Barco Clickshare CSM-1 Review

This is an interesting product for all kinds of meeting rooms and corporate board rooms, as it fulfills a key requirement that exists in every meeting room today-the ability to collaborate effectively. Most of the times words are not enough in a discussion. Participants would also like to show information that they carry on their smartphones, tablets, and laptops-devices that everyone typically carries around these days. Unfortunately, displaying everyone's screen on the main projector screen of the meeting room is not feasible. That's where ClickShare comes in.

It comprises of a head unit that connects to the projector, and two USB buttons that can connect to any device you want-laptop, smartphone, or tablet. The moment you click on the USB button, the screen of the device it's connected to displays on the main projector. Communication between the USB buttons and the head unit happens over WiFi. The device is available in two models, CSM-1 and CSM-2. We received the former for review, which can connect up to eight devices simultaneously, but only one's screen will be displayed at a time.

Setting-up - Setting up ClickShare is very easy. The base unit is robust, durable, and you can keep it on the table or mount it on a wall. The base unit requires a power source, whereas the USB buttons draw power from the laptop's USB port. The base unit is equipped with HDMI and VGA ports; there is also 3.5 mm audio jack, 2 USB ports one on the front and other on the back, LAN port and two Wi-Fi antennas.

PCs and laptops: Setting up the device is as easy as you plug USB pen drives to the PCs or Laptop. Unbox the device and connect the base unit with projector using the VGA cable. Power-up the base unit after fixing antennas to it. Once the base unit is connected with electricity and projector, use USB connectors to pair-up laptops and PCs (Windows or Mac) with the device. Now, with one press of the USB button, you can share your screen over the projector.

Smartphones and Tablets: It's a cross-platform device and supports both Android and iOS, but Windows app is not available. Connect the device with the base unit using its own Wi-Fi signal and install its free app ‘ClickShare Presenter' on the smartphone or tablet. Once WiFi connection is done and application is installed, run the app on device and click on the share button located on the top right of the screen. Sharing screen with the app is restricted, as you can only share documents and images available on your device. It doesn't share entire screen, and projection screen size can vary depending on the device screen resolution and size.