The "Podium 4" class of podium is controlled by a touch-panel remote which is located either the lift section of the podium surface or on the wall adjacent the podium. The system contains a PC computer, blu-ray/dvd disc player, and laptop VGA, HDMI, and stereo audio connection inputs.
Classroom activation:
1 - Wake the touch-panel:
A firm touch to the “touch-panel” screen will wake the panel from hibernation. A “welcome image” will appear prompting you to perform another firm touch to the screen in order to continue.
2 - Activation of projector:
With the touch-panel activated, a message box will appear asking whether or not the projector will be used for the session. Press "yes" if affirmative, press "no" if negative.
Note: If subsequent use of the projector is required, pressing the “Current Mode” button at the top of the screen will activate the previous touch-panel message box, at this time, "yes" can be selected to activate the projector. You may also press the "Exit" button and re-enter the system to engage the activation message box.
3 - Source display:
If “yes” is selected to activate the projector, a guide dialog box will appear prompting the user to select their desired source. Please make sure to select the source you wish to use at this time.
Note: The selected computer, PC or MAC, may be in hibernation mode; thus you will have to "wiggle" the mouse or press the "Esc" or "Space-bar" keys on the keyboard to wake the computer.
4 - Screen control:
The screen will be lowered automatically when the projector activates, thus there is no need to lower the screen manually. However, there is a screen switch on the wall nearest the podium if required.
5 - Monitor:
The monitor should be left on at all times, however “sleep mode” does activate after no source is present for an extended period of time. To wake the monitor, you must first activate the system at the “touch-panel”, wake the computer you plan to use by pressing the escape or space-bar key or wiggling the mouse. Once the computer is operational an image should be presented on the monitor. It’s possible the monitor was powered off if no image is viewable on the monitor. Please locate the monitor power button and press to activate the monitor (location of power button will vary depending on monitor model).
6 - Audio:
There are three audio levels that must be taken into consideration when operating room audio. The computer audio should be at max level. The software audio should also be adjusted accordingly. The room audio at the touch-panel can then be adjusted up or down to further calibrate the room audio, this can be done using the “up” and “down” "hard" buttons on the right side of the touch-panel. The "Advanced Audio Controls" touch-panel button will allow more specific audio adjustments including the ability to boost the audio output.
Note: If the Mac computer audio is "greyed out", this indicates that the audio can only be adjusted through the touch-panel. This is a function of some mac computer(s) when connected to a source via HDMI cable.
7 - Microphones (if applicable):
Please see the corresponding microphone "tab" for room specific instructions.
Note: Not all classrooms are equipped with microphones.
Issues, questions, or urgent assistance please contact OIT Operations desk at 713-348-4989.
The PC computer can be selected from the source selection device particular to the system being used. The PC computer has a 15-minute inactivity sleep timer that will activate when the keyboard or mouse are not moved, however the timer is rendered inactive when viewing a powerpoint file in presentation mode or watching a video (youtube, netflix, etc, or media player) in full screen mode. When the PC computer is selected you may need to "wiggle" the mouse or press any key on the keyboard to wake the computer.
On the login screen you may enter your "netid" or "temporary visitor id" that was obtained through the OIT help desk 713-348-HELP (4357). All software on the PC computer is available to all who login to the computer. The current software suite can be found at the following link.
The PC computer has USB ports on the front of the computer that can be used to plug and access your USB memory stick, charge a mobile phone, or plug a wireless receiver for a presentation advancing remote.
Shure lavaliere microphone transmitter (ULX-J1) operation instructions.
1 - Activation:
The "power on/off switch" is located at the top of the microphone transmitter. When power is activated the display window will show the group and channel and battery level. Please be sure to pair the correct transmitter with the correct receiver, this can be done by ensuring the group and channel numbers match on both devices.
To use the lavaliere microphone transmitter, take the microphone portion of the transmitter and clip it to the center of the chest, no more than 6 inches from the chin (Making an L shape with the index finger, and placing the index finger underneath the chin, with the thumb on the chest, will give you a near approximate location of where, on the chest, to clip the microphone). This would be the optimal location for the lavaliere microphone to transmit a voice signal, since the center chest location will capture the voice signal regardless of what direction the head is turned.
2 - Deactivation:
To turn "off" the transmitter, flip the "power on/off switch" to the “off” position. The display window lights will then turn off, thus ensuring the microphone has been deactivated.
Note: Please be sure to turn “off” the microphone when not in use, in order to save battery life and not cause issues for the next user.
3 - Muting:
The Shure ULX model microphone transmitter cannot be muted from the body pack and can only be toggled on/off or muted from the main classroom audio controls. The ease in which the microphone transmitter is turned on/off precludes the necessity for a mute function usually found on other microphone transmitter models.
4 - Volume:
You may adjust the volume at the podium volume controls, either through a touch-panel, flip-top button controller, or remote button controller. All microphone audio can be adjusted by the podium audio controls. For more information, please see the "room set-up" page of the room instructions.
Note: Please do not attempt to adjust the gain levels or any other functions on the microphone transmitter, this will adversely affect amplification and operation of the microphone system.
Issues, questions, or urgent assistance please contact OIT Operations desk at 713-348-4989.