“Partnering with other industry leading companies is critical to us so that we can provide end-users with the flexible solutions and support required to thrive while collaborating across hybrid workspaces,” says Jonas Gyalokay, Airtame co-dounder. “Joining with Jabra allows Airtame to stay true to our mission of delivering a seamless hybrid meeting experience to anyone, anywhere, at any time.”

The Airtame hybrid conferencing platform stands out as the most versatile option available on the market. It is specifically designed to integrate with peripheral manufacturers, providing the most technologically advanced wireless hybrid meeting experience possible, with additional compatibility with Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and soon, Google Meet and Webex. By integrating with Jabra’s  collaboration solutions, it allows for optimal integration without compromising the quality or performance of either solution.

The speaker phones in the Jabra Speak lineup, the PanaCast 180 degree FoV meeting room camera and PanaCast 20 personal webcam, and the PanaCast 50 all-in-one video bar are all available for pairing with the Airtame Hub. With this compatibility, Airtame’s hybrid conferencing platform provides hybrid meeting solutions for small, mid-sized and large conferencing spaces.

Integrators and end-users can now leverage the capabilities of Airtame’s hybrid conferencing platform, combined with compatible Jabra solutions, to enhance communication and collaboration in their organizations, schools and hybrid workspaces.

“Our partnerships within the collaboration technology ecosystem provide solution options for customers,” says Holger Reisinger, SVP, Jabra Enterprise Video Solutions. “The Airtame solution provides a choice for customers who want a flexible solution for their hybrid environments.”

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on October 11, 2023. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

The post Airtame & Jabra Partner to Deliver Seamless Hybrid Meeting Experience appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Automate VX technology, a multi-camera solution, enables high-quality meeting experience with production-style cuts for Microsoft Teams meetings. Inclusive meetings, especially for larger collaboration spaces and boardrooms, pose a unique set of challenges to capture and frame in-room participants in a way that is easy to follow for remote attendees. To drive more equitable experiences, intelligent video technologies are vital to supporting a critical and dynamic collaboration experience.

Crestron Automate VX Main Features

With Automate VX, multiple cameras around the room work together to track active speakers while removing distractions that are typically visible when a camera pans, tilts or zooms. While an active speaker is being captured on the first camera, the second camera moves into position to capture the next speaker before the system switches the camera feed, reducing any disruptive camera movements and enabling participants to focus on their meeting.

“After a few years under our belts of hybrid meeting and learning, our expectations for these experiences have grown, meaning our customers expect more from the technology that supports them. With permanent hybrid and remote workers, meeting room technologies that provide a reliable experience captured by multiple cameras have become critical for collaboration spaces to drive a more personable experience,” says Brad Hintze, EVP of global marketing, Crestron. “Automate VX is the only product on the market that can deliver this level of video quality, production switching, and customization ease.”

Ideal for high-impact spaces, the Automate VX solution can also support up to 12 cameras and ensure remote attendees always have a crisp and clear shot of in-person participants. Those inside of the room no longer have to worry about where to look or any switching controls as the cameras seamlessly leverage voice-activated switching to capture the perfect shot.

Per a statement, Intelligent Video Room Designer Tool means that organizations can implement Automate VX with no code design or configurations, so users have the flexibility to adapt to any room or platform and customize the views of the meeting.

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on October 11, 2023. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

The post Microsoft Grants Teams Room Device Certification to Crestron’s Automate VX appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Here are a few tips to help make your conference space functional for hybrid meetings.

Invest in Audio and Video Equipment

A successful meeting starts with high-quality audio and video for in-person and remote attendees. To have the best video quality, it’s important to have high-definition webcams and displays. There are a variety of webcam options available that can complement the conference room setup. For example, a webcam may have a feature that can focus on one speaker or zoom out to display the whole room.

It’s counterproductive to a meeting when the speaker needs to continuously repeat themselves. A high-quality microphone (or microphones) can ensure that both in-person and remote attendees can hear each other. If there is one meeting speaker, they should be seated close to the microphone. If the conference room is large and the meeting is collaborative, there may need to be multiple microphones.

