Small Room. Big Benefits. Gain huge insight on small huddle space audio challenges and how to solve them.

Offices have been trending towards the “open office” model for quite some time, usually with one or two dedicated conference spaces. These spaces were usually large and most likely had use restrictions on them, sending the employees back to their open office to work on a project. This is a less-than-ideal situation because the open office environment introduces distractions and isn’t conducive to collaboration. Team members don’t want their meeting to disrupt their colleagues, so what’s a team to do?

Huddle rooms to the rescue!

Yes, we’ve heard and read about huddle rooms for a few years now. They certainly make sense for the scenario listed above. An easily accessible space for team members to meet, away from their colleagues, that fosters collaboration. Typically seating just 3-5 people, it’s an efficient use of available space. Remote workers cite a “more inclusive” feel when working with team members who are in a huddle room, as opposed to a large conference room, which has a more formal vibe.

 

How to make the huddle room a true collaboration workspace.

In addition to the huddle room as space in and of itself, it can provide additional functionality to the enterprise. By incorporating the right technology, the huddle room can transform into a true collaboration workspace for both local and offsite team members. Use of soft codecs within the enterprise affords the user greater flexibility for scheduling and meeting location. Technology in the huddle room should provide the same ease of use.

In a collaborative conferencing situation, team members may be moving around the room or at a whiteboard, with their backs to the camera and mic. The microphone on a typical laptop doesn’t provide adequate coverage of the room. It barely sounds acceptable when the user is on-axis to the mic. Horrible audio is fatiguing to the listener on the far end, and ultimately decreases productivity. The solutions should improve the audio fidelity coming from the room. Fortunately, Almo has a number of solutions to fit any budget and technical requirement.

 

We have the right products designed for huddle rooms.

AMX, part of the Harman group, offers the Acendo Vibe. Connected via USB or Bluetooth, the vibe has JBL onboard speakers and microphones, CEC control and the option of a 120-degree wide-angle camera.

The Biamp Devio was purpose-built for the huddle room. After running the system’s mic auto-setup, three 120-degree mic elements actively track the speaker in the room with incredible clarity. One USB cable connection from your computer is all that’s needed to push video to the local monitor, send audio to the monitor via HDMI, send to low-impedance speakers from its onboard 20-watt amp, or send the audio to a room system via line-level outputs. Connect the room’s telephone headset to the Devio and that extension can also bridge into the call. The Devio has USB connections for a camera and other peripherals as well. The company IT department can pull room usage information across the network via SMTP traps available within the Devio. An onboard web server as well as downloadable software allows configuration of the device.

And … don’t forget about local audio! Choose from a variety of speaker manufacturers and options from Atlas, JBL and TOA.

Questions? Give me a call! I’m available to help you with your project and answer questions you may have.

Steve Alexander, CTS, PCVE, CCNA
Business Development Manager 

888-420-2566 x6648  |  [email protected]

Why Audio in the Conference Room is NOT a One-Size-Fits-All Solution

These days, video conferencing is a daily activity. What was once the prevue of only “C suite” executives is now available to everyone in the organization.  Conference rooms are becoming ubiquitous, and come in all shapes and sizes. Small, medium, or large – each size conference room has its own set of challenges that require different types of AV integration products and solutions.

Let’s break this down a little:

  • Let’s start small—AKA the huddle room. It’s estimated that worldwide, the number of huddle room installs will be in the six-figure range over the next few years. Huddle rooms are smaller spaces where AV/IT infrastructure is minimal and BYOD is the norm. It’s a collaboration environment. Folks need the ability to easily connect their computer and share content locally as well as remotely. Biamp has the solution for the huddle space environment, the Devio. A one cable connection from your computer to the Devio is all that’s required. The heart of the system is its’ beam –tracking microphone, which follows the conversation around the room.Crystal clear audio anywhere in the room is possible, thanks to the auto-setup feature which calibrates the mic and audio with the acoustics of the room. Connect a USB camera to the device and HDMI output from the Devio to a monitor and you’re all set. Two models provide interface capability with existing phone systems via the rooms’ phone headset output. The Devio even has a Bluetooth enabled version. AMX also has a player in this space, the Acendo Vibe. Included are JBL speakers and mics and a wide-angle camera to see everyone in the room.

