Frictionless, effective video calling is broadly acknowledged as fundamental to the success of hybrid working future. The better the technology helps the distance fade into the background, the less it matters who is on site – and the addition of intelligent video integration to the Crestron Flex platform (including support for Jabra and Huddly cameras), takes that connection to a whole new level.
As Alex Peras, Director UC & Corporate Development Partnerships at Crestron, pointed out, getting this right can overcome the latent hierarchical biases to which hybrid teams are vulnerable:
“Prior to the hybrid work shift, most ‘high dollar spaces,’ such as executive boardrooms and training facilities, were fully equipped with the latest video conferencing technologies.
“Now that meetings are being held in every space, the need to extend technology across the organisation is a priority to ensure every meeting can facilitate in person or hybrid meetings. Intelligent video plays a significant role in delivering an equitable meeting for every person.
Offering the same enhanced experience to all meeting participants levels the playing field, and enables effortless engagement from all participants, including those deploying, managing and monitoring the system.
A better meeting experience
When we are colocated in a meeting room, we naturally adjust our attention and visual field, whether we’re focusing on the words and expression of a key speaker, or ‘reading the room’ for a sense-check on how their words are being received.
Up till now, that was much harder online since all the people in the meeting room appeared equally, no matter who was speaking. Now, Crestron Flex supports Intelligent Video which includes people counting and face-framing. The latter recognises each individual participant whether they’re local or remote – and offers that full room view as well as in-focus close-up. 180 degrees means you won’t miss a single nuance of the body language – while shared spaces can also be used smartly and safely, respecting social distance instead of huddling around a small webcam.
As Peras continued, “Speaker tracking intuitively follows the speaker, instantly adjusting the frame in real time to focus solely on that person. This enables the remote participants to get a clear picture of the person talking, while being able to pick up on non-verbal cues. Non-verbal communication plays a significant role in a person’s ability to relate, engage and establish meaningful interactions in everyday life. Oftentimes remote participants are unable to establish that connection with the in-person attendees, which can create a disjointed and unproductive meeting.
“Speaker tracking solves this issue, and puts everyone on a level playing ground.“
Whiteboard too becomes a shared experience, with remote participants enabled to see and interact with tools which frequently favour the ‘in room’ experience. Viewing and sharing content from up to 3 digital whiteboards extends the functionality of the meeting, and makes the online experience superior to peering at a static flip chart.
Adapting collaboration to the new normality
Crestron have decades of experience creating the right audiovisual experience for rooms of every shape, size and environment.
Today as more and more businesses transition to a sustainable hybrid working strategy, deploying the right conferencing technology to support truly equitable collaboration becomes an increasingly essential issue – ensuring an engaging and immersive experience for every participant, whether they’re in a central HQ, a near-home coworking, or their own living room. Standardizing on Crestron Flex is the powerful solution to effective real-time collaboration, wherever your team is getting work done.
Find out more at https://crestron.brandlive.com/intelligentvideo/en
