Microsoft has updated Teams Rooms with its "biggest release of the year".
The solution, specifically its Pro version, has been upgraded with a whole suite of new features for Windows v4.18, including Cloud IntelliFrame to help make non-AI cameras more intelligent and improvements to the Front Row gallery — such as a unified background for remote participants so they appear in the same room and immersive spatial audio.
Greg Baribault, Head of Product for Microsoft Teams Rooms, raved about the update on LinkedIn.
I am so excited about this release! Teams Rooms for Windows v4.18 is our biggest release of the year, including 4 features that I think you'll really love."
New Features Breakdown
The addition of Cloud IntelliFrame empowers non-AI cameras to be more intelligent. The offering enables participants in the room to appear similar to remote attendees, providing a more immersive experience for everyone regardless of where they're dialling in. Participants can observe every facial expression and cue as if they were in person.
Among IntelliFrame's specific features are multi-stream video, face recognition of in-room participants, active speaker recognition, attributed voice-based transcription, and panoramic video on front-of-room (180-degree view) and center-of-room (360-degree view) cameras. This solution elevates Teams Rooms on Windows cameras to next-gen intelligence.
There are two notable upgrades to the Front Tow experience, including video segmentation with a unified background. This feature removes individual backgrounds, tweaks the video participant's size, and introduces a shared background for remote participants to appear as if they are in the same room. This minimises distractions and allows in-room participants to engage more meaningfully with remote participants in meetings.
Lastly, Spatial Audio adds next-generation immersive audio to Front Row when connected to stereo speakers. This intelligent audio technology offers a more inclusive experience for in-room participants by playing audio from a channel closer to the physical location of remote participants on the Front Row layout. In a similar ambition to the unified backgrounds, this feature aims to make it feel like remote participants are in the room with them to make it more engaging.
These features are generally available now for Teams Rooms Pro customers.
Teams Rooms' Quietly Significant Summer
While several major Teams-oriented solutions have been attracting the most attention in 2023, such as the new Teams client and Copilot's prospective integrations with the video conferencing software, Teams Rooms has had a quietly intriguing summer.
In June, this year's Infocomm included several momentous Teams Rooms updates.
