[Build] Sprucing up the classrooms

[Naomi Most]

That's a decent plan.

I think you could get away with not having the Apple TVs in the works at
all -- just a Chromecast -- because I have found Airplay to be extremely
finicky.  I have 2 Apple TVs and they just don't work reliably enough for
the cost.

You can do Chromecast from a Mac anyway.  It's not as elegant, but it's a
projector, so who cares?

With Apple TVs out of the wishlist, that's $300 less you'd have to spend.

I don't think $3000 is out of the question to build this stuff out, though
-- especially if it's built as true infrastructure (hard to remove or
"hack" in place).

On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 12:45 PM, Naomi Most <naomi at nthmost.com> wrote:

> That's a decent plan.
>
> I think you could get away with not having the Apple TVs in the works at
> all -- just a Chromecast -- because I have found Airplay to be extremely
> finicky.  I have 2 Apple TVs and they just don't work reliably enough for
> the cost.
>
> You can do Chromecast from a Mac anyway.  It's not as elegant, but it's a
> projector, so who cares?
>
> With Apple TVs out of the wishlist, that's $300 less you'd have to spend.
>
> I don't think $3000 is out of the question to build this stuff out, though
> -- especially if it's built as true infrastructure (hard to remove or
> "hack" in place).
>
> On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 12:24 PM, Rubin Abdi <rubin at starset.net> wrote:
>
>> An update.
>>
>> Unfortunately still waiting to get paid, in turn much of this is on hold
>> until that happens.
>>
>> I've put together an items list and budget on the AV overhaul...
>>
>>
>> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qejFd2i-m7vqtH7W8DB6hjXgj5ZCfCq0cY8KXVt8Q80/edit?usp=sharing
>>
>> The general idea with these setups is to make it as easy and consistent
>> as possible for someone to walk into a classroom and throw images up to
>> the screen without looking for parts to make the thing go, while making
>> it as obnoxious as possibly for cables and gear to walk off and get lost
>> in other parts of Noisebridge.
>>
>> I've decided that having a Chromecast and an AppleTV in the mix for each
>> projector will make it stupid easy for someone to open up their laptop
>> or phone and start a presentation for a class without ever needing to
>> figure out how to plug a cable into the system. The metal junction box
>> basically acts as an anchor point for all cables and to prevent the
>> AppleTV, Chromecast, and HDMI switcher to walk off. There'll be a combo
>> lock on the box, combination shared out to those who ask nicely and have
>> good reason to need to get into the box. Once the thing is locked up,
>> there really isn't a need to get in unless a cable goes bad.
>>
>> Monoprice has some extremely affordable speakers (under $100 with amp)
>> that I think will work well for the Hackatorium, and the provided budget
>> mixer will be cable locked down to a angled podium or something above
>> the junction box. A pair of cheap mics and cables can be stored in the
>> junction box for usage when needed (and now you don't have to hunt down
>> shit to make 5 Minutes of Fame or Dorkbot go).
>>
>> The projectors I've listed are as cheap as I could find them for the
>> throw distance, offer pretty good lamp life and lumens, and the one for
>> the Hackatorium can be pointed fairly close to the screen.
>>
>> Anyhow, unsurprisingly it's a lot of money. about $1000 for each
>> classroom and $1600 for the Hackatorium. Some of this gear we'll be able
>> to find use on Ebay or cheaper elsewhere, and I'm sure there are
>> components and other things I'm forgetting, so consider these budgets as
>> ballpark but pretty close to end cost.
>>
>> I personally think enabling teacher and presents to have a fairly easy
>> time to get into the space and have their class happen is extremely
>> important to making Noisebridge more of a functional space. And so I'm
>> willing to cover a little more than about half the costs here, which'll
>> either cover the classrooms or just the Hackatorium. I'm wondering if
>> there are other avenues available to get money thrown into this pot? I
>> have no idea if any money from the crowd funding campaign was budgeted
>> for this sort of stuff (actually doubtful as I'm pretty sure dealing
>> with electrical is going to be a lot). Are others interested in throwing
>> in some funds to make this happen?
>>
>> thanks.
>>
>> --
>> Rubin
>> rubin at starset.net
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Naomi Theora Most
> naomi at nthmost.com
> +1-415-728-7490
>
> skype: nthmost
>
> http://twitter.com/nthmost
>
> --
> Naomi Theora Most
> naomi at nthmost.com
> +1-415-728-7490
>
> skype: nthmost
>
> http://twitter.com/nthmost
>
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