How does the latest Clevertouch Impact Plus’s new features compare with the BenQBoard RP and Promethean Titanium?

While BenQ has been a global market leader in education projectors for over a decade, Clevertouch is a new brand to North America.  Since being acquired by Boxlight in 2020, school districts may wonder about how their offerings stack up compared to the well-known market leaders BenQ RP and Promethean Titanium. With the launch of their new Impact Plus line - how does this premium classroom interactive display compare to the other two – and which one is right for your school?  Here are the key elements to review:

• Display Brightness and Contrast 
• Cloud Whiteboarding for remote learning
• Classroom and Lesson Recording Software
• Health and Safety Features for students and teachers
• How easy – and secure – is it for a teacher to log in?
• How easy are they for IT to manage?

Interactive displays are the perfect tool for hybrid classrooms.  Compared to a traditional smart whiteboard, these displays can run a Zoom or Team app directly from the display, as well as record and share lessons.  So what are the functional features you want to look for?

All three systems have advanced whiteboarding software that recognize shapes, text, moves objects, and other typical tasks needed in an interactive classroom display.  The touch sensors from BenQ and Promethean use highly sensitive IR touch systems that optically bond the sensor to the glass – enabling an instant response and a smoother, more intuitive writing experience.  The BenQ has a “Paintbrush” mode that will recognize the width of a real paintbrush being used on the screen – enabling the panel to be used for calligraphy or writing variable-width non-Latin characters such as Kanji or Hebrew.

Beyond the traditional whiteboard functions, the biggest software difference between these displays is the ability to whiteboard over the cloud directly from the display without having to use a PC.

BenQ developed the world’s first dynamic cloud whiteboarding system in a classroom touch panel. With the teacher in the classroom, students can interact with the board in real-time via their device at home, making it easy for remote tutoring or coaching.  For example, the teacher can send a link or a QR code and broadcast directly from the board to a student's Chromebook or iPad logged into their home network.  The teacher can also allow the student to interact directly on the board with the device with a single tap on the whiteboard – say to allow the student to solve the math problem on the board.   Since the system is network agnostic, it enables unprecedented flexibility to both teachers and students that complement other classroom systems such as Zoom or Teams.  Powerful cloud whiteboarding features like this are why BenQ’s RP series is the world’s most awarded education touch display.  There are no additional licensing fees for this software.

The ability to record, store and replay lessons to students who are not in the classroom is a key element in improving student performance in hybrid classrooms.  So which of these displays have the hardware, software, and networking architecture to make recording a lesson as simple as a two-finger tap?  

Of the three different displays, the BenQ RP interactive display is the only one that enables instant recording directly on the board with a single two-finger tap right out of the box.  This enables a teacher to record any lesson – from any software or application that is running on the board.  This means there are no extra applications that need to be loaded or run – making it easier for teachers to record their classes.

The Promethean Titanium comes with license for their ActivInspire software, but the display itself does not come with any built-in recording software.  Teachers need to record their lesson from the software running on the PC.  This is more complicated than the simple two finger tap.

The Clevertouch Impact Plus also does not come with any screen recording software that is integrated into the display.  This will require a teacher to learn to use a third party screen recording software platform.

Teachers have known the most effective lessons combine both visual and audio information. So how well do these displays capture the teacher’s voice for lesson recording?

The BenQ RP series display comes with an 8-microphone array built-in capable of recording the teacher’s voice from 15 feet away. This system has advanced sound recognition software similar to a smartphone that cancels out background noise and “follows” the teacher as they move around the room – and allows the teacher to annotate over audio coming from the display such as a YouTube video. This can be activated with a simple two-finger tap on the panel from any application.

The Clevertouch Impact Plus display comes with a 6-microphone array integrated into their panel.  This makes it easier for an IT department to configure the third party software to properly record audio with a lesson.

The Promethean Titanium does not have a built-in microphone, requiring schools to purchase an additional microphone at extra cost that can use the audio input port of the display.  Here is one example of a similar quality portable array microphone for use in a classroom.

Keeping students and teachers safe is a key factor in deciding which is the right panel for a classroom. Clevertouch, Promethean, and BenQ all have a variety of special safety features compared to a standard TV.  Here are the major differences:

All three screens feature heat-tempered hardened glass, and are treated to reduce glare.  The BenQ display is the only one coated with an anti-microbial coating, which then is baked onto the glass. This model has been certified by Europe’s TUV against the five most common types of bacteria, including e. Coli, Salmonella, and pneumonia.  The BenQ display is also certified as classroom safe and toxin-free under Japan’s SIAA standard tests for potential risks such as long-term touch and oral toxicity.

The BenQ interactive classroom displays and all BenQ desktop monitors come standard with TUV certified blue light filtering features built-in. The sensor on the BenQ’s display senses when a teacher or student approaches the display – will adjust the blue light automatically, minimizing the risk to students and teacher from excessive blue light exposure.  Neither the Clevertouch Impact Plus nor the Promethean Titanium displays have any low blue light certifications.

This is a unique feature of the BenQ touch display; the flicker-free screen makes long-term use of the board much easier on one’s eyes. Unlike those with traditional incandescent or fluorescent backlights, LED-powered displays can have a nearly invisible flicker that can be harmful to the eyes. This was originally a problem with LED-powered gaming monitors, and so BenQ invented a flicker-free backlight that provides great color and brightness – without the harmful flicker. This technology also has been certified by TUV and is not listed as a feature on the Clevertouch Impact Plus or the Promethean Titanium displays specification sheets.

Remember back to your days as a student. Recall any boring, stuffy days where you felt stuck indoors? Recent studies have demonstrated that higher levels of CO₂ in a room cause people to become drowsy and pay less attention.

The BenQ RP interactive display comes with a built-in CO₂ meter that alerts the teacher it’s time to open a window. BenQ even takes this approach a step further, and will also alert the teacher if levels of dust and particulate matter in the room are dangerously high.  This is only available on the BenQ RP interactive display.

The BenQ RP and Clevertouch Impact Plus both come with software to enable administrators to send messages directly to a display.  While this can be a life-saver in an emergency, it can also be used for video announcements as well as a silent paging system.  

All three classroom displays have been designed with remote management in mind - permitting admins to push settings, updates, and apps to any or all boards in their network.   There are two distinct differences in the BenQ system.

Because of its long history in supporting education displays, the BenQ device management software can support a larger number of devices.  This software can control any model of BenQ interactive displays, BenQ projectors, and BenQ wireless presentation systems such as InstaShow, but it will also control popular legacy projectors like Sony, Epson, Hitachi, and NEC.

Also, with its integration with Active Directory, it makes it easier for IT administrators to push apps – or remove them if there is an age inappropriate app on the display.

While all three models share similar features such as 4K resolution, palm erasers, and wireless screen mirroring, understanding the key differences will help you decide which brand of interactive touch display will be right for your classroom.