Common Use Issues with the Epson 575Wi, 585Wi and 595Wi - Calibration issues and PC Free mode.

I just sent an email to one of my clients, and it seems I repeat this quite a lot when the Epson interactive projectors have been installed and I'm going out a for a service call. So I might as well put this on my blog so I can just refer it to them. It might also help anyone else who is having these issues as they seem to be universal in my part of the world.

2 biggest issues people run into with these projectors when working with the interactive functions.

1>    This projector has 2 modes of operation PC Interactive & PC free

a.      PC interactive is where the interactivity is connected with your computer, what you do on the projection is mirrored on your laptop or desktop. You can use your computer like a giant touch screen opening and closing programs, navigating websites. The stylus is your mouse.

                                                    i.     N.B. The USB CABLE MUST be connected between the projector and the computer for this to work

b.      PC free. This is where the computer and the projector are separated – you can write and draw over the screen but you can’t interact with it. You also can’t save your annotations.

                                                    i.     If the computer is connected to the projector – you will still see the screen – you just won’t be able to Interact with it. A good way to check is to draw something on the projection then compare your projection with the laptop or desktop screen – if they DON’T MATCH then you are in PC Free.

c.      To change modes touch near the edge of the screen and these two icons appear – a projector with a pen and a mouse with a laptop. The one with the orange highlight around is the mode that is in use. Toggling between the modes will show a 2 second on screen notification of what mode it is in.

                                                    i.     For most purposes in schools you need to be in PC interactive mode so you can use software like Smart Notebook, Easy Interactive Tools or any other software on your computer.

2>    This is a WXGA projector series – that means it is a wide screen projector and needs to be fed with the appropriate resolution. So you may go through the calibration procedure, but you still have issues in PC interactive mode. Switch to PC Free mode and the calibration is fine

a.      The calibration will be “out” if you are not set to a WXGA resolution on your computer – this usually looks like it is OK in the centre of the screen but as you move the pen out to the top and bottom of the screen it gets progressively out of sync.

                                                    i.     Set your resolution on your computer to a 16:10 ratio like 1280x800

I hope this helps.