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A client of mine wants to get a video/audio conference system for their conference room. The entire room is about 30’ x 15’ - so it’s long/narrow. Fits around 30 people (10-12 sitting at the table). The conf room never had more than 5-6 people in there, unless it’s some company wide thing going on.

Anyhow - I’ve been looking at the Logitech Group or Logitech ConferenceCam CC3000e setup. I like both of those because they come with the speakerphone and you can extend mics off of that device. I’ve also been looking at the Polycom RealPresence Group Series.

The current setup in the conference room is a VoIP phone and desktop computer shoved off to the side of the conference room where we have a counter and small storage. The computer is connected to a projector hanging form the ceiling and one of those roll-down screens in the ceiling.

We’ll be replacing that with a mounted TV on the wall.

The VoIP phone, being connected to the network, doesn’t reach to the table, so the phone is rarely used (most people that use the conf room just use their cell phone). The conf room table has no outlets or network jacks near it (under it or a hole in the table with cables poking through). So at this point, anything that will be used on the table will have a cable across the floor (unless it’s wireless).

We have Office 365 and Skype (but not PSTN capability). From what I understand about the Logitech, is you can Bluetooth pair your phone to the Logitech speakerphone.

What I’m struggling with is how to get all this setup so we can use Skype, have audio, and video. For our remote users - that’s easy. They just have a webcam that sites on their monitor and they crank up Skype and can audio/video meetings easy. How am I going to achieve this in a conference room when I have a tv on the wall, a desktop computer pushed off the side of the room that’s about 6-7 feet away and a VoIP phone that’s basically useless in this room, and a projector in the ceiling?

Any ideas or suggestions? I’ve gotten nowhere speaking with a sales rep at Polycom, and I can’t ever reach a sales rep for Logitech as I don’t think they even exist (not after filling out their contact sales form on their website 5xs and leaving 5 VM’s in some general VM box for sales).

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Hi Steve, is an all-in-one solution like a ViewBoard a possibility for you? Recently, @ViewSonic 's ViewBoards have been embedded with the Intel Unite platform that makes collaboration (group presentations, video conferencing, file sharing, hi-def audio and video) easy. And 3rd party plugins like Zoom and Skype are available through the Intel Unite plugin page as well. I wanted to share this info with you in case having an all-in-one solution hadn’t been considered before. I’m here to answer any questions you may have.

Side note, we have also joined Logitech’s collaboration program , so if you have any questions for @francis-spiceworks , I’m sure he can help out as well!

@kyleforlogitech

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Hi Steve,

Two things need to be defined before any real solutions can be proposed.

  • Where will the tv/monitor be mounted? (long wall or short wall)

  • Where will the camera be mounted?

  • Are wires to the table forbidden, or just a nice to (not) have?

All right, that’s three things. Couple of comments - a small logitech camera may have “tunnel” issues in a long narrow room; you might have to go with a more substantial camera. As for audio, you’re going to need a decent powerful speaker with high bandwidth to fill the room with sound, and a set of mics to pick up everyone when the room is full. If your table is wireless, then you’ll need wireless mics or ceiling mics. Do you need VoIP in the room also, and does that need to be wireless? Will the computer in the room be the controller, or will people bring their own laptops to run the Skype meetings? Will mains power be available at the table?

There are a ton of things to consider for a room this size and for your services and hardware. I’d like to suggest you reach out to our FSEs here at Revolabs . They’ve got tons of AV/IT experience when it comes to audio and video and conferencing, and might even pay a visit to scope it out when they’re in your area. Obviously we’d like to be your hardware vendor, but this service we offer is free and I know could be very helpful as you sort your way through this. We’ve got an FSE based in SoCal. I hope he will be of use to you.

Best,

Randy

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Thanks Jackie!!!

Hey Steve8640,

Let me go ahead and see if I can use my contacts at Logitech to help get you on the line with somebody from sales - sorry we didn’t get back to you sooner! I will follow up via PM.

Also the GROUP would be a great place to start with seeing as you have about 10-12 users!

Also, since you said you have Skype, another integrated room solution that pairs with Skype and 0365 perfectly is SmartDock Products - Logitech

@steve8640

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HI Steve8640,

Have you had the chance to check out @Lifesize ? Just connect the Lifesize Icon Series HD camera system to a TV and the internet, pair it with your account and start making calls! It sounds like the Icon 600 would suit the room you’re looking to outfit well. Need an audio option to pair with your devices for the connected conference room experience? Check out the Lifesize Phone HD .

As for Skype interoperability, Lifesize is a company built around a cloud-based service, smart conference room devices and standards-based interoperability, Lifesize will extend the usability of the Lifesize Ico conference room camera and Lifesize Phone HD touchscreen conference phone into the Microsoft Teams environment, eliminating the need for complicated setups and multiple cameras and tools. You can read more on this blog .

If you have any questions, please let us know and we’d be happy to get you more details.

@steve8640

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Steve8640, have you checked out Highfive yet? It’s an integrated hardware and software video conferencing solution with industry-leading audio powered by Dolby Voice . That means that it’s going to be easier to set up and easier for people to use. Plus, the Professional Plus package includes unlimited domestic and international dial-out using the Dolby Conference Phone.

Here’s the Girl Scouts of Northern California (a Windows & Office 365 shop) talking about their experience with Highfive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JNFlalYwrA

Please let me know if you’re interested in learning more and possibly getting a demo to see if it will be a good fit for you client. Just to let you know, we have a 30 day free trial which includes the hardware and software so you can get it in your client’s environment to see how they like it first.

Also, we do have a partner program for IT service providers, like yourself.

@steve8640

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Sorry I’m late w/my reply. Holidays, work, etc…

Yea - highfive. I got another client setup on highfive. NIce system. But it won’t work for this client. They don’t want to pay a monthly subscription fee. They want to outright buy the hardware. They have the service already through their Office 365 subscription of using Skype. And they already use Skype for chatting already. We’re just going to be introducing the audio/video part of it now. So, while I like the highfive system (which is working great for my other client), I can’t really use it for this client.

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No worries, Steve8640 ! I’m really glad to hear that Highfive is working for your client. Please let me know if there’s anything else we can do to help you or your clients be successful.

@steve8640

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If you can get anyone from Logitech to contact me, I’ll be eternally grateful. I have tried calling and emailing any phone # and email address I can find from Logitech for 3 weeks now, and not a single human has reached out to me. But, I’ve been signed up for 3 different mailing lists and get unsolicited junk calls now! Awesome!

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Just sent over a PM!