Interactive displays are everywhere in today’s world, transforming hybrid meeting sessions, enabling intuitive brainstorming experiences, and even enhancing education. The BenQ Board Pro promises to revolutionize the modern classroom, with a range of unique features.
Not only is this device one of the most effective “touchscreen” displays I’ve tried, comparable with the likes of the ultra-impressive Avacor E-Series, but it comes with built-in protections essential for today’s classrooms. For instance, the screens, pens, and controllers are fully germ resistant, and you even get built-in software to help you track air quality.
Here’s everything you need to know if you’re planning on investing in a new BenQ touchscreen for your educational setting.
Quick Verdict: Pros and Cons
The BenQ Board Pro is an impressive interactive display, with phenomenal visual fidelity, and high-precision touchscreen technology. It’s easy to use, great for BYOD, with tons of available connectivity options, and it’s one of the few screens that really does put health and safety first.
I even love the comprehensive software you get for device analytics, and account management. However, there are some potential downsides, such as the limited mounting options, and the lack of built-in webcams.
Pros:
- Exceptional health and safety features
- Energy-efficient performance
- Fantastic touchscreen functionality
- Extensive connectivity options
- Great integrated tools for IT admins
Cons:
- No integrated webcam
- Limited mounting options
BenQ Board Pro Review: Overview and Specs
The BenQ Board Pro is a touchscreen display specifically designed for educational settings – although I think it would be ideal for a wide range of hybrid meeting rooms too. It’s available in two sizes, (65”, and 75”), and comes packaged with a set of styluses, and an Android operating system.
Notably, although this screen does include built-in speakers and microphones, there’s no integrated webcam, so it’s not an “all-in-one” collaboration device, like the Microsoft Surface Hub 3. Still, it does include some features that other devices miss, such as an ambient light sensor, motion sensor, and air sensor, and an air ionizer.
Here’s a quick overview of the technical specifications:
- 3840 x 2160 pixel resolution display
- Germ-resistant and anti-glare coating
- High precision IR touchscreen technology (with up to 40 touch points)
- 8GB of memory and 64GB of storage
- Android 11 operating system
- 3 x HDMI, 2 x USB A, 1 x USB-C and 3.5mm connections
- Built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections
- NFC, Motion, Ambient Light, and Air Sensors
- 2 x 16 watt speakers
- 8 microphone array
- Integrated software for whiteboarding, screen sharing, and device management
- 2 x styluses included
BenQ Board Pro Review: The Screen Design
Let’s start with a closer look at the screen quality. First, you get a fantastic 4K resolution from the BenQ Board Pro, so you know you’re going to end up with crisp, clear visuals. The color quality and contrast are excellent, and the display even has an anti-glare coating to protect your eyes. Plus, it promises low blue light and minimal flicker, for reduced visual fatigue.
On top of that, the BenQ Board Pro has a set of built-in Dolby Digital Plus speakers, for brilliant immersive audio. Plus, unlike some other collaboration displays on the market today, this screen is incredibly eco-friendly. All BenQ boards are Energy Star certified, and include power-saving features to help you monitor and reduce energy consumption.
What really makes the design of this screen stand out, in my opinion, are the added “ClassroomCare” features. BenQ has created this device with a specific focus on minimizing the spread of bacteria and germs. There’s an anti-microbial coating on the screen, as well as the buttons, front ports, styluses and remote control. You can also access an “air quality analytics” system on the device.
This shows you a central overview of air temperature, quality, and humidity in your environment. If you notice any issues, you can take advantage of the on-board air ionizer, which helps to automatically clear impurities from any space. If you’re looking for a display that helps to keep your students, or team healthy, then the BenQ Board is a great choice.
The Touchscreen Experience
I mentioned above that the BenQ Board Pro is one of the most intuitive touchscreens I’ve tried, and I stand by that. While there are plenty of great touchscreen options out there, like the Neat Board, few deliver the same highly accurate experience you get with the BenQ Board Pro.
This display can sense up to 40 touchpoints (double that of some competitors), and distinguish between your fingers, palms, and even the included styluses. Since there’s no glass gap between the panel and the stylus when you’re writing, whiteboarding feels incredibly intuitive.
You even get integrated whiteboarding technology, which you can access with just a tap of your stylus on the screen. The EZWrite 6 software includes classroom tools for various subjects, and allows you to save whiteboarding sessions in an instant to come back to them later.
There’s also a built-in Google Classroom integration, which allows educators to import lesson materials and invite students to contribute to the whiteboard from their own devices.
Plus, I was really impressed by the built-in “floating tool” which allows you to tap on a screen and write on top of any document, website, app or image. You can even annotate over content shared by students via a connected Android, iOS, Mac, or Windows device.
Collaboration, BYOD Capabilities, and AI
When it comes to encouraging participation in meeting sessions and classrooms, the BenQ Board is fantastic. Although there’s no built-in webcam for video conferencing, you do get an 8-microphone array, which you could potentially use for meetings, alongside a plug-and-play camera.
This microphone array also features echo cancellation and noise reduction features, plus, it offers direct access to an integrated AI assistant. The assistant isn’t quite as advanced as some of the AI solutions I’ve seen on other cutting-edge devices.
However, it does make it easy to control your device from a distance. Plus, you can use speech to text to add notes to your screen without having to draw or write anything manually.
From a connectivity perspective, the BenQ Board Pro features all of the ports you could possibly need, whether you want to connect an external laptop or phone, charge a device, or plug in a camera. You’ll also have access to the “InstaShare 2” software, which allows students (or team members) to simultaneously cast their screen onto a board with a wireless connection.
It’s also worth noting that while this screen was primarily designed for classrooms, with built-in whiteboarding and lesson planning software, you can use it with a range of apps. You’ll have no problem connecting to things like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or Cisco Webex for video calls.
Device and Account Management
One thing I have noticed when reviewing numerous hybrid meeting displays, is that they don’t always come with great device management software built-in. That’s not always an issue, as you can usually download and access third-party apps with most screens. However, having a system built-in for device and account management can be extremely useful.
The BenQ Board Pro eliminates the need to use external apps, with a comprehensive suite of software solutions for IT admins. You can access the “BenQ” service portal for account management via the cloud, and connect to the Azure Active Directory to create specific profiles for each user.
There’s also integrated software for device analytics, allowing you to drill down into the health and performance of each product in your collection. With customizable reports, users can track everything from daily usage, to air quality in different rooms, and potential technical issues.
The IT admin software package also includes a solution for sending instant notifications through the cloud to your displays. For instance, you can use X-Sign Broadcast to inform classes of emergencies, or weather issues in an instant. It would have been nice to see an integrated option for setting up two-factor authentication systems on screens. However, overall, I think the endpoint management features built into the BenQ Board Pro are excellent.
BenQ Board Pro Review: The Verdict
In my opinion, the BenQ Board Pro is one of the most impressive touchscreen displays on the market. It’s fantastic for educational facilities that want access to a device that supports health and safety, enables extensive interactivity and collaboration, and simplifies room management.
However, I also think this board could be an incredible choice for countless meeting rooms too. It’s great for hybrid brainstorming sessions, and can connect with a wide range of applications for video conferencing purposes. An in-built camera would have made this screen even more impressive, but you do at least get speakers and microphones included.
Plus, I love how easy it is for users to share their screens from different devices, annotate on top of different applications and documents, and even track the quality of their environment.
All around, the BenQ Board Pro is a fantastic, next-level touchscreen, perfect for taking creative sessions and lessons to the next level.
from UC Today https://ift.tt/shOmD5g
0 Comments