During InfoComm 2024 earlier this month, numerous vendors were focused on enhancing meeting room technology and conferencing and collaboration experiences. As the post-pandemic realignment of workforces continues to shake out, it has become pretty much a given that virtually every meeting will include both in-person and remote participants. That reality makes it integrators’ challenge — and mission — to ensure all meeting participants have an equitable experience and feel fully a part of the experience.
As I walked the InfoComm 2024 show floor, I had in-depth conversations with HP | Poly, Shure and Crestron about meeting room technology and more. Each company leveraged the show to highlight exciting developments that will facilitate better collaboration outcomes for in-person and remote participants. Here, we’ll explore the latest that each company highlighted during the show.
HP | Poly Meeting Room Technology at InfoComm 2024 Gets Customers Up and Running
For HP | Poly, InfoComm 2024 was focused on the simplicity of the integrator experience: making them successful, reducing the cost and complexity of integration, and getting enterprise customers up and running. The company showcased its Poly Studio G62, a modular videoconferencing system that brings enterprise-grade video and audio to large and flexible spaces. With the system’s modular design, it seamlessly integrates with various peripherals — for example, cameras, microphones and controllers — suiting it perfectly to boardrooms, classrooms and flex spaces. What’s more, during a chat with Greg Baribault, vice president, product and portfolio management, HP | Poly, I learned that the premium experience the system provides can be expanded with multiple cameras and microphones, thus ensuring that participants will show up and stand out even in large meeting spaces.
HP | Poly highlighted its Poly Studio G62 Android appliance and Poly Studio G9 Plus core system for Windows-based rooms at InfoComm 2024. Photo courtesy of HP | Poly.
On the show floor, Baribault told me, “[One] of the most exciting things we’re showing for HP | Poly today at the show is a combination of the Poly Studio G62 Android appliance — that’s a modular appliance meant for deep integration into multiple rooms — and the Poly Studio G9 Plus core system for Windows-based rooms. Both of which are purpose-built, designed for conference room environments for both Zoom and Teams.” Poly Studio G62 is certified for Microsoft Teams and is pending certification with other platforms, including Zoom and Tencent.
Diving deeper into the Poly Studio G9 Plus, that next-generation room solution includes the HP Mini IP PC G9 and Poly TC10 controller, which connect directly to the PC via a Power over Ethernet (PoE) connection. The solution thus combines the Poly collaboration experience with the peak compute performance of HP. It’s possible to add multiple controllers in larger spaces to allow greater versatility. Whether for a focus room, a boardroom or another environment, just couple the base kit with compatible Poly cameras and other peripherals to match the meeting space’s needs.
Shure Continues Focus on Innovation in Meeting Room Technology
If you’ve been eyeing Shure over the last several years, you know the venerable audio specialist has focused heavily on the ceiling array microphone category. The latest iteration, highlighted at InfoComm 2024, is the sleek MXA901. Its 13.5-inch round form factor complements virtually any interior design. Announced earlier this year and available in white, black and aluminum finishes, it builds upon and expands the Microflex Ecosystem portfolio, which also includes the MXA902, announced in 2023.
The MXA901 is notable for its ability to deliver enhanced directional voice capture and reproduction in meeting spaces and conference rooms of various sizes, while minimizing necessary setup. Indeed, the product is infused with Single Zone Automatic Coverage Technology, which covers a 20’x20’ space with minimal configuration needed. In short, users can automatically capture the talkers they wish to hear while leaving out the distracting noise they want to avoid. Moreover, the MXA901’s onboard IntelliMix DSP includes automatic gain control, acoustic echo cancellation, noise reduction and automatic mixing, The result is high-quality sound for all meeting participants.
The Shure MXA901, the latest ceiling array microphone in the Microflex Ecosystem portfolio, brings an aesthetic flair to meeting spaces. It’s meant to be seen and enhance the room’s visual appeal. Image courtesy of Shure.
During a show floor chat, Christine Schyvinck, president and CEO of Shure, told me the company’s InfoComm 2024 story comes down to innovation. “We’re never just resting on our laurels,” she declared. “You have to keep on innovating and getting new things out.” Speaking of the MXA901, Schyvinck highlighted aesthetic considerations like its circular design and color options, saying, “It’s meant to be seen.” She added, “I have a colleague who works with a consulting firm in Chicago, and they just installed a bunch of black MXA901s against a dark, cognac-colored ceiling. It looks amazing.” It’s a point worth underscoring at a time when many employees feel like their employer should “earn the commute” by giving them a pleasurable environment within which to work.
Schyvinck also highlighted the scalability of the MXA901, saying that, as rooms get larger, integrators can drop in multiple units to meet a space’s sonic needs.
Crestron Embraces Frictionless Flexibility at InfoComm 2024
The Crestron booth at InfoComm 2024 was a constant hub of activity, reflecting the company’s numerous newsworthy announcements. For example, in the runup to InfoComm 2024, the control leader touted the fact that its solutions are now installed in more than 40 hotel/casino properties on or near the Las Vegas Strip. That fact reflects a broader Crestron investment in creating integrated solutions that enhance guest experiences and provide seamless, touch-of-a-button control over lighting, shading, audio and video, whether in guest rooms, luxury suites, meeting rooms or entertainment spaces.
But what about the conferencing and collaboration category? In the hours before InfoComm 2024 opened, Crestron announced that it has added new points of control for unified communications systems, thus making it easier to take advantage of in-room automation for meetings and presentations. Of course, Crestron Control has long been available on Crestron Flex solutions; this latest expansion, however, brings native control to more UC platforms. What might historically have been handled with two separate devices is now simplified into a single interface. That means the table is now tidier and there are fewer barriers to granting more users access to Crestron room controls.
During InfoComm 2024, Crestron announced that Crestron Control now supports in-platform control interfaces, enabling flexible management from more meeting room controllers. Photo courtesy of Crestron.
In response to the announcement, Frost & Sullivan’s vice president of research, Roopam Jain, had this to say: “Customers have been clamoring for this added flexibility from Crestron Control. Now, organizations can experience the power and versatility of Crestron Control across a wider range of UC solutions, simplifying meeting management and enhancing the overall user experience.”
Through direct integration with the UC platform providers to streamline meeting experiences, users can now reach their Crestron Control solutions from any hardware vendor. Already introduced with Zoom Rooms software, Cisco Webex meetings and the Google Meet platform, Crestron Control is now also available on Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows OS with page flip integration. The control page fits effortlessly with each UC platform, delivering a smooth path that enables users to transition from meeting controls to room controls. With Crestron Construct configuration software, the control GUI can match the standard platform interface. This ensures a familiar user experience and keeps easy, at-your-fingertips control from one device.
More From InfoComm 2024 to Come
As the Commercial Integrator editorial team continues to wrap up our InfoComm 2024 coverage, keep your eyes peeled for further reports and recaps from Amala Reddie, Alyssa Borelli and me on meeting room technology and more.
And don’t forget to check out our hub page for InfoComm 2024, which showcases the breadth of Commercial Integrator’s coverage over the past several months.
