ViewSonic Interactive Displays are offered as an alternative to SMART products and will be provided by CBS.  Feel free to contact us if you have questions.  CBS is willing to answer questions you have about ViewSonic as well.

Updated 2022.09

Interactive Display Specs

If you don't need interactive (touch-screen) functionality, and just want to display content, a large monitor or TV will be vastly cheaper and can be purchased from our vendors such as tigerdirect, cdwg, or bhphotovideo, though mounting would have to be done by Waterbury staff.

The ViewSonic Interactive Displays are SMART Interactive Display alternatives.  They are priced relatively similar to the SMART Boards, but don't have a "Premium" software suite requiring additional pay...all software is included.

At heart, these are large, high resolution, multi-touch interactive displays.  They can run using built-in software which offers basic functionality and the benefit of requiring no external cables or PC, or can run in the more traditional mode, connected to a desktop or laptop, optionally driven by ViewSonic software which is comparable to SMART Notebook.  They can also have the screen of a tablet or in-room computer "cast" to them, allowing it to mirror another screen of a wired or wireless device, though wifi strength and saturation can make this tricky in some situations.

All Interactive Displays come with a USB cable and power cable and video cable and wall-mount, but the larger units *require* the more expensive built-out bracket instead of the standard one.

ViewSonic displays work best with HDMI or DisplayPort cables, so your display source will need to have HDMI or DisplayPort or you'd need a converter to convert your other connection type to one of those.  We have a VGA and DisplayPort to HDMI adapter on the purchase sheet.  Consult your building tech if you are unsure which converters will be needed.

There are just two mounts for the Interactive Displays: an included one for standard wall mounting and one for "build-out" (over whiteboard / chalk board) mounting -- these are required for the larger 2 model boards for safety.  If in doubt, get the "build-out" mount, though the vendor can advise and would likely be willing to come out and walk through for a large purchase.  The install labor fee is bundled into the Interactive Display cost.  For pricing without the fee bundled, contact Nick Chapman at the Computer Technology Center.  There are also "Mobile Carts" to which the IDs can be attached if they aren't to be stationary.  These are motorized and move up and down as needed, and the more pricey one even tilts flat.

Questions and Answers:

Why would I buy this instead of SMART?
As price is pretty similar with the MX series, the main reason I'd recommend ViewSonic is the MyViewBoard software which is free, as compared to SMART's Notebook software, which has a free variant, but requires a yearly renewal fee for the premium features.  Yearly renewal fees for software that used to be perpetually free is tough to budget for.

Will I have trouble using this if I love SMART Notebook software?
Probably not, but it would require learning new software.  Plus it would require switching Notebook files over to MyViewBoard, which is possible, but may not be seemless.  If you are a heavy Notebook software user, you'd probably be better off staying with SMART.  For anyone else, the ViewSonic and SMART products would probably behave similarly.

Here is a video and some information about the MyViewBoard softare.

[nc revised 202204]