|
Economical Quiz Button Lock-Out System $299 for 8 Players |
|
|
We have received numerous
requests for a Quiz Bowl product which is both rich in features and yet
affordable. We would like to announce
E-Quiz Bowl Pro. The ‘E’ is for Economical. The E-Quiz Bowl Pro system
is a quiz bowl lock-out system. The first player to press his button and
buzz-in gets to answer the question. However as you will soon
discover the E-Quiz Bowl Pro system can do a whole lot more… |
|
|
Please read on to find out why Merlin the Wizard, is
pictured here. |
Unique to the E-Quiz Bowl
Pro system, is the fact that each quiz question asked, is treated as a timed
race, and the system records who was first to buzz in, who was second to buzz
in, third, fourth and so on. So if the
first player’s answer is incorrect, you immediately know which player to ask
next. We have taken the proven timer
circuitry from our Pinewood Derby timer and adapted it to work with this
product.
The E-Quiz Bowl system also
has a modular design. This means that
multiple systems can be easily combined to accommodate more players. The base system has 8 players. This can be expanded in multiples of 8, to
16, 24 or even more. If you have two
base systems you can connect them together and have 16 players participating in
a quiz game. Three systems would allow
24 players.
The advantage of this
modular approach is that two base systems can be used in two different
classrooms at the same time. The two systems
can function independently. However
when a big game or tournament comes along the systems can be combined to
accommodate 16 players.
|
It is very comfortable to
hold and connects to the base system box using RCA type plugs at both ends of
a 12 foot cable. This distance can be
easily extended. |
Each player is equipped
with a hand-held quiz button. The
button is 1 inch in diameter and is mounted in a 5 inch length of plastic
pipe. It is pictured to the left. |
The screenshot below shows
the Quiz Master’s computer display with the E-Quiz Bowl Pro program window.
|
Excel with E-Quiz Bowl
program window – Quiz Master’s screen |
2nd COMPUTER
The E-Quiz Bowl Pro system
can make extensive use of a second PC. It
is NOT necessary but when you see what it can do you will be impressed. The information displayed on the second PC
is what the players or contestants would see.
Merlin is pictured there and he can say or speak any text that is
displayed on that screen. You can also
show pictures there as part of a picture type question. If you have projection type equipment you
can project this displayed image on a large screen.
Note: The use of the Microsoft Agent characters is optional
and you can disable their use in this product.
Some screenshots from the
second computer are pictured below.
|
|
|
|
|
Question 1 Screen |
Merlin (Pleased) |
Merlin giving the correct
answer |
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The system can also use
Microsoft Agent characters to announce the questions….or better yet, you can have the Agent character recognize
the player who buzzed in, by announcing his/her name. Microsoft Agent characters are animated and can move and talk
with the help of the included text-to-speech software module. They also can talk with a balloon as
pictured.
The system includes all
hardware and software to allow 8 players to participate in a game. Several MS Agent characters and software are also included. More characters are available on the
Internet. To have the Agent speak you
must have a sound car and speakers installed in your PC. You must also have MS Excel and at least a
Pentium II computer with Windows 98 or later.
The E-Quiz Bowl Pro system connects to an IBM computer using one of the
free USB ports.
E-Quiz Bowl Pro System Box |
The E-Quiz Bowl Pro system
box is shown to the left. It has a simple
design with the USB cable going into the back and eight inputs (RCA phono
jacks) on the front. The box is approximately 5
x 5 x 1.5 inches. Power for the unit is
taken from the USB connection. An
additional power supply is required if the team light option (see below) is ordered. |
The Excel software program
is used to store the names of the players and their scores. It can also show the number of correctly
answered questions. Team membership is
easily handled in a worksheet by inserting a formula to add the scores together
of all payers associated with a particular team.
When the E-Quiz Bowl Pro
software is first run, it examines the Excel worksheet to determine the number
of players and teams. With 8 possible
players in the base system it is possible to have 2 teams with 4 players or 4
teams with 2 players. If you would like
8 players and no teams that is also possible too.
|
Team lights are also
available as an option. A team light would
give a visual indication of the team that answered a question. It would light or go on whenever a team
player buzzed in. Pictured to the right is a
picture of two team lights. Each
light contains a 12-volt automotive type lamp which is quite bright. Of course the system would
need to be setup for team membership.
Players would need to be assigned to individual teams. This is very simple with Excel. The team lights are NOT
necessary but optional. |
Team Lights |
This product comes with a
30-day money back guarantee. Evaluate
it for 30 days and if it isn’t what you expected, return it to us in good
condition for a full refund. Shipping
and handling costs are not eligible for a refund.
EXPANSION
The system can be expanded
in two ways. You can purchase the
8-player expansion package. This would
give you 16 players. You can also
purchase an additional E-Quiz Bowl Pro system and connect your two systems
together when needed. The 8-player
expansion package can not be used as a stand-alone system.
USB
|
E-Quiz Bowl Pro has a USB
connection built in. Once the
software is installed on your PC, the E-Quiz Bowl Pro software program will
start automatically whenever the system unit is connected to a USB port on
your computer. An icon will appear in
the system tray indicating the system is installed and operating. |
|
NOTE:
You must provide your own copy of MS Excel to make full use of this product.
OTHER SOFTWARE
|
|
Create your own Game Show! The E-Quiz Bowl Pro
software is also capable of working with other quiz game software programs
such as Game Show Presenter. Check
out the trial edition of Game Show Presenter at www.almorale.com. This presentation game show software
provides the fun and excitement that will enhance learning in any type of
environment. |
We will soon offer a demo of
the program below for download. We plan
to include it with the purchase of the E-Quiz Bowl product. It is a trivia type question game where
players answer multiple choice questions.
|
|
It makes use of two MS
Agent characters: Merlin the Wizard and Peedy, the green bird. It features great
integration of the agent characters. Merlin
will ask each question and say all
the answers. He will even make
comments about each of the players throughout the game using each of their
names. Peedy will attempt to play
along and inject some humor. It is great fun because
every player gets to answer.
Questions sets can be easily created and saved to disk. The software also allows picture type
questions. |
COSTS
|
Base System |
Price |
|
|
E-Quiz Bowl Pro - 8 Player
system |
$299 |
|
|
E-Quiz Bowl Pro - 8 Player
Expansion (must have the E-Quiz Bowl Pro system above) |
$199 |
|
|
Set of 2 Team Lights |
$39 |
Shipping and handling is 10%
of order total. We only collect sales
tax for Pennsylvania. If your state
requires you to pay sales tax then you must pay it yourself.
We welcome any questions
that you may have concerning this product.
OUR QUALITY POLICY
It is our policy to
continuously improve our products to better satisfy the needs of our customers
and to deliver quality products, every time and on time. Computer Products for
Education reserves the right to make changes in product specifications and
appearance.
COMPUTER PRODUCTS FOR EDUCATION
PO Box 1694,
Kingston, PA 18704 USA
Copyright © 2007 by Computer Products
for Education