To help meetings stay private to attendees in the room, companies can invest in sound-proofing measures, such as sound absorption panels. These can help reduce unneeded noise, as well as present a unique opportunity for branding, art pieces or other designs.

All-in-one video conferencing displays

To make things simpler, companies can invest in an all-in-one videoconferencing display. This is a device that includes a TV screen, camera, speakers and microphone. These are ideal for smaller conference spaces that don’t need an elaborate video and audio setup. When planning a conference space for hybrid meetings, keeping room size in mind is important.

Conference Space Layout

In addition to room size, it’s also important to consider the layout and function of the space. A formal board meeting room will have different needs than a conference room used for internal meetings. The space must be functional to attendees, both in-person and remote.

Videowalls

A videowall can hold many benefits for a conference room, such as displaying a large number of virtual attendees or enabling a remote speaker to use visual aids while presenting. A videowall can also encourage collaboration, such as a digital whiteboard brainstorming session.

Videoconferencing Software Features

Perhaps you’re loyal to your videoconferencing software. Maybe your current software doesn’t fulfill your needs. Since hybrid work is here to stay, it’s time to invest in a comprehensive video conferencing software that suits your needs. Ask the following questions when considering these common features.

Collaboration

• Is there a whiteboard or brainstorming option?
• Is there a chat or messaging component?
• Can a presentation include polls or surveys?

Limitations

• Are there any restrictions on meeting length or participants?

Audio and video quality

• Are there any reviews that specifically mention the audio and video quality?

Access

• Do attendees need to download an app or can they join meetings from their web browser?
• Is the videoconferencing software able to accommodate individuals with disabilities? (Such as providing live subtitles).

Compliance

• Is the software compliant with any privacy laws, such as HIPAA or GDPR?

Security

• Are there security measures put in place, such as password protection, encrypted meetings or in waiting rooms?

Conduct Conference Room Audits

To make sure that your conference rooms are properly optimized, conduct an audit of the current setup. Start simple by making sure the right technology is there, noting if there are instructions on how to use the technology or if staff is trained, if the internet connection is stable and secure, and then examine the following.

Physical Equipment: Cables, adaptors, controls and network hardware.

• Are cables, adapters and input connections functioning properly?
• Are cables neatly labeled?
• Inspect and test projection screens.

Video Equipment: Displays, touchscreens and projectors.

• Are all input sources communicating with displays?
• Confirm optimum brightness, contrast, color and aspect ratio.
• Are all cameras and projectors properly aligned and working as intended?

Audio Equipment: Microphones, phones and conferencing hardware.

• Check that your audio coverage is consistent in your spaces.
• Test all input sources and audio connection points.
• Is your audio equipment free from distortion?

Software: Ensuring compatibility.

• Confirm device controls, and system power control and sequencing.
• Check code, firmware, and wireless and networking.
• Confirm networks and AV-LANs are intact.
• Inventory and test software programs for connectivity.

Conference room design, investing in the right hardware and software and ensuring that the equipment functions properly are vital to creating successful meetings. Since over half of the workforce is now remote, employers must create unified meeting experiences, and make sure that remote employees can see, hear and participate in meetings.

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Mike Walsh is a 15+ year veteran in the audiovisual industry, bringing extensive knowledge of AV design, implementation, service and sales to DGI. Mike is high energy, providing leadership and driving innovation for the diverse divisions that make up our company. He’s also led a team that was recognized as the top integration firm serving educational markets in the country two years running.

The post How to Optimize Conferencing Spaces for Hybrid Meetings appeared first on My TechDecisions.

WebEx’s most recent calling updates include:

• Site survivability to ensure businesses can make and receive Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) calls during a network outage. According to Cisco, this functionality is easily deployed and managed through the Webex Control Hub and ensures phone services are always available.
• Audio Intelligence enhancements extend Webex’s AI-powered background noise removal technology to now include PSTN calls with external callers. Webex Calling users can eliminate an external caller’s background noise with a single click in the Webex App or on supported devices.

Webex customers no longer risk calls dropping despite network outages and broadband bandwidth issues.

