Six Must Haves For The Best Video Conferencing Experience

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The modern professional spends a lot of time in video conferences. According to a survey of nearly 2,000 professionals, about half are in video conferences for at least four hours every week. Clearly, a lot of organizations prioritize video conferencing solutions. The question is: Are those organizations getting the most out of their conferencing technology? There are several solutions that can enhance the conferencing experience, and we’ve got six of them here. They include:

• Wireless presentation systems
• Interactive flat panels
• Concealed microphones
• AV room controls
• Better cable management and connectivity
• Room scheduling solutions

Together, these solutions can help your organization produce the best conferencing experience.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Wireless Presentation Systems: Run Meetings From Your Own Device

Some of the leading wireless presentation systems include the Barco ClickShare, Crestron AirMedia, Mersive Solstice and the ScreenBeam. All four allow professionals to start in-room meetings using the space’s conferencing hardware. To do this, users first connect their own device to the room’s technology. This is done wirelessly and is guided by on-screen prompts delivered by the room’s display. The connection process is simple and can be done with either a temporary code or with a dongle. Once connected, the meeting’s presenter can control the room’s conferencing technology, audio levels, lighting, climate settings - anything that can be controlled by the room’s control hardware can also be managed from the user’s own device. In addition, users can quickly push content to the room’s display from their own device, making for quick and engaging presentations.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

Interactive Flat Panels: Meet, Engage and Collaborate Better

Interactive flat panels add a tactile dimension to meetings and give users additional presentation and collaboration tools. Popular interactive flat panels include the Clevertouch, ActivPanel and ThinkHub, and all three are designed to facilitate better meetings. Interactive flat panels are useful for video conferencing, remote collaboration, and in-person collaboration that doesn’t involve remote participants. During a conference, the meeting’s presenter can open up a whiteboarding session that everyone, in-person and remote, can see and follow along with. Whiteboarding with an interactive flat panel makes it easy for teams to brainstorm visually and bring in media for inspiration. When the meeting is over, hit a button and the whiteboard is saved for future reference. Interactive flat panels are plenty effective for standard, non-collaborative meetings as well. That’s because the meeting’s presenter can focus their eyes and ears on the audience while using their hands to navigate through the presentation. This is a better approach in keeping everyone engaged in the meeting.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

Concealed Microphones: Maximum Audio Quality, Minimal Visual Profile

Poor audio is one of the most common video conferencing problems, and it can completely undermine meeting productivity. To prevent this, AV integrators outfit conferencing rooms with quality microphones that can capture audio clearly and at a distance. The issue with a lot of microphones, though, is the tabletop space they take up. Some teams would rather have that space to work with. Fortunately, there are high quality microphones that won’t take up precious tabletop real estate. - The new ceiling microphones from Shure and Biamp are a great way to cover the audio in the room without having table top mics. Another option are boundary microphones, which can be mounted flush with the conference table or even integrated inside of it.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

AV Room Controls: Take Full Control Of The Conferencing Experience

A single conference room may consist of several technologies. There’s the conferencing hardware itself, along with audio, lighting, climate control and other systems. To get the best video conferencing experience possible, all of these systems need to work with each other. It doesn’t matter if your video conferencing system captures crystal clear video if the room’s lights are too dark to see. To keep the room’s technologies from fighting each other, many organizations invest in AV room controls. Touchscreen displays are a popular control surface choice, allowing users to easily launch a call, set optimal lighting and audio values, and configure the room’s temperature for maximum comfort. Every user can be assigned with certain permissions, too, so they only have as much control as they need.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

Cable Management And Connectivity Solutions: Get Rid Of The Clutter

More technology could mean more cables and more connectivity confusion, but it doesn’t have to. Wireless connectivity is always an option, and there are others. For instance, conferencing room furniture can be built with integrated connectors. This provides a perfect combination of connection stability and minimal clutter. It’s hard to ditch the cables completely in some conference rooms, though. In those spaces, a low-profile raceway is a good option. Low-profile raceways are ADA-compliant, inexpensive, easy to place and effective, so they’re a popular quick fix for the cable clutter problem.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

Room Scheduling Solutions: Optimize Your Conference Spaces

If you’re making upgrades to your video conference rooms, then they’re likely going to get a lot more use out of them. To keep your conference room traffic flowing smoothly, consider integrating a room scheduling solution. Leading room scheduling solutions consist of hardware and software components. Room scheduling software is used to identify available conference rooms and reserve them for a meeting. Room scheduling software also makes it easy to communicate the details of the meeting with everyone involved. On the hardware side, digital displays can present the reservation status of the conference room they are paired with. Room scheduling streamlines the process and adds accountability, ensuring your conference rooms are getting proper use.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

AV Integrators Are Conference Room Upgrading Experts

If it’s time to modernize your conference rooms, it’s time to bring in an AV integrator. Certified integrators have plenty of experience in installing, configuring, and upgrading conference spaces, so they can spearhead your AV project, ensuring it’s done on time and within the budget.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]