ClearOne recently announced the release of its new BMA 360 beamforming microphone array ceiling tile.
The ClearOne BMA 360 is “the world’s first truly wideband, frequency invariant beamforming mic array with uniform gain response across all frequency bands,” according to the company announcement.
With FiBeam technology, conference participants “will experience the ultimate in natural and full fidelity audio across all beams and within a single beam,” the ClerOne announcement says.
Deep sidelobe beamforming, DsBeam, “provides unparalleled maximum sidelobe depth, below -40 dB, resulting in superior rejection of reverberation and noise in difficult spaces for superb clarity and intelligibility,” according to the ClearOne announcement.
The BMA 360 is based on a new approach to beamforming that provides a new beam topology to achieve distortion-free, full 360-degree coverage of any room shape and any seating arrangement using ClearOne Audio Intelligence.
Further advancements in adaptive steering (similar to smart switching) provide coverage of each conference participant as well as support for camera tracking.
More About ClearOne BMA 360
In addition to the advancements in beamforming technology, the 6G Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC) “delivers unmatched per-beam full-duplex audio performance,” according to the ClearOne announcement.
On-board audio algorithms, like noise reduction, filtering, and Automatic Level Control, eliminate the need for per-beam processing in a DSP mixer. Finally, built-in amplifiers, configurable as 4 x 15 watt or 2 x 30 watt, provide flexibility for driving loudspeakers.
FiBeam, DsBeam, and 6G AEC combine to create VividVoice.
The integrated features in the BMA 360 reduce system design complexity, simplify installation, consume less rack space and lower system cost. The BMA 360 also supports daisy-chaining of up to three ceiling tiles via P-Link for divisible rooms, or larger conference setups.
Single-workflow configuration is provided by a new release of ClearOne’s CONSOLE AI software. Competing products require practitioners to program multiple system components with different toolsets: Ethernet switches, ceiling tiles, DSP mixers, and the Dante controller.
“We introduced the world’s first professional conferencing beamforming microphone array in 2012 and it revolutionized the conferencing microphone in the pro AV industry,” said ClearOne CEO and chairwoman Zee Hakimoglu in the company announcement.
“Since then, we have introduced a diverse line-up of beamforming microphone array solutions to meet evolving market applications, performance, and pricing needs. With the new ClearOne BMA 360, we have pushed the envelope again by developing a product that is superior to any other competing product in the market,” she said.
The BMA 360 supports three different ceiling grid sizes: 24 in, 600 mm, and 625 mm. It incorporates a VESA-standard hole pattern that supports pole mounting. Hard-ceiling mount accessory kits are also available.
ClearOne’s BMA technology is protected by at least a dozen patents and pending patent applications.
The BMA 360 is now shipping worldwide.