Webex Room Bar & Cisco Video Phone

Cisco also announced two new devices for hybrid work­— the Webex Room Bar and Cisco Video Phone 8875.

The WebEx Room Bar is a room device that can turn huddle spaces and small-to-medium sized meeting rooms into collaboration hubs.

With the Webex Room Bar, everyone in the room is perfectly framed promoting meeting equity. It also includes automatic background noise removal for minimizing distractions.

The Webex Room Bar’s spatial audio provides a distraction free audio experience whether participants are in the room or not. Through third-party video interoperability, Webex benefit from the flexibility to join any meeting, including Webex, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet.

Cisco Video Phone 8857

With hot desking becoming the new normal in the workplace, Cisco’s Video Phone 8857 allows Webex users to log into a Cisco Video Phone 8875 to access their Webex Suite profile, settings, and calendar to conduct phone calls and video meetings. With a QR code, users can login and authenticate their calling and video meetings to work at any desk, in any office for hotdesking.

Cisco’s audio intelligence powered by AI automatically reduces background noise and a 1080p display resolution enhances video quality, both of which were cited as top issues negatively impacting video meetings per Cisco’s meeting fatigue research.

The Cisco Video Phone offers IT a single management tool, making it possible to manage the Cisco Video Phone 8875 for onboarding, analytics, rebooting and problem reporting.

Webex Calling’s audio intelligence enhancements will go live this summer and the local survivability feature will be available for preview this fall for Webex Suite customers.

The post Cisco Adds Audio Intelligent Enhancements to Webex, New Room Bar and Video Phone appeared first on My TechDecisions.

According to a Google Workspace blog, this is designed to allow in-room participants attending a hybrid meeting to improve collaboration and representation equity by giving everyone the ability to share their own video with other on-call participants.

The feature will be enabled by default, and users can join a meeting on the web using Companion mode from the green room before their meeting.

The company started its rollout this week, with users in the company’s rapid release channel getting access starting this week. Other domains will start seeing the new feature starting on May 17.

The feature is available to all Workspace customers as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers. It won’t require any admin controls.

Companion mode allows users to connect to a Google Meet video call on a second screen, which gives in-room users the ability to participate in activities or share their screen without worrying about echo for remote participants. The feature was introduced last year.

Users who join using Companion mode will have their microphone muted to reduce the risk of audio feedback from the second screen. It is designed for conference rooms with audio and video capabilities on meeting room hardware, or a Google Nest Hub Max.

Users can also use Companion mode to view presentations or captions more clearly. Users who want to speak, view the participant grid will have to join with full audio and video on another non-Companion mode screen.

Read this helpful support article from Google for more information about Companion mode.

The post Google Meet Users Will Be Able to Share Their Video Feed In Companion Mode appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Now that hybrid meetings have become a reality and employees are burning out on video, robust, professional-grade audio technology is becoming just as—if not more—important to any business’ collaboration portfolio.

Audio’s role in hybrid meetings

Several studies confirm that videoconferencing fatigue is, in fact very real. Microsoft, Zoom and a host of other industry giants agree, as well as researchers from Stanford University who found that excessive amounts of video meetings, watching oneself during video chats and the inability to walk around during a video call can be fatiguing.

While still important to help keep organizations connected and keep remote workers engaged, video is only a part of the solution. In fact, there is no hybrid work without audio technology, says pro audio professionals. Meeting room conferencing solutions were, of course, a staple of any enterprise office prior to the pandemic, but the increased use of conferencing technologies brought attention to the sometimes poor audio quality of those solutions in hybrid environments.

“I think audio is indisputably more important because without audio, there is no meeting,” says Paul Gunia, director of technology partnerships at audio manufacturer Shure, which offers conference room audio technology such as speakers and microphones.

Meetings in which participants have their video off occur every day, and that meeting can still be productive with clear audio. While video has its place in making meetings more personable and helping to make remote workers feel more included, meetings are over before they begin without audio.

With the proliferation of hybrid working models, organizations need to rethink their conference room’s audio solutions. According to Gunia, remote workers are now a core part of most conference calls, whereas before the pandemic, they were “a bit more of observers.”

