Denver, said that DU not only needed a wireless collaboration system, but also needed to define best practices and efficient workflow. According to custom audio/video integrator Lenny Marko-Franks at CCS Presentation Systems, DU had been searching for a solution for some time when they discovered VIA Collage at the AV Expo. He added that one of the biggest challenges was how to gradually introduce the system.
Solution
CCS recommended the VIA Collage and VIA Connect PRO wireless presentation and collaboration products because of their functionality and ease of use. VIA wireless collaboration solutions allow meeting participants with any laptop or mobile device to share presentations and documents on the main display and comment on them or edit them in real time. With VIA, participants can share any-size file, chat during meetings, and turn the main display into a whiteboard. VIA Collage is unique among its competitors in that it can stream smooth, 60Hz full frame-rate video.
“VIA Collage offers many expansive functions that other collaboration devices do not,” Jackson said. “We chose it because of its robust functionality and ease of use.” VIA Collage can show six user screens on a main display and 12 on two displays. Users can also view the main display on their device. VIA Connect PRO can show up to four screens on the main display.
Results
VIA addressed the university’s needs and has become the standard for audio/video installations on campus. Recently, additional VIA Collages were installed in two new classroom buildings. “Results have been overwhelmingly positive," said Jackson. "It’s new technology on our campus and folks were slow to adopt initially; now that word has spread, VIA Collage and VIA Connect PRO are in high demand campus-wide,” he said.
Marko-Franks noted that “Kramer sales and tech support teams have been stellar." "This project would not have gone as smoothly as it has without their support," added Marko-Franks. "Our Kramer regional sales manager was especially instrumental during the introduction and evaluation of the products and has been a pillar of support throughout the entire process.”
Jackson added that “the team from Kramer has been a pleasure to work with. They are quick to respond with timely and meaningful solutions," he said. "I’m excited about the future partnership with Kramer and building a solid customer/manufacturer relationship.”