Did you know that Almo Pro A/V offers a SOUND OPTIONS audio sourcing and engineering group? SOUND OPTIONS gives accessibility to favorite audio brands and technical expertise all through a single resource. Learn more here.

  • Medium sized rooms, AKA the “GRANDE,” are the perfect candidate for the Phoenix Stingray. This distributed array auto-mixer features mic-line inputs and can be configured as a stand-alone SIP client. The unit can be daisy-chained to add additional mics. The device can bridge two audio calls from different interfaces, has direction-finding and beamforming software which provides the ability to steer the directionality of the devices’ microphones. Speaking of mics, Phoenix has a number of mics certified to work with the device, such as the AKG CHM 99 hanging mic and the Beyer Dynamic Revoluto RM 30.
  • Large rooms — AKA the “big boy/executive conference room,” requires products like the BSS Soundweb London family of DSP processors is the way to go. The unit can come in a fixed I/O configuration or as a chassis, with a number of signal processors and I/Os in a variety of networked-audio configurations and slots for a variety of input/output cards. Available protocols include Cobra-Net, Digital Audio Bus, Dante, and AVB. The units are configurable through HiQnet London Architect.

Conferencing Taiden, AKG, and Beyer Dynamic are designed specifically for the conference room space that requires chairman/delegate assignments, remote mic control, voting, and can incorporate simultaneous interpretation as well. These systems are found in the conference rooms of Fortune 500 companies worldwide.

Taiden

AKG

Beyer Dynamic

In addition to these solutions, ALMO has the full line of Beyer Dynamic and AKG microphones, Ashly, Atlas, Crown, JBL amplification and speakers, Panasonic PTZ cameras, switchers, and a variety of video distribution options.

Small, medium, large…got a project in the works? Ring me up! We’d love the opportunity to help out!

 

Steve Alexander, CTS, PCVE, CCNA
Business Development Manager 

888-420-2566 x6648  |  [email protected]

 

Now Hear This—Your Ultimate Audio Source is Here.

Everyone has a story, and when you’ve been around professional audio as long as I have, you’ve heard them all … from headphone distribution system failures just as the clock starts with a room full of studio musicians to a client who thought that the female end of an XLR connector was the microphone. That’s right, I actually had that conversation years ago with a wannabe news stringer who was putting together their first ENG rig.

The point is, audio applications are varied, wide and deep. Some audio professionals spend their whole careers working with 70-volt installed sound and understand the challenges involved, whereas someone doing live sound or coming from a studio background may not have the knowledge and skill set to successfully design, build and install a system (and vice versa). Whatever your area of expertise, it’s critical to partner with a distributor who has the experience to deliver exactly what you need to get the job done.

A trusted resource has gotten even better.

A good mechanic has the correct tools for the job, and it’s the same with the audio professional. Audio design involves many choices, and we know that many times these choices boil down to the preference of the designer or engineer. That’s why Almo is expanding YOUR audio options through our new dedicated audio sourcing and technical support group, Sound Options.

Pack your toolkit with all of the brands you want.

Through Sound Options, we’re partnering with audio vendors to provide the tools you need to complete your project, your way. You’ll also receive the legendary sales assistance and technical support that’s helped make Almo the premier provider of exceptional audio solutions.

Ashly Audio–amplifiers, mic/line mixers, DSP processors

Beyerdynamic–microphones for any application

Phoenix Technologies–Stringray 4 channel auto-mixer

Taiden–wired and infrared wireless microphone conferencing and simultaneous interpretation

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