“And now the whole thing is flipped on its head,” Gunia says.

Conference rooms need to be reworked

However, audio quality issues have become very obvious with virtual meeting platforms now being used as a critical business tool to connect distributed workers and customers to vendors. According to a 2021 study from IT management software provider NETSCOUT about the challenges of hybrid meetings, about one-third or organizations routinely field tickets about poor audio and video quality.

“Suddenly, the amount of time people were spending in front of the computer screen or meeting space tripled or even more,” says David Missal, insights manager for consultants and a technical application engineer at audio company Sennheiser. “All those audio imperfects really started to be even more noticeable.”

When workers are constantly in virtual meetings, simply putting up with poor audio quality is not a tenable solution. Now, when everyone is in a virtual meeting or classroom with some logging on from home and some from the office, audio quality becomes even more important.

In short, conference rooms were not designed for hybrid meetings, leading to remote participants getting the short end of the stick when it comes to being able to hear their on-site colleagues clearly.

“It became a much bigger problem because everyone was doing it, and we needed to make the audio work better in meeting spaces and classrooms to make everything more inclusive and understandable,” Missal says.

Common conferencing audio issues and how to solve them

According to audio experts, some of those common audio pain points include:

• Inconsistent audio based on meeting type, platform
• Inability to track participants as they move around a room
• How to include a wider audience in the audio feed for remote participants
• A lack of directional audio
• Internet bandwidth issues

Organizations can solve of those issues by:

• Making sure the room’s acoustics are set up for good audio quality
• Focusing on ease of use and automating audio settings such as gain
• Exploring ceiling microphones and beamforming technology instead of tabletop or handheld microphones
• Instituting standards across your organization’s UC&C estate to ensure a consistent user experience
• Deploying solutions that can be easily monitored and managed by IT

If remote participants can’t understand what is being said, then meeting productivity takes a hit and opens the door for remote workers to become distracted by something else, says William Zadnik, applications engineer at Shure.

The onus is one the on-site meeting participants to keep remote workers engaged, including mixing in some media or quizzes to reduce the effects of conferencing fatigue. But if the meeting audio for remote workers isn’t intelligible, none of those things will matter.

“Being heard and understand and having a good microphone when you’re doing a presentation and making sure everybody has good quality audio so that everyone is understood is what’s really important in these meetings,” Zadnick says. “Otherwise, productivity goes down and you get that disconnection effect.”

The post Why Audio Matters as Much as Video for Hybrid Meetings appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Companies will be able to access Owl Labs’ hybrid meeting technology with BlueJeans Meetings videoconferencing software solution in a bundled package for a monthly fee. According to Owl Labs, as the first 360-degree bundled videoconferencing solution on the market, setup is plug and play, takes minutes to implement and does not require any IT support.

The Meeting Owl Pro is a 360-degree camera, microphone and speaker combined into one easy-to-use device. It is powered by proprietary AI technology that automatically focuses on whoever is speaking, using audio and visual cues. It creates the experience of in-person participation for hybrid teams and integrates with many videoconferencing platforms, including BlueJeans by Verizon.

Using the Meeting Owl Pro with BlueJeans’ industry-leading audio and high-definition videoconferencing software ensures that everyone is clearly seen and heard. With clear and predictable pricing, a simplified approval process, and the ability to easily add more licenses as needed, BlueJeans Meetings+ offers 4K video and built-in Dolby Voice audio that minimizes background noise and provides spatial audio. Furthermore, by tapping into the transformative benefits of Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, BlueJeans and Owl Labs can create an inclusive and collaborative experience for any meeting.

Related: Verizon Business Launches Verizon Mobile for Microsoft Teams

Owl Labs’ State of Remote Work study finds that 71% of workers want to have a hybrid or remote working style post-pandemic, but 70% find it difficult to participate in conversations on hybrid video calls and only 38% of workers say their employers have upgraded their video technology to allow more hybrid collaboration. As a result, 66% of workers feel that their meetings fail to engage all participants, according to a BlueJeans by Verizon survey.

