Ty Schwab, acting Manager of Classroom Technologies at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, had his eye on laser projectors for the university ever since the newer projectors started coming to market. When he first discovered laser projectors he quickly realized their benefit for everyday use, especially in higher education facilities, but it wasn’t within his budget to make the upgrade. As laser projectors became more prominent in the industry, and with the help of Maxell Pro AV’s OneVision program for higher education, Schwab and his team at Kutztown University have now outfitted the majority of the 220+ classrooms on campus with Maxell Pro AV laser projectors.
“Laser projectors are rated for 20,000 hours of nearly maintenance-free operation, which on its own is a huge benefit over lamp-based projectors for a campus like Kutztown,” says Schwab.
“We save both time and money by not having to replace bulbs and we don’t have to do as many filter cleanings per year. The laser projectors are a little more expensive up-front, but the benefits make them better overall in almost every aspect.”
As a state-owned school, Kutztown University must be very conscious with its budget because the school is partially funded with taxpayer dollars. Many times, when Schwab and his team purchase new equipment, they must reach out for a public bid and he has to make sure that equipment funded by taxpayers and student technology fees is only used in educational spaces. For Schwab and his team, this is manageable—until he gets a request for a projector in a conference room or another administrative-centered area. When those issues arise, the Kutztown University team turns to Maxell Pro AV’s OneVision program for help.
“With the OneVision program, we not only get a fantastic five-year warranty to help us budget for our equipment lifecycle, but also with the buy ten projectors get one free reward we are able to install our free projectors in conference rooms and administration areas that aren’t considered ‘educational spaces,’” says Schwab.
Kutztown University chose to install the MP-WU5603 3LCD laser projector in many of its classrooms, ranging from its larger 200-person lecture halls to its smaller tier-three classrooms throughout campus. Featuring 6,000 ANSI lumens brightness and a WUXGA 1920×1200 resolution, Schwab and his team are able to use the same projector in a variety of classrooms thanks to its generous throw distance range.
“The support that Kutztown gets from Maxell is of the highest quality and we are certainly grateful for our lengthy continued partnership that started before I even got here,” says Schwab. “You can tell the team at Maxell took the time to really learn about our needs as customers before creating the OneVision program.”
