Connecting and using computers

The interactive flat panel comes with one room license and 25 personal licenses of SMART Meeting Pro software. You can download SMART Meeting Pro software from smarttech.com/downloads and install the room license on a room computer and the personal licenses on up to 25 users’ laptops.

You can purchase additional copies of SMART software to install on other computers. Contact your authorized SMART reseller (smarttech.com/where) for more information.

The following table presents the recommend resolutions and refresh rates for the interactive flat panel’s input sources:

If possible, set any connected computers to these resolutions and refresh rates. See the connected computers’ operating system documentation for instructions.

About resolutions

SMART Board 8000i‑G5 series interactive flat panels support full high definition (FHD) 1080p and 4K ultra high definition (4K UHD) resolutions, provided the source device meets the minimum requirements for such resolutions.

Resolution	Pixels	Details
FHD (1080p)	1920 × 1080 (2.1 megapixels)	Most modern video devices (computers, laptops, DVD players and Blu‑ray disc players) support FHD resolutions. Check a device’s specifications to see which resolutions it supports. SMART recommends a digital HDMI or DisplayPort connection for best results with FHD. Although an analog VGA connection might support FHD, the video quality may be degraded, particularly if the VGA cable is longer than 16' (5 m).
4K UHD	3840 × 2160 (8.3 megapixels)	A 4K UHD display has greater pixel density than an FHD display. A 4K UHD display can show up to four times as much visual information as FHD displays. Notes  Some video hardware described as “4K” or “UHD” may be capable of displaying a 3840 × 2160 image but will not perform well with video at the same resolution. See the knowledge base article, Minimum requirements for Ultra High Definition or 4K on your interactive flat panel. SMART software may have additional requirements. See smarttech.com/downloads for more information.

SMART advises against the use of an analog video connection for displaying FHD or 4K UHD because analog video connections can not display high-resolution images with adequate picture quality. If you want to use FHD or 4K UHD resolutions and the source device supports only an analog video connection, you will likely need to upgrade the source device.

About refresh rates

Displays can support different refresh rates, typically 30 Hz or 60 Hz. Higher refresh rates can result in smoother, flicker-free video. This is most evident when using 4K UHD.

Most computers support a refresh rate of 60 Hz. Using the highest frame refresh rate possible will provide a better experience when using the interactive flat panel, provided the connected device supports the refresh rate. If it doesn’t, you may need to set the device’s display settings to a lower refresh rate.

You can connect computers with SMART Learning Suite to the interactive flat panel (as shown below) and then view the computers’ input on the interactive flat panel.

Use the Input app to view a connected computer’s input on the interactive flat panel.

To view a connected computer’s input

1. Connect the computer to the interactive flat panel.

2. Press on the front control panel until HDMI1, HDMI2 or DisplayPort is selected.

After you’ve connected a computer to the interactive flat panel, you can use the SMART software to present content and enable collaboration.

For information on SMART software, see the following pages in the Support section of the SMART website:

• SMART Meeting Pro

• SMART Product Drivers

• SMART Ink