Crestron is the world's largest supplier of control systems, and is also known for infrastructure in buildings and meeting rooms. As a Microsoft partner, Crestron delivers Teams Room solutions.
"Because Microsoft Teams has video meetings capabilities, it is now being widely used as a video conferencing platform" says Patrick Edwards, Regional Sales Manager at Crestron for Norway, Denmark and Iceland.
Crestron's certified Teams Room system portfolio is called Crestron Flex. This consists of several products. A typical meeting room with Crestron Flex has a touch panel on the meeting table. From this panel, users can start the meeting as well as integrate a variety of components in the meeting room. The room solution incorporates a soundbar that picks up audio, even from seven meters range. This has built-in microphones, built-in speakers, and a built-in Huddly IQ camera.
Same simplicity, regardless of room
Crestron has built its products and solutions with simplicity in mind. There is one consistent user interface that applies across the range, regardless of the type of meeting room and AV perihperals in the room. You can thus build the room the way you want, and add different components that scale to different room sizes.
"Whether you are setting up a boardroom, auditorium or classroom, you can include a camera and soundbar or various speakers as desired. In any case, it's only the touch panel users need to relate to, " Edwards says.
Monitor, manage and support the entire solution
Many people experience issues coming into a meeting room when they are trying to present or connect into a video conference, and then it all stops. Either it's a cable that doesn't work, or it's a wrong link. This takes time, and quickly becomes frustrating for the user, aswell as the far-end/remote participants.
To avoid this, Crestron has ensured that their entire Teams Room solution can be monitored, managed and remotely supported. This applies not only to the system itself, but everything from screens, sound and light, to the boxes under the table. This is unique functionality at Crestron and the service itself can be provided in Kinly Smart Monitoring.
"The IT manager, or an integrator like Kinly, can get a notification when an error occurs in a meeting room. They can then take over management of the meeting room from a remote location, no matter which part of the meeting room has problems ," Edwards says.
All hardware and Teams Rooms functionality can be monitored and supported remotely. In addition, Room Control is a unique feature that provides access to control the entire meeting room from one touch panel. Here you can, for example, embed light control and override of the Huddly IQ camera. You can also report errors and get support with the touch of a button. The control applies regardless of the type of room.
"Basically, it's about making it easier, both for IT managers, facility managers and meeting participants. Fewer mistakes and a quicker way to help, gives more time in the meeting room," he says.
Huddly IQ camera with built-in AI
The Huddly IQ camera, which is built into the Crestron soundbar, is a Norwegian-developed meeting room camera. The camera both looks, understands and responds to the activity in the meeting room, thanks to a built-in video chip with AI capabilities. Along with Crestron's software that monitors the room, this AI can extract information from the Huddly camera.
"The AI makes sure the camera adjusts and zooms in and out depending on where people are. At the same time, a count is made of the people present."
Thus, the camera can tell you that there are only a small number of people in the room where there is room for 30.
"Such insight will help you make future buying decisions. The next time you make a new AV investment, you know in this case that you should go for a small rather than a large meeting room."
Facts about Crestron Flex
- The solution allows you to get statistics on the use of the meeting rooms . In addition to counting participants, reports can show how calls are made, how much time is spent on calls, and whether wireless presentation or HDMI is used.
- Possibility of smart, wireless presentation via the Teams application or Miracast.
- In addition to solid sound and image quality, the product quality itself is very high. It ensures long shelf life. The panels from Crestron Flex are used by large, industry-leading organisations.
- Organisations that invest in Crestron Flex can start with Skype for Business and later switch to Teams - and constantly use the same hardware.
- You get a 5-year warranty when you buy Crestron Flex from Kinly.