As we have gotten into Q4, I wanted to recap the state of web conferencing solutions, specifically video bars. I have done quite a few conference room installations this past year, everything from small huddle spaces to large conference rooms. Gone are the days of dedicated video codecs and appliance-based video conferencing. Web conferencing has become prevalent among most organizations, with Microsoft Teams & Google Meets becoming standards for enterprise deployment.
For enterprise stakeholders, the key factors at the top of the list are ease of use and a consistent user experience. I would add to this simplicity of deployment and low maintenance requirements.
From a solution provider's perspective, my key concerns are managing expectations with reliable equipment that is easily installed and simple to turn over. We frequently get in a rhythm with the "best of what works"; however, as technologies and trends change, we must strive to adapt. I am always open to new gear and concepts that will improve the user experience. My engineering perspective is focused on less gear and more functionality. That being said, I always temper my approach to balance the needs of my clients and expand my repertoire to provide the best possible product I can.
Now that all the big words are behind us, let's cut to the chase. I aim to provide a quick overview, not get into the technical weeds. There are a few key manufacturers in this market segment. I am going to introduce them with a short synopsis of their products and my experience providing their solutions to our clients.
I would be remiss if I didn't at least frame the prevalent room models we see today. Small, medium, and large do sum up well, but I still believe this requires some context.
Small "Huddle space" (4-5 people)
Huddle or team rooms are small and usually host transient folks. They tend to focus more on BYOD and basic presentations. They are a simple place to duck out of the hall and make a call or maybe meet with a patient or client. You shouldn't leave anything in the room you don't want to walk away from; automation and simplicity are mandatory.
Medium size conference room (5-12 people)
These team rooms support most of the everyday productivity and communications. Since collaboration and communications are essential, the displays tend to be a little larger, and they usually sport some dedicated hardware so users are not entirely reliant on their own devices. IT and technology stakeholders are keenly interested in a "cookie cutter" approach that creates a standard user experience. Here, a dedicated PC room is usually connected to web conferencing hardware. While a room PC with a dedicated wireless keyboard and mouse is the most popular, adopting Microsoft Teams has opened the door to dedicated MTU appliances. These used to be small form-factor PCs that only served as a dedicated Microsoft team's endpoint. This allows for enhanced scheduling and management of the space. As you will see below, video bar products can now be purchased with both Microsoft Teams and Google Meets natively installed.
The Large Conference room or Boardroom (15 people or more)
These spaces usually require a bit more structure. These are not usually video bar spaces primarily due to their audio requirements. Larger rooms require additional speakers and microphones for better uniform coverage. You can use some products below; my cutoff is usually around 25 feet in seating depth.
Just because the room is larger doesn't mean you need to lose the simplicity of "web conferencing." Early on, Logitech came out with the simplest of web cameras. The BRIO and C920 series cameras set the stage for what easy conferencing was all about. Simply plug in the USB, and away you go. Logitech still provides some options for those larger spaces that don't require a control system to automate. Additionally, a wide range of alternatives, from the new Crestron wireless mic/speaker pods to the Biamp Tesira systems that let you autotune any room by just pressing the "Launch" button. Please feel free to contact me directly should you need some guidance on designing your specific space…
From my perspective, the three most popular players in the space right now are Logitech, Polycom, and Crestron. If you are in the market, try listening for your specific use case. All of the vendors discussed below provide excellent quality products; honestly, you can't go wrong. I will also give insight into Braco and its new product offerings and a brief note on wireless connectivity in the modern conference room.
Again, I am not trying to get into the weeds; I am just providing some insight into the products available from these manufacturers.
Logitech
I said these were in no particular order, but I might have misspoken. The truth is that Logitech probably has the best market share and name recognition in this vertical. They are inexpensive and very reliable. They are not exactly known for their tech support, but after installing what seems like hundreds of their products, I only got one bad camera, and they sent me a replacement directly. They have two primary product families in this category, which I have listed below.
The Meet-Up ($700) is an inexpensive USB video bar with a basic camera and mic built in. It provides auto-framing functionality and ships with a remote that can be used to control the camera and mute and unmute the mic. The bar has three built-in mics and can be purchased with an extension mic that can be placed on a table.
The Rally Series offers more flexibility; they are higher-end video bars with better audio and AI face tracking. Rally Plus offers separate speaker, camera, and mic options for larger spaces, along with content ingestion. It can be set up in operating modes like USB, BYOD, & Appliance. These devices can be licensed for Microsoft Teams and Google Meets, so there is no need for a dedicated PC.
