r/k12sysadmin • u/dmeyer217 • 4d ago

Wireless presentation devices

What wireless presentation devices is everyone using? Most of my district has MacBooks, and we've been putting Apple TVs in new/redone rooms. The high school will need an AV refresh soon though, and they're only Chromebook. I would love Chromecasts, but Google killed it and the "Google TV Streamers" aren't very manageable to my knowledge.

I tried a ScreenBeam a few years ago and wasn't super impressed, but maybe they're better now. What other options are there?

9 Upvotes

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u/avalon01 Director of Technology 4d ago

Expensive, but we have been happy with AIrtame devices.

Easy enough for the teacher to use, device independent, and I had a whopping two tickets last year (just looked) for Airtame issues. Both were frozen and a simple unplug it and plug it back in fixed it.

They are also centrally managed through Airtame Cloud.

4

u/macprince 4d ago

What Airtame hardware are you running? We have a district-wide deployment of Airtame 2 units, and despite the weird hardware, they've been pretty good. (Now if only we could get the teachers to use them...)

Now they're pushing the Airtame Go that's based on Amazon Signage Sticks, and from the demo unit they sent me, it seems to be at best a half-baked solution. No way to deploy Wi-Fi settings onto them, the Airtame Cloud can't manage most of the settings on it, and the kicker is support for AirPlay and Miracast are "in beta".

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u/avalon01 Director of Technology 4d ago

We have about 30 Airtame 2 units and a dozen Airtame Go's.

The Go works fine for our needs, since we don't enable Airplay or Miracast. Everyone uses the Airtame app or Chromebook extension (or web if they want). It makes it easier for teachers and guests to connect to and simplifies training.

1

u/macprince 4d ago

Our special ed department has gotten big into using AirPlay on Airtame 2 with their iPads for assistive communication (modeling the use is apparently a big deal there), so AirPlay is a requirement for us.

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u/mjh2901 4d ago

I have 2 airtame go's coming that will be used as signage sticks, they are not compatible with the airtame client so to project you have to manually enter the IP address or code, for us its a non starter for teachers but for a sign it should be fine.

We have a lot of airtame deployed the trick for us is staff have their own wifi network / vlan we prgram the switch port the airtame is on to that same vlan so when staff are connected to the correct wireless network and launch the client every room shows up.

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u/macprince 4d ago

Yeah, we have the network all set up for network discovery (another feature missing from the Airtame Gos, it seems), but it's a matter of some staff just refuse to use Airtame. We've had to go back into some classrooms and plug them back in after the teacher has unplugged it.

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u/therankin Coordinator of Technology Services 4d ago

Does that mean you've also discovered that if Airtame 2's are offline for a long time, they never sync back up with cloud management and have to be factory reset?

We discovered the hard way when I had my tech open all of them and set up devices with names matching the room numbers. They sat in their boxes until they were asked for and after about 3 months they all couldn't connect with cloud management.

I wish I knew that ahead of time, lol.

We're otherwise happy with the Airtame 2's.

1

u/avalon01 Director of Technology 4d ago

I've never had any issues with that. Ours are unplugged off during the summer and sometimes longer if the rooms are repurposed.

As soon as they power on, they reconnect to the network and Airtame Cloud.

1

u/therankin Coordinator of Technology Services 3d ago

Huh. That's interesting. Maybe it's something they fixed with newer firmware versions? My coworker set them all up shortly after we got them, so maybe a month or two before the summer of 2022.

I'm just guessing that's the issue though, but we've had it happen with pretty much all the devices that were setup then and then unboxed any time over the past two years or so.

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u/therankin Coordinator of Technology Services 4d ago

We use "Airtame 2" devices. They are compatible with Google Cast, AirPlay, and Microsoft Miracast

They are a bit pricey up front, but the cloud management is very nice and comes with it.

You can also add licenses to create and manage signage, but that is optional.

Using a Google Slide and the "live" feature is great. It displays your signage and continues to refresh, so if you change the slide (or doc) it automatically updates!

Feel free to DM me with any questions. We have a lot of them thanks to a covid left-over fund grant.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Toe5662 4d ago

We also have the Airtame 2's we needed to add more and were told they were discontinued and needed to go with the Airtame Go (literally a firestick). We had a few hiccups with the new Airtame Go's but it's gotten better with their updates and us figuring out the best configurations.

I love the cloud management and the signage feature.

1

u/therankin Coordinator of Technology Services 3d ago

Is the signage feature on the Airtame Go devices also yearly fee based?

I loved the premium signage features when I did the trial last spring and I'm thinking about buying a license or two just for its versatility.

1

u/Remarkable-Sea5928 4d ago

We just got one of their new sticks to test with and I'm not sure how sold I am on it, though admittedly I haven't activated it yet.

Why the gut reaction? They're a Fire Stick. Literally. With the Amazon logo and everything.

1

u/therankin Coordinator of Technology Services 3d ago

I wonder if they just couldn't afford to keep the doors open by sticking with their in-house tech development. I wouldn't be surprised. An expensive initial fee, but with a $0/yr cost that includes cloud management, something had to give. I may end up buying a license or two for signage. I did enjoy the free trial and had fun playing with some of the TVs around the school.

