Newsletter

Imagine going to a movie and not being able to discern a word of the dialogue. This was the situation facing a resident of EPOCH Assisted Living at Boylston Place. According to Julie Bolt, Marketing Director at the EPOCH community, the elderly gentleman became depressed and frustrated by his inability to hear.

“We tried numerous solutions to help him feel more integrated and vital. Finally, we learned about the benefits of a hearing loop system,” says Julie.

Shanahan installed a hearing loop system in the cinema at EPOCH Assisted Living at Boylston Place. A hearing loop is like a wireless network for hearing aids. An inductive loop transmits sound signals from a microphone, speaker or public address system directly to telecoil-equipped hearing aids or cochlear implants. The telecoil functions as an antenna, relaying sounds directly into the ear without background noise.  Most new hearing aids or cochlear implants have a telecoil. Older devices may be inexpensively retrofitted with the tiny wire.

EPOCH Assisted Living at Boylston Place is the first assisted living community in Massachusetts to install a hearing loop system. “The hearing loop helps set us apart. It shows that we listen to our residents’ concerns and work with them to help solve problems. People appreciate being heard – and being able to hear,” says Julie.

According to Julie, the installation of the hearing loop was a “quick and easy process.” In a September post on the community blog, she wrote: “The installation only took a few hours, and we were able to bring a smile to that gentleman’s face within a few minutes. We had been trying for months. Another gentleman tried it out and said that for the first time in years he could relax and enjoy a movie. Seeing the happiness the system brought to their lives, and the comfort and ease it has brought to the lives of other residents and visitors, has made the process completely worthwhile.”

Shanahan installed EPOCH’s hearing loop system in the movie theater’s ceiling. For best results, the wires are installed either above or below ear level. Professionally installed systems are completely invisible to the audience and do not affect a venue’s architecture or appearance.

Let us help you turn your audio and visual requirements into reality.  Give us a call at 800-786-1556 or contact us today. One of our professionals will be happy to work with you.

The InfoComm trade show is the best place to get an advance look at the latest audio visual products and technology.  This year’s show featured 950 exhibitor booths, displaying everything from audio components to digital signage and telepresence systems.  We scoured the aisles to find the most exciting or useful products for our customers. Then we compared notes and selected four products that were our “Best in Show”.

Technology that Supports Collaboration, Design and Productivity

Advancements in touch screen technology are revolutionizing how people work together.  Two products stood out as great additions to meeting rooms, conference centers, classrooms and any other environment in which people collaborate together on projects or share information.

Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface

 Samsung and Microsoft partnered to bring tables and walls to life with large format touch screens.  With a swipe of a finger, you can view documents, photos or video in a large format that is perfect for group presentations and discussions. The LCD display recognizes fingers, hands and objects placed on the screen, including more than 50 simultaneous touch points. The product is only 4” thick and easy to use horizontally, vertically, or embedded in walls or custom enclosures.

• PixelSense --Gives an LCD display the power to recognize fingers, hands and objects placed on the screen, including more than 50 simultaneous touch points. With PixelSense, pixels in the display see what's touching the screen and that information is immediately processed and interpreted.  
• Microsoft Surface software -- Delivers a unique direct interaction platform
• Thin form factor with multiple configuration options --The product's 4" thickness makes it easy to use horizontally, hang vertically with the VESA mount, or embed in walls or custom enclosures. Standard legs are available or customers can design and attach their own.  
• 40" Full HD 1080p screen --Enables superior multi-user experiences in full HD 1080p with a16:9 aspect ratio and 1920x1080 resolution.
• Powerful embedded system --Uses the embedded AMD Athlon™ II X2 Dual-Core Processor 2.9GHz paired with the AMD Radeon HD 6700M Series GPU featuring DirectX 11 support to deliver significant processing horsepower and outstanding graphics capability.

Samsung 65” Touch Screen LCD Display

This is the next evolution of the classic white board. Sophisticated technology lets you present and manipulate information with the touch of a finger. The optical touch capabilities permit two people to work on projects at one time. Content may also be viewed and changed over a wireless or wired network from individual computers or other equipment.

• Optical Touch Technology
• 1,920 x 1,080 high-resolution LCD screen
• Access to content over computer or network with handwriting capability using whiteboard pen 
•  Lifespan of about 50,000 hours

Technology that Solves Problems

The products presented here are missing the cool factor of the touch screens - unless you, like us, are fascinated by behind-the-scenes technology. We are excited that products are now available to preserve signal quality for high definition (HD) video over long cable lengths.

Until recently, cable length had a huge impact on signal quality. Longer cables reduced the quality of the signals. The better the signal quality, the more it would suffer if longer cable lengths were used. Two-way communication between technologies was often lost, or other glitches would arise with longer cable lengths. What was supposed to be a seamless system sometimes proved to be a source of constant frustration.

The products highlighted below are workhorse technologies that make HD video systems operate more smoothly.  

Extron XTP T HDMI

The Extron XTP T HDMI is an XTP transmitter that sends video, audio, bidirectional RS-232 and IR, and Ethernet up to 330 feet (100 m) over a single CAT 5-type cable. It is HDCP compliant, HDMI 1.3 compatible, and supports 1080p/60 Deep Color and 1920x1200 signals. The transmitter also allows Ethernet extension and insertion of bidirectional RS-232 and IR for LAN access and AV device control. The XTP T HDMI transmitter works with the XTP CrossPoint^® System for signal distribution and long-distance transmission between remote endpoints.

Extron SME 100

The Extron SME 100 is a live streaming media encoder that interfaces with DVI, RGB, HDTV, and standard definition signals for delivering media over IP networks. It is designed specifically for pro AV applications and features an integrated three-input switcher with audio, plus buffered loop-throughs for simplified integration into AV systems. The SME 100 employs standards-based H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC encoding, and outputs an IP stream that can easily be decoded and viewed on desktop or laptop PCs. High performance Extron signal processing scales and optimizes video input signals for the intended viewing application. Encoding controls also provide adjustments for bit rate and quality. By extending AV signals over networks, the SME 100 significantly expands AV system capability.

Let us help you turn your audio and visual requirements into reality. Give us a call at 800-786-1556 or contact us today. One of our professionals will be happy to work with you.