DLP Projector Case Study
District-wide Short Throw Deployment
Hayward Unified School District standardizes classroom displays with TI DLP Technology.
Hayward Unified School District Case Study
Client
Serving 20,600+ K-12 students in Hayward (Calif.) Unified School District consists of 25 elementary schools, five middle schools, three high schools, an alternative high school, English Language Center, Adult Education Center and a Child Care Center.
Challenge
Adopt a district-wide standard display technology for hundreds of classrooms with portable and fixed-mount long-life projectors, low maintenance, and excellent clarity. Hayward also wanted a solution that supports 3D content and instruction in the future.
Solution
A multi-year deployment of hundreds of BenQ MP 626 and BenQ MP 772 ST projectors across the district. BenQ projectors are based on Texas Instruments DLP technology, providing clarity and visibility from anywhere in the classroom. These projectors are fully 2D and 3D compatible today.
Results
“Short-throw” deployment on custom carts gives portability without sacrificing image size or quality. Built-in speakers reinforce the classroom audio and Ethernet connectivity provides better asset management. With DLP, bulb life is longer, there are no filters to clean, and the image is vivid.
With more than 35 separate school facilities serving 20,600+ students, Hayward (CA) Unified School District is renewing its focus on equipping its classrooms to deliver a 21st century curriculum. And one of the keys to making that happen is procuring and deploying smart, sophisticated technology – a job that falls to Solomon Gebala, Director of Purchasing for the district.
“Like many school districts of similar size, Hayward Unified School District had a purchasing process that was exception-based,” he said. “That’s understandable, of course. If there was a need, you requested a computer, a device, a teaching tool – and, if approved, you received it. But we didn’t have the kind of long-range planning and standardization that would benefit HUSD, so if the same request came in three months later, it was entirely possible that the second requestor would receive something completely different.”
As a result, HUSD owned a heterogeneous hodgepodge of equipment, which meant multiple vendors, multiple parts inventories, and multiple price schedules that couldn’t be combined for greater savings. “As the relatively new guy on the scene, I was determined to instill a culture of process-improvement,” Gebala said. “When it came to technology procurement –for laptops, desktops, wireless networking, everything – we needed to make sure we were making fact-based decisions to standardize our purchasing immediately. I treat every dollar as if it’s my own personal money and want to get the best value balancing long-and short-term needs.”
Defining the district-wide standard
With the opening of a new elementary school, Gebala found his opportunity to standardize on classroom projection equipment. “We started asking the questions: what about interactive boards, voice amplification, student response systems, laptops, media carts? Shortly thereafter, the requests were coming in from our other schools as well and it was apparent that we should choose a standard for the district.” Gebala and a team of educators, administrators, and IT experts began to evaluate projectors based on LCD technology and Texas Instruments’ DLP technology. “We discussed the various factors,” he said, “and we looked at them side-by-side. Visually, I could see the differences immediately. The LCD projectors had lower lumens, lower native resolution and the quality of the BenQ DLP projector image was simply better.
Visually, I could see the differences immediately. The LCD projectors had lower lumens and lower native resolution. And the quality of the BenQ DLP projector image was simply better.
–Solomon Gebala,
Director of Purchasing Hayward Unified School District
“When we looked at the maintenance requirements that we saw additional meaningful differences. The lamp-life and filter issues were significant. We believe that if we chose an LCD-based projector, we’d have shorter lifecycles and a major maintenance burden in changing bulbs and cleaning and replacing filters. The DLP projectors don’t have those concerns.”
Another key issue for Hayward was the fact that many teachers would be using portable projectors – literally carrying them from classroom to classroom. Without a ceiling-mount locations for those units, Gebala had concerns about the distances required between the projector and the screen to generate a sufficiently large image that would be visible from the back of classrooms. “If you need to have the projector far away from the screen to get a large image, you have cord issues,” he said. “We didn’t want lengthy cords which would create tripping hazards that could lead to injuries or damage the projectors. So a ‘short-throw’ design – where we could position the projector relatively close to the screen – was an important consideration.”
The result? DLP technology projectors offer an enhanced learning enviroment that helps teachers teach and students learn.
The final clincher for Gebala and HUSD: future-proofing. “We started to hone in on the family of DLP-based projectors from BenQ and were very impressed with the breadth of features they have,” he said. “First, they’re 3D-ready. While we don’t have a 3D curriculum in place just yet, we’re anticipating a long life for these projectors. When we’re ready to use on-screen simulations and lessons, the projectors will be ready as well. BenQ projectors also are IP-addressable, so we can centrally manage these assets from one location. For instance, we can power-down all of the projectors remotely –perhaps before a long weekend or vacation break.
That saves electricity costs, reduces our environmental footprint, lengthens bulb life, and extends the life of the projector. The RJ45 allows is to tell if the projector has been disconnected from our network so if it is being stolen, we can view video of the area it was last located to help identify who removed it. In addition, the BenQ projectors also have built-in speakers to provide audio reinforcement, eliminating the need for external amplification devices in classroom application.”
HUSD opted to standardize on the BenQ MP626 and BenQ MP772 ST for about 90 percent of its uses. Most of these will be mobile systems on specially designed carts that move among different classrooms. The BenQ’s “short-throw” design allows teachers to position the mobile projector much closer to the wall and minimize potential trip hazards and inconveniences cords present with standard projectors – without sacrificing the size of the image.
We believe that if we chose an LCD-based projector, we’d have shorter lifecycles and a major maintenance burden in changing bulbs and cleaning and replacing filters. The BenQ DLP projectors don’t have those concerns.
–Solomon Gebala,
Director of Purchasing Hayward Unified School District
Standardizing on BenQ DLP projectors also means that HUSD’s IT department can minimize or potentially eliminate downtime concerns. “Our plan is to keep a couple of replacement units that teachers can borrow for special purposes,” Gebala said. “And if there are any units that need unplanned service, we can swap them out with these spares, but we’re not planning on a lot of downtime, especially early on. We’ll keep our inventory lean and rotate units as needed.”
From an ROI perspective, Gebala sees the calculation as completely straightforward. “We determined the acquisition and deployment costs of each unit,” he said, “and then, using a projected six-year life, factored in the maintenance costs. We expect these projectors to last well beyond six years, and if we factor in the 3D usability, it’s easy to see that the district gets an excellent return on investment.”