Wireless Displays Make Governments More Efficient

Attorneys and prosecutors at Snohomish County District Court in Washington used to have difficulty presenting evidence and other documents during trials.

Until now, there was no easy way for the court to handle all the different devices the lawyers would bring to court and then project onto a high-definition TV. Some gateways handled only Apple products, others worked on Windows and Android devices.

Carl Detert, client services supervisor for information services for the county, found a solution in Viewsonic WPG-370 gateways. The WPG-370 gateways can connect Windows and Android devices over Intel’s Wireless Display technology and Miracast. The gateways can also mirror Mac computers with Viewsonic client software and can stream content on iOS devices via Digital Living Network Alliance media streamer.

In all four district courts, Detert plugged the WPG-370 gateways into 55-inch HDTVs that are mounted onto rolling carts. “For testimony in cases, documents, photos and videos can be displayed,” Detert says. “It was something the attorneys asked for. We really needed a way to present all the evidence and court documents electronically during the trials.”

Brett Sappington, director of research for Parks Associates, says that as smartphones and tablets become the norm at most organizations, IT departments are beginning to deploy wireless display technology in the workplace.

“It used to be that people would take technology from work and bring it home, but now the pendulum has swung, and technology driven by consumers has made it to the office,” Sappington says. “I look for wireless displays to catch on anywhere knowledge workers are present, be it schools or colleges, government agencies or general businesses.”

Michigan to Standardize on WiDi

John McQuaid, director of Michigan’s Design and Delivery Services Division for Infrastructure and Operations, says the state will standardize on WiDi in the next 18 to 24 months.

So far, Michigan has few displays available, but that will change. “We started by rolling out Lenovo Helix and Microsoft Surface Pro machines with WiDi, and as projectors died we would replace them with smart televisions,” McQuaid says. “But as we deploy the next generation of notebooks and tablets, they will all have WiDi built in, and we will deploy smart televisions with Wi-Fi adapters in as many conference rooms as possible.”

At least for starters, McQuaid says state employees will use WiDi to make meetings in conference rooms more efficient.