Pointmaker can now control simple RS-232 A/V devices for lower-end applications
At last, the multi-media presenter is able to control audio-visual equipment from the same digitizing tablet or touch screen that is used to draw and point on image details. During InfoComm 2002, Boeckeler Instruments, Inc., introduced the Pointmaker PVI-83D with an a/v equipment control option (UTROL) that allows RS-232 control of up to ten programmable devices.
With the PVI-83 UTROL option, users can control specified a/v equipment from the touch of a button. Start by designing control panels on a PC with Mediatech's MTBuilder software. Panels are then downloaded into the Pointmaker, and the PC can be disconnected. The buttons are now a seamless part of the Pointmaker menu system. Connect A/V devices to the designated COMM ports on the Pointmaker and when a button is activated, the device receives the appropriate RS-232 command(s) from the Pointmaker. (Control IR devices using an RS-232 to IR converter.) Just as quickly, the user can go back to normal Pointmaker video marking.
The PVI-83 can be ordered with 2, 6, or 10 COMM ports, one of which is used by the "control panel" tablet or touch screen. This then leaves 1, 5, or 9 ports available for connection to various a/v devices. Each PVI model can be used with NTSC composite, S-Video (Y/C), RGB, VGA, and Macintosh sources and displays. A PAL model is also available. Scan rate compatibility ranges from 15.75 kHz to most SVGA scan rates up to 106.3 kHz.
The PVI-83DR with UTROL option comes with the PVI-83 Pointmaker video marker, MTBuilder software, a RS-232 digitizing tablet, and a keyboard. (PVI-83DU model comes with USB tablet.)
The PVI-83 with UTROL option also offers the video marking features that are the hallmark of other Pointmaker models. Presenters can draw on video images using up to 7 colors in various line widths, or they can choose from over a dozen marker types to point at image details. In addition, text can be typed over the image. If desired, up to ten pages of markers can be stored in advance of a formal presentation.
Applications for video marking are as broadly ranging as presenters. Educators, trainers, distance learning professionals, corporate executives, courtroom technicians, TV sports commentators, and others use the Pointmaker to annotate a variety of images. These images could include technical data, texts, medical images, maps, replays of events, or any other video or computer image that needs to be discussed in detail.
About Boeckeler Instruments, Inc.
Founded on precision measurement in 1942, Boeckeler Instruments, Inc., later expanded its technology to support the video measurement needs in science and industry. In 1993, the company streamlined this video marking ingenuity for use by the presentation and broadcast markets. For further information on Boeckeler products, contact Boeckeler Instruments, Inc., 4650 South Butterfield Drive, Tucson, Arizona, 85714; (800)552-2262 or (520)745-0001; or E-mail: info@boeckeler.com. Or visit the company's website at http://www.pointmaker.com. Boeckeler and Pointmaker are registered trademarks and PVI is a trademark of Boeckeler Instruments, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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