Kramer’s VIA is the way to GO!

Ever since Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison first started messing around with wireless signals back in the 1880’s, the technology has just been evolving and expanding so rapidly. Enter the 21^st century and we find ourselves in a world that would quite simply cease to exist without wireless connectivity.  We control our entire lives through wireless signals on a daily basis, whether it be connecting our smartphones to the Bluetooth of our cars, changing the channel on the TV, controlling our characters on gaming consoles or just calling our moms up to say hi.  Everything is wireless!

In fact – some people get offended if they go to a place where there’s no Wi-Fi or corporate businessmen walk into a boardroom for an important meeting and they have to scramble to find the right cable for their laptops to connect to the projector. Sure, a solid cabled option with a fly-lead is always recommended for any AV installation, but these days the top AV & IT Manufacturers spend Billions of dollars each year dedicated to the R&D of Wireless Stability, Connectivity and Interactivity, through technology that ultimately leads to Productivity in the workplace, not to mention less grumpy CEOs in Sales meetings due to plug-in issues.

Well, Kramer has hit the nail solid on the head with their range of VIA Wireless Presentation & Collaboration devices:

The range features the “big brothers” of the family namely the VIA Campus (Retails for about R37,000.00 excl. Vat) and the VIA Connect Pro (around R14,000.00 excl. Vat).  But don’t be fooled… “Little Boetie” VIA GO knows how to pack a punch and not only compete with its siblings with some additional features, but blow the competition in its price range (Retail price @ R7,700 Excl. Vat) out the water too.

What makes the VIA GO so special?  Well, I’m glad you asked!  Here’s my top five favorite features of Kramer’s latest edition to the VIA wireless family.

1.   Integration with Existing Networks

For starters, it has a Gigabit LAN port, which allows the unit to be flexible to install with both built−in Wi−Fi and LAN connectivity and includes industry−leading 1024−bit encryption for secure use on the internal network.  When plugged into the company LAN, the unit can be set to Access Point Mode, which allows Internet Connectivity while presenting on mobile devices through the VIA app, so you can annotate over web pages and stream YouTube videos.

It also creates its own wireless network within the room for guest users that may not be connected to the company Wi-Fi. When set to Client Mode the VIA GO can run up to 30Mbps wirelessly.

2.   Video Streaming Quality

When doing screen mirroring, this baby streams full-HD 1080p videos @ 30fps, but when you import them into the Multimedia list on the app interface, it will stream any video up to 10GB (highest we’ve tested at least) @ 60fps using the internal 2GB memory of the device. No buffering, so suffering! No lag or latency – just smooth quality video all the way.  Customers love it.

3.   User Friendly

The mobile and desktop app is quick and easy to download from any App Store, no matter which device or OS you’re using.  The interface is super user friendly to operate for anyone in the meeting who wants to share something.  Simply type in the IP address displayed on the landing screen, and then download the software from the GO’s onboard memory directly. Once installed, just type in the 4-digit code and your device will mirror on the main display. However, if you want some form of control over which of the participants are allowed to display, the VIA range has “mediator mode”, which could possibly save some people a lot of embarrassment.

 4.  Step-In Touch Pad

For those who dread putting in that long 4-digit code, or maybe you just want to look cool – the VIA Pad is the perfect addition to your boardroom and compliments the GO so eloquently, much like a juicy steak accompanied by a good glass of wine.  It feels solid and well manufactured, like all other Kramer products. Now you can run the software directly off the pad itself, without having to install anything.  It is constructed from a thin layer of elastomer (same stuff used for digital drum pads) and has significantly good response (similar to a Laptop’s track-pad), and so you barely need to touch it really. Mid-presentation, if multiple users are connected, you can tap-and-hold to take over the full screen, or freeze the main display by double tapping, so you can try to locate a particular saved document, while not having to go through all your files publicly.  The VIA Pad is just a nice add-on.  The GO can take up to 6 Pads at once and there’s even a stylish looking Pocket for storage on the boardroom table.

5.  Simultaneous Display

Kramer VIA GO allows up to two users to share their screen to one display at the same time, regardless of which mobile device they’re using.  It allows you connect using the built-in Wi-Fi network, or through the unit’s LAN port on the company network.  That means that both one-time guests and permanent employees can all collaborate together on the same screen from two separate networks.  Impressive.

Conclusion

So thanks to Alex & Tom for inventing wireless, so that we can enjoy every moment today using the latest technology to improve our world, both personally and professionally and put a smile on someone’s face by streaming them a funny cat video without any buffering.

Summary of Main Features:

• Wireless Device Connectivity — No dongle needed.
• 60fps Streaming Multimedia — Share HD wireless video streaming (using the VIA app Multimedia feature). Supports up to 6Mbps video bit rate when using the built–in Wi–Fi module in Access Point mode.
• Easy to Use — Simple and intuitive user interface.
• Display Participants — Up to two participant screens can be displayed simultaneously on main screen.
• Graphic Output Formats — Outputs to either an HDMI or Mini DisplayPort display. Note: Does not support graphic output to both the HDMI and Mini Display Port simultaneously.
• iOS and Android Mirroring.
• Seamless Integration with VIA Site Management (VSM) Software & the VIA Pad
• Wi–Fi Band Support — 2.4GHz (Access Point mode), 2.4GHz/5GHz (Client mode).
• Warranty — 3–years on hardware.