Polycom
Polycom also offers a cost-effective entry-level video bar that does a great job. The Studio is competitively priced with the Logitech Meetup and mounts simply (tabletop or wall mount). Presenter tracking, Noiseblock AI, and Autoframing: this camera is plug-and-play with all the functions you would expect.
The next level of products in the Polycom line-up can size nicely with larger rooms and offer MTU and Google meets native to the bars. The X30, X50, and X70 all have onboard computers that support the native MTU functionality. Polycom does offer the 30, 50, and 70 as USB-only devices. Look for the R, E, or P series for better performance without the web hosting capabilities.
If you are a Microsoft Teams house and want an easy endpoint to manage connectivity at the table, try the TC8 touch panel. Polycom is probably most famous for its black star phone, which is found in so many conference rooms. Now, you can easily integrate with SIP and H.323 using the video bar as an endpoint and TC8 for dialing.
Crestron
Crestron would be next up on my list of top favorites. I would not call the UC-SB1-CAM "Entry Level." It's a bit bigger than the competition. The Crestron bar has a great sound with 2 channels with 20 watts of output, a Linear quad‑element far‑field adaptive beamforming microphone array for 15 feet of pick up, and a high precision, ultra-wide angle, six-element aspherical glass lens(not going lie, got that from the website). In a 4k world, it's only 1080p, but it does a great job of auto-framing and adjusting to lighting changes.
For the longest time, this wasn't just the premier Crestron video bar; it was the only Crestron video bar. I have installed quite a few Microsoft Teams rooms using this bar, and for small to medium-sized rooms, this product has done just fine. That being said, "the times they are changing."
Finally, I wanted to speak a bit on simple wireless content sharing. "Simple" is the operative word: getting users to take advantage of wireless connectivity to share content, present media, and initiate communications. There are a few solutions prevalent in the market that I wanted to round on.
The Barco Clickshare has to be the first and most popular product. Plug in the USB puck and push the button. One-button connectivity is pretty easy to teach folks. If you are unfamiliar with the ClickShare, the USB puck (or button) gets plugged into a laptop, and a user can initiate a connection by pressing the one button on the device. Red and green colors tell you when you are connected and ready to share content.
It can be a bit tough not to get drawn into the weeds about wireless connectivity in today's conference rooms, but here, I will stay high-level and offer the solutions as well as the pros/cons.
Wireless connectivity relies on wireless connectivity. The two models are the Barco solution, which facilitates its own wireless connection, and the device, which relies on WIFI or Bluetooth to connect.
From an IT perspective, specifically "security," any unnecessary devices connected to the network are potential liabilities. Sometimes, these devices are siloed off from the rest of the network in what's called "VLANs." The exact functionality that's limited by this separation is the same one that makes simply connecting to them difficult. This is especially true when the user needs outside access to the Internet.
Barco has circumvented this by transparently managing the wireless connectivity. Additionally, the software needed to facilitate a smooth and consistent user experience is loaded into the puck itself, and most folks can plug in and present in under a minute or two.
Some solutions, like Crestron's Airmedia, do a great job. The smoothest iteration has guests connecting on the same network so that the presentation endpoints can be auto-discovered. This works well if the use case is for Guests to connect easily. The device can be selected as a source, and on-screen instructions & a QR code make connecting the first time a snap.
The Crestron Airmedia product is cheaper than the Barco. However, there are some hoops to jump through first, and I suggest that any enterprise consider developing an execution protocol for using and implementing these products before purchasing. The Barco products are a bit more expensive but offer both ease of use and implementation.
Barco came out this year with their line of conference bar solutions with Clickshare functionality baked in.
The Clickshare Bar Core is a single-screen, single-puck solution great for small to medium-sized spaces. It can be used for both BYOD and a dedicated room PC. The cost for the Core bar is just north of $2k, but it offers a great blend of a simple video bar coupled with wireless connectivity.
The Clickshare Bar Pro is a premium solution offering a dual screen, dual puck, Touchback annotation, and a wired room dock option for sharing 4K content.
I hope you all find this helpful. We just scratched the surface of all the products that are starting to fill this market segment. There are bars available now from audio DSP companies like Shure and Biamp. Traditional SIP vendors like Yealink and Neat have found a spot at the table. Companies specializing in PTZ cameras, like AVer and Vaddio, offer all-in-bar solutions, and even companies like Jabra & Bose have gotten in on the action.
I don't know if any of these options actually make it easier on the consumer, but that's what we are here for. Please feel free to reach out with questions or concerns. We can help sort through the noise...