“Most companies are vastly underprepared for the complexities of hybrid work, so they need to quickly and effectively overhaul their office spaces to ensure they’re meeting the needs of their hybrid teams as they reopen their offices this spring,” says Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Owl Labs. “Our partnership with BlueJeans by Verizon makes it easy and affordable to transform traditional conference rooms into fully equipped, inclusive videoconferencing ecosystems, so both remote and in-room participants can collaborate and contribute.”

Starting at one cost-efficient monthly fee, the Owl Labs’ and BlueJeans’ bundle will be the first 360-degree option on the market. The Meetings+ Bundle will be available for $39 a month. Customers who sign up in the first 90 days of launch can get the Meetings+ price of $29 a month for the entirety of the contract. The monthly fee includes the Meeting Owl Pro and app, BlueJeans enterprise software license, product warranty and customer support.

This article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator.com.

The post Owl Labs and BlueJeans by Verizon Offer Meeting Room Subscription for Hybrid Meetings appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Liminal software can be used to connect to multiple HD video feeds from Zoom to production-grade hardware and applications.

Zoom has also made investments in Cvent, an enterprise event technology provider and American Express Global Business Travel, a B2B travel platform.

“We will cover the entire value chain from creative production, broadcasting, editing, and fully customizable live event experiences with robust pre-event planning, in-event management, and post-event analytics,” says Janine Pelosi, chief marketing officer at Zoom in a blog post.

Zoom is preparing its platform to support the next generation of virtual and hybrid events with even more dynamic and customizable event solutions to users.

Expanding events platform

Since 2014 the company has been rapidly expanding its features to provide users what they need to grow their businesses.

“Like the future of work, we believe that the future of events will include a combination of virtual and in-person formats. Whether it is a large trade show, corporate summit, internal event or online classes, our customers will need a holistic solution that provides them with what they need to confidently build, host and manage virtual and hybrid events,” says Pelosi.

In 2014, the company released Zoom Video Webinars to enable organizations to share important information and interactive video presentations with up to 50,000 people from anywhere and from any device.

And this year, the company released new features, like pronouns, live language interpretation, and interactive hand gestures and reactions, to make Zoom Video Webinars more inclusive, accessible and engaging for users.

In July 2021, the company released Zoom Events, which was used for its second all-virtual Zoomtopia event that saw more than 33,000 guests attending from around the world.

Also, this year, the company announced Zoom Event Services which helps organizations plan, support, and produce virtual, live and hybrid events on Zoom. The professional event services team can help organizations execute events from offering technical support, in-event moderation, complex event coordination or high-level production.

The post Zoom Expands Acquires Liminal to Prepare for the Future of Hybrid Events appeared first on My TechDecisions.

That is according to hybrid workshop collaboration tool provider Klaxoon, which recently conducted a survey of more than 2,500 people from the U.S. and U.K that suggests the business world needs to think differently about meetings.

According to the survey results, 56% of respondents say meetings are run in a way that discourages creativity, and 44% say meetings aren’t inclusive of all participants.

In meetings that were either online or hybrid, 52% of respondents say outcomes are better when attendees have their camera on, while just 10% say outcomes are worse when everyone is visible.

Meanwhile, 57% say participants are more engaged when cameras are on.

The survey also looks at companies that institute a meeting-free period, of which 56% of respondents say they do. However, if those meeting-free periods are worth it is questionable, as just 37% say the policy is effective.

Some of those reasons include scheduling meetings during those periods anyway, outside organizations scheduling meetings during those periods and a lack of additional productivity during meeting-free periods.

The survey was conducted in partnership with Dr. Steven Rogelberg, a meeting expert, researcher and Chancellor’s professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

“With the unprecedented use of virtual meetings since the start of the pandemic and the likelihood of increased hybrid meetings as the world finds a new normal, the survey suggests we must work much at improving interaction and efficiency – meeting derailers have not yet been solved,” Rogelberg says. “Enabling all attendees to be more active participants — regardless of geographic location — will be critical. Maybe it’s time to rethink the design of meetings with a focus to build for inclusion, creativity, maximum positive impact and draw inspiration from the most engaging formats we know, like workshops.”

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