COMPANY

Georgia Military College (GMC) is an accredited public military junior college with twelve community college campuses throughout the state of Georgia, a Global Online College and a flagship campus in Milledgeville. GMC’s Milledgeville campus serves a combination of residential cadets, commuter students and intercollegiate athletes.

Recognized by the federal government as a Predominantly Black Institution (PBI), 56% of GMC’s student body is made up of minority students. The primary goal of GMC is to prepare students for transfer to a four-year college or university.
In addition to associate degrees, Georgia Military College also offers a four-year Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) program.

Georgia Military College’s mission is to produce educated citizens and contributing members of society in an environment conducive to the development of the intellect and character of its students.

OVERVIEW

Problem:

• Upgrade display in a boardroom with strong ambient lighting

Solution:

• ViewSonic 163” Direct View LED display

Result:

• All requirements were met and/or exceeded.
• Setup was streamlined thanks to pre-calibrated panels.
• Large screen size made small text legible.
• High brightness delivered outstanding images in any lighting conditions.
• Ultra-slim design added cutting-edge style.

We wanted something document friendly and this solution is definitely that and so much more,” said Milner. “In addition to how great the display is, working with ViewSonic has been a pleasure, as always, and the president now has leading collaboration technology in his boardroom that easily connects to laptops.

— BRIAN MILNER, GEORGIA MILITARY COLLEGE DIRECTOR OF TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Problem

The motor on the projection screen in the president’s boardroom had broken and it was the last straw. For years, GMC’s president, William B. Caldwell IV and the staff responsible for setting up his meeting space had been dealing with an unsatisfactory boardroom display. With a projector mounted 30 feet from the screen, images and text were often grainy and difficult to make out even under the best of conditions.

Depending on the time of day or ambient light, visibility could be slightly better or much, much worse.

“The projector had aged and become dimmer and this room has challenges with ambient light,” said Brian Milner, GMC Director of Technical Support Services, “Besides providing a large image, it never really fit what they wanted, although it was the best choice at the time it was installed.”

What’s more, said Milner, the projector had turned into a time-consuming hassle for the support staff, who wasted time every day focusing and refocusing the projector in an attempt to clearly display calendars and spreadsheets.

The death of the screen motor coincided with a visit by President Caldwell to a neighboring university, where he was impressed with a colleague’s boardroom display. This, said Milner, set off the hunt for a suitable new solution.

Solution

Initially, said Milner, President Caldwell was interested in a 98” LCD display - the prevalent technology at the time for this type of installation. Milner and his team began researching various manufacturers and options before turning to long-time partner ViewSonic for pricing and advice.

“We’ve been standardized in all our classrooms with ViewSonic® ViewBoard® IFP8650 interactive displays and ViewSonic CDE8600/8620 commercial displays for about three years,” said Milner. “We initially looked at them because of ViewSonic’s reputation for making great monitors as well as their warranty and we ended up being very impressed with their digital signage and ViewBoard displays.”

On a visit to the conference room, GMC’s ViewSonic rep Ben Pearson confirmed the installation challenges and Milner expected him to recommend ViewSonic’s 98-inch 4K commercial display. Instead, Pearson suggested the latest ViewSonic technology that had launched in Q3 of 2020: Direct View LED displays.

“We turned on the projector and Ben measured the image out at 163 inches,” said Milner. “He said he could offer a Direct View LED wall of the exact same size that would be bright enough to let us keep the lights on and blinds open all the time.”

The benefits of the Direct View LED (DVLED) display didn’t stop there. With an ultra-fine pixel pitch, small text was more legible than ever. And as an all-in-one solution with built-in software, the DVLED display could connect wirelessly to mobile devices and enable multiple users to easily share screens and collaborate. With greater energy efficiency than LCD technology, the DVLED display would be less costly to operate than the proposed 98” display. Fast, easy installation of pre-calibrated panels would also reduce costs compared to a typical wall-mounted LCD installation. Finally, the new technology offered the best color accuracy and refresh rates of any display type currently available.

On paper, the DVLED solution seemed ideal, with outstanding specs and benefits, said Milner. He recommended it to President Caldwell, saying “From what I’ve seen and heard, you’re going to love it.” Caldwell signed off on the purchase and a short while later, GMC had its very own 163” ViewSonic Direct View LED display.

Result

Milner’s prediction was right on the money. As soon as the installation was complete, Caldwell commended the tech team and began sending photos to friends and colleagues.

“He has a group chat with university and college Senior VPs and directors and right away he texted them photos and told them how amazing the screen was,” said Milner. “He told us the images are even better than he expected, and he loves to brag about it.”

With its powerful brightness, seamless images and stunning resolution, it’s easy to see why.

“The resolution and clarity are amazing and it only extends from the wall 1.4 inches. It’s very sleek and high-end looking, which is great for impressing visitors,” said Milner. Plus, it’s so bright, we’re no longer fighting sunlight and ambient light throughout the day.”

The office staff are equally pleased, according to Milner, with an intuitive display solution that’s easy to use and requires virtually no set up or adjusting.

In every way, the ViewSonic DVLED display has met or exceeded expectations. The enormous screen is just as large as the previous projection screen. Text on documents, spreadsheets and calendars is clear, crisp and easily legible in all circumstances. And images stay clear without having to close the blinds or lower the lights.

“We wanted something document-friendly and this solution is definitely that and so much more,” said Milner. “In addition to how great the display is, working with ViewSonic has been a pleasure, as always, and the president now has leading collaboration technology in his boardroom that easily connects to laptops.”

What could be better than exceeding all expectations? The “WOW” factor, of course. “Other college presidents are going to be jealous and want one, we’re sure of it,” said Milner.