Conference Room Makeover Brings State-of-the-Art ViewSonic Direct View LED and ViewBoard Interactive Displays to School

Aug 21, 2023

CASE STUDY

Conference Room Makeover Brings State-of-the-Art ViewSonic Direct View LED and ViewBoard Interactive Displays to School

SCHOOL

Located in Ellisville, MS, the Ellisville State School is a state-operated regional program providing comprehensive services to persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Ellisville State School offers services to people in a residential setting and provides an array of programs and services in the community through the Community Services System. Ellisville State School serves approximately 240 people on the main campus and additional persons in the community. It is the goal of Ellisville State School to provide each person with the appropriate services so that each will develop to the maximum of his or her potential.

“They were able to use the ViewBoard interactive display while looking at the audience, and everything they did was mirrored on the big Direct View LED display, which made it highly visible to everyone in the room no matter where they were seated. The two displays are a great pairing.”

— Dean Yelverton, Network Administrator

THE CHALLENGE

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when Ellisville State School (ESS) closed its doors to protect residents and staff, Director Rinsey McSwain found herself conducting daily video calls in the conference room. She quickly became frustrated by the limited capabilities of the aging projector and conference phone. This frustration was the springboard for change, as McSwain envisioned the development of a fully-interactive environment powered by the most current technology.

“She wanted top-notch video conferencing equipment that could be used in multiple, flexible ways,” said IT Director Bobby Sterling. “The room was already equipped with a divider, and she wanted to be able to leverage it for simultaneous smaller meetings as well as ones that used the full space.”

Along with Network Administrator Dean Yelverton, Sterling reached out to reseller partner RJ Young for assistance. Together they looked at potential solutions from various manufacturers, and settled on the Direct View LED display as their technology of choice for the room’s main display. This would be supplemented with an interactive flat panel display on the other side of the room.

THE SOLUTION

Next, Sterling and Yelverton visited the reseller’s installer, who favored ViewSonic among the suppliers under consideration.

“He showed us photos of ViewSonic Direct View LED display installations he had done,” said Yelverton. “Seeing those, along with the great bang-for-the-buck offered by ViewSonic, took us quickly in that direction. We knew that our director would be pleased with the seamless display.”

It didn’t hurt that both Yelverton and Sterling had previous positive experience with ViewSonic products. “I’ve used ViewSonic displays going back a long time,” said Yelverton. “They’ve always been very good quality at a fair price. And for what you get with the huge Direct View LED display, it’s really rather affordable.”

The team took their proposal to McSwain, who was impressed by the display’s size and features. The final signoff came from business services, and with these approvals, the IT team obtained the required quotes. RJ Young presented the best pricing, and received the purchase order for a ViewSonic® 135” All-in- One LD135-151 Direct View LED display and a ViewSonic® 75-inch ViewBoard® IFP7552-1C-E1 display with VPC25-W53-01-1B slot-in PC, along with Logitech control panel, webcams, a controller and Sure speakers to round out the solution. The IT department further ordered a ViewSonic® LD-MK-001 vacuum maintenance tool, which would enable them to easily remove and replace LED panels without having to bring in third party support.

The final challenge would be installing the new equipment in time for the annual Department of Mental Health Board of Directors meeting that the school would be hosting just three weeks after placing the purchase order. Fortunately, one of the key features of the ViewSonic Direct View LED display system is streamlined installation that makes it faster and easier to deploy than a traditional LED wall.

THE RESULTS

The conference space was transformed into a versatile, state-of-the art facility used by staff throughout the school
The full solution was delivered and installed in under 3 weeks, meeting a critical deadline
Video conferencing is easy and efficient, with both displays delivering a clear view of participants
Stakeholders across the organization appreciate the performance and polish provided by the ViewSonic Direct View LED display
The ViewSonic ViewBoard display provides an all-new level of interactivity to presenters and trainers

Thanks to the support and hustle from RJ Young and ViewSonic, the equipment arrived about two weeks after the order was placed. This left under a week to get everything installed and working.

“The Department of Mental Health is our school’s oversight organization, and this meeting is very important,” said Sterling. “Our director wanted everything perfect to showcase videos on the new Direct View LED display and to accommodate interactive presentations on the ViewSonic ViewBoard interactive display. We were under a tremendous time crunch.”

Thanks to the efforts of all involved – and the ease of installation because of ViewSonic Direct View LED technology – everything went smoothly, said Yelverton. They even had a couple days to conduct training. The meeting went off without a hitch.

What was once a standard-issue conference room with basic and outdated equipment has become a state-of-the art facility that provides flexibility and ease of use.

“We didn’t realize how much we were going to be able to take advantage of by going from what we had to the fully interactive setup we have now,” said Sterling.

For groups like the board of directors meeting, the full room supports a range of needs, from a larger-than-life video display and immersive video calls on the Direct View LED display, to interactive presentations using the arm-mounted ViewSonic ViewBoard interactive display, which can be height-adjusted and angled to meet user needs as well as a variety of seating arrangements.

“During the board meeting we had several attendees present who were accustomed to using whiteboards,” said Yelverton. “They were able to use the ViewBoard interactive display while looking at the audience, and everything they did was mirrored on the big Direct View LED display, which made it highly visible to everyone in the room no matter where they were seated. The two displays are a great pairing.”

When the full room isn’t needed, the school can book dual meetings in the divided space. The collaborative capabilities of the ViewBoard display have been particularly useful for conducting remote and hybrid training, commented Yelverton, and the room has become an in-demand hub for trainings as much as for meetings.

Sterling and Yelverton emphasized that both RJ Young and ViewSonic went above and beyond, throughout the process.

“I have to give a shout out to ViewSonic’s tech support,” said Yelverton. “We had issues with a couple of the LED panels, which they anticipated by including some spares with the kit. Then after that the tech support team sent us a couple more spares to keep on hand.” The Ellisville State School director who requested the conference room makeover has been more than pleased with the results, the IT duo said. “She still gets a big smile every time she sees the beautiful Direct View LED display,” said Sterling. “When visitors come from our central office it’s the first thing that she shows them.”