Collaborating, sharing and learning with digital video – that’s how the 2,200 students at Clark University in central Massachusetts are experiencing lessons and assignments. Thanks to Kramer Electronics, classrooms and dormitory study suites at the nation’s smallest liberal arts-based, research university have become high-tech learning environments.

Clark University recently outfitted nearly a dozen classrooms and two study suites with multi-media capability, featuring a Kramer VP-728 ProScale™ digital scaler/switcher in each room. The VP-728 has nine inputs, enabling high-quality conversion and switching of a number of different video signals for display on a projection screen. The scaler’s incorporated HQV® (Hollywood Quality Video) video processing results in the highest quality picture, no matter the source.

The Clark University faculty and presenters use the scaler/switcher to manage a variety of video sources in each room including a VCR, Blu-Ray player, laptop computer, document camera, and an iPod. The instructors use a central controller located at a podium in each room to switch sources on the scaler/switcher. The sources can also be accessed directly from the VP-728 itself.

“We chose the Kramer switcher because of its range of inputs, its scaling solution, reliability and ease-of-use,” said Joseph Kalinowski, Director of IT Systems and Security at Clark University. “Our faculty is confident operating the systems because they can use the switcher intuitively, the systems are the same in every room, and they work every time.”

Kalinowski also noted that the University was transitioning from analog to digital audio and video, and the Kramer product made the change easy. Its technology and cost-effectiveness made sense for the university’s needs. “The switcher was simple to install and competitively priced. Kramer was able to supply the inventory we needed and resolve any technical issues,” he explained.

Adtech Systems of Sudbury, MA, also installed Kramer systems in high-tech study suites in two freshman residence halls. Students can gather around a large study table and hook up their laptop computers to the VP-728 ProScale digital scaler/switcher. The video in each room appears on a 52-inch LCD display. The system is ideal for sharing presentations or collaborating on research and lessons.

From the new freshman class to the graduating seniors, students and faculty at Clark University are switching with Kramer Electronics.