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Here is the hit as requested.  I'm still not sure what to do.  Alot of people
use AverKey but I'm not sure why. They appear to market their product better
than TVator which is why they are used more.  TVator may be as good but not as
well known.  It is certainly cheaper.
****************************
We hooked up 3 Averkeys this fall. Two are connected to 580 Macs and the
third to a PowerMac 6200. One is used all the time by the
business/computer teacher. The students use PowerPoint or Hyperstudio to
put together different presentations.  They seem very proud of their work
and are eager to learn more. The other two are located in the Social
Studies dept. One teacher uses it to show students class per centages,
anything she has on her computer, CD's Z(especially an atlas).  She loves
the zoom on the AverKey but says reading material is sometimes tough. Wish
we had big screen TV's. The third teacher is a rookie and uses it seldom,
but change is coming. You know for some change is hard, but it is coming
especially when we librarians initiate it. Others are asking for it,
especially the science department. I'm going to request a couple more.
Hope this helps.
***************************
In answer to your question, yes, there are other means of
projecting from the computer to t.v. Zenith has a TV
that has a built-in scanner. It costs about $1,000 through
FASTRACK (out of Sunbury, Ohio). I have seen it and thought
the resolution was good. They also sell a projection devise
(cost around $2,700)that is very good. I borrowed one
recently from another district to do a Power-Point presentation
for staff in-service.

While AverKey is much cheaper than the above two methods,
the resolution I saw was not very good (in my opinion).
Good luck with whatever you decide.

P.S. After having seen/used all three (also an LCD panel with
an overhead is another possibility--I think prices have gone
down on them), I would chose the Zenith T.V. with scanner
built-in. Of course, on the tall t.v. cart it is not as
mobile as the projection devise. Of course, it would be nice
to have one of each (in a dream world).
********************************
We have Averkeys in our district.
The advantage is that they are easy to use.
The disadvantage is that they do not seem to work with all of our
equipment.  I have not been able to use it with the PowerMac 6100
in the Library.  We suspect it does not work with all of our TVs, either,
although it is OK with most of our computers and tvs.

In general, I think people are satisfied, but it might depend on the
specifics of your equipment.
**********************************
Kirsten:

For a computer to TV projector, AverKey (in one of its several flavors) is
probably as good as any of them.
**********************************
I use an AverKey 3. Yes, I'm quite happy with it. The only problem is
that the picture jumps when I have it connected with the regular
computer screen resolution. To stop it, I have to go into the screen
setup and change the resolutio fro 256 to 16, then it quits jumping but
the picture isn't very good. I'm wondering if the AverKey 5 is better.
Also, I like the zoom feature.
*****************************************
TVator gives much better resolution and costl less. I have been
extremely happy with mine. I tested both before I bought.
*******************************
I have used an Averkey for several years.   I am in an elem.  library K-6

it has some advantages:   easy to use and hook up,  portable    however it is
not as clear as using an LCD panel with the overhead,  so it depends how long
you are going to have people look it, and how much detail they need to see.
Although I have
both  I use the Aver Key more because it is faster and more convenient.

*********************************
Our Junior High librarian had the Aver Key,  and if I remember correctly it
had more features or a cheaper price!
*******************************
I have a TVator and love it. I previewed both before I bought and the
TVator was far better for clarity and color. Everything about it was far
better than the Averkey. ONe of my collegues has an Averkey and I see
how much better the TVator does the job.
********************************

Kirsten Konikoff, MLIS
St. James Episcopal Day School
Baton Rouge, LA
kkonikoff@aol.com

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