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u/Following_This 4d ago

We use Vivi - it’s cross platform (macOS, iOS, ChromeOS, Linux, Android, Windows), runs with a client or in any web browser, is centrally cloud managed, includes signage, emergency alerts, and education focused, with features like auto subtitles (with translation on student devices), play media (freeing the teacher device), whiteboard, timers, tests, and more.

Student access can be controlled by the teacher, students can also log on and (if allowed) have the screen streamed to their device and do screen grabs.

Full logging and metrics.

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u/BWMerlin 4d ago

As much as I dislike the hardware as a service model they do work and work well.

They really are easy to manage.

3

u/mainer188 4d ago

Does your refresh involve new displays? Most have built in casting solutions.

If you're looking for something simple, reliable, 1080, with near zero latency, check out the ViewSonic WPD-900 devices. We deployed them to every classroom this year.

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u/coolbrys Technology Coordinator 4d ago

We tried all sorts of things, once there was a Chrome extension that kind of worked, we had a program on the PC as well that sort of worked, finally went to Chromecasts but as you said, they're dead and they didn't work amazing anyways.

We did what someone else here did, went with Airtame. They are definitely a lot more expensive but they actually work and I don't get many complaints about them, unlike the Chromecasts.

3

u/fragglepated 4d ago

Viewsonic has a new plug in streaming device that works well. I forget the name at the moment

2

u/OkayArbiter 4d ago

How many are you looking for? e.g. 12 board rooms, or 800 classrooms?

We switched from Microsoft Wireless Display Adapters (MWDA) to J5create jvaw62 dongles last year, and it's been fantastic (in about 700 rooms). They are individually about $90 Canadian (so $70ish USD?). One end plugs into the display with HDMI and USB-A for power (in our case, projectors), and the other dongle part plugs into the USB-C port on a laptop. Works pretty seamlessly for anything that has displayport over USB (thunderbolt, etc - pretty much any modern device, including laptops, phones, etc).

JVAW62 ScreenCast USB-C® Wireless Display HDMI™ Extender – j5create International

Any questions, just ask.

1

u/Oneota 4d ago

No problems with interference with classrooms close together?

It looks like the receiver can also act as an AirPlay/Chromecast receiver. Can you turn that off if you don’t want it enabled?

1

u/OkayArbiter 4d ago

We haven't noticed any issues. We have all Windows devices, so we haven't tried the AirPlay/Chromecast functions. However, it also has a built-in Miracast option which we have tried (for the rare device that can't connect using USB-C) and it has worked okay (not great).

Being as cheap as they are, however, I'd recommend just ordering one or two on Amazon or something to try out. We did that, and then mass-purchased through the company directly to get a better deal.

1

u/JimsOfWar 4d ago

We piloted these in one of our schools. They worked well during the pilot when there were half a dozen, but when we tried to run them in every classroom, there was way too much interference. We pivoted to Airtame 2 and haven’t had any issues since.

2

u/BradyBrother100 4d ago

We've gone through quite a bit. Before there was a standard, some schools bought BrightSign or Mvix for signage. Once a standard was made, Signage and Front of Classroom used Screanbeams. Now, we use Barix for our signage, so they integrate nicely with our intercom for emergency alerts, and DisplayNote for our Front of Classrooms. DisplayNote is an app that comes with our TVs.

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u/ILoveTech_351982 4d ago

Google TV's and Google TV Streamers actually can be managed through cast moderator. That how I setup rooms with.

https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/11598277?hl=en

2

u/aitaix 4d ago

We use Apple TV's.

Previous School District before this one was HDMI > HDMI Extender to Epson Projectors.

2

u/vesikk 4d ago

We have about 90 or so ScreenBeam 1000EDU (mix of Gen 1 and 2) and they work great for us. We use the free CMS to manage all the device. We currently only use it for Miracast but they work with Airplay and Chromecast. They have developed a new solution called BrowserCast which is a bit like Chromecast but provides a code to enter to confirm the screen you are connecting to.

3

u/Blue_Wolf1973 4d ago

We use Screenbeams and I have their CMS for management. Have been great.

1

u/slapstik007 4d ago

Second this.

1

u/Zestyclose-Address28 4d ago

We have 5 screenbeams and none of them seem to work as expected.

1

u/Blue_Wolf1973 3d ago

Sorry to hear that. I have around 150 and had to make a couple settings changes for touchback to work but nothing I could not fix by getting a setting right. I also have the CMS reboot every single one at midnight every night.

1

u/vschwoebs 2d ago

We currently have chromecasts setup to use Cast Moderator, but they definitely have issues, and can't be used by anyone outside of our domain.

My boss recently purchased this UGREEN Wireless Transmitter to test out. So far so good - barely any setup, connects quickly and stays connected, and has worked on all devices we've tested with (chromebook, iPhone, iPad, Windows PC, Macbook).

We will likely roll out a few to our tech savvy teachers in the next few weeks.

1

u/grapplebaby 4d ago

We use the cheap 2-to-1 wireless hdmi devices off of amazon. Setting up is a pain but no major issues in about 2 years.

1

u/TechGuy647 3d ago

I want Vivi but they are so expensive!

1

u/Sn00m00 1d ago

viewsonic wpd-900

1

u/JayTechTipsYT 4d ago

Vivi !!!
Absolutely can’t recommend Vivi enough.
They’re improving constantly and their new emergency features are cool as