[SOLVED] (Wireless) video conferencing / meeting room setup for small office?

[alexandicity]

I am setting up a small office for about ~10 people. Laptops and network are all OK, but I'm looking for inspiration for the meeting room IT setup. I want a screen in there so people can present material (locally, from their own laptops). Of course, these days, this room is frequently used for group videoconferencing.

The "conventional" solution is to get a monitor/projector, a webcam and a desk microphone/speaker, and plug them all in when starting. However, I'm keen to take the opportunity to see if there's any better tech that makes the use of this simpler (i.e., so that the host/presented doesn't need to plug into three items, and to avoid wires everywhere). The screen seems to have a simple enough solution: casting (using an MS Wireless Display Adaptor, perhaps), but finding similarly wireless speaker/microphones and webcams seems harder. In an ideal world, we'd have just one "thing" for the presenter/host to connect to that provides all these functions (screen/camera/speaker/mike).

Has anyone a recommended setup / technology / set of products I should look at to make an easy-to-use videoconferencing/presentation room?

We're an all-MS house, if that matters. Thanks!

 

[hang-the-9]

We are setting up about 40 offices and conference rooms for remote meetings, we went with Poly equipment, specifically the Poly Studio X30 for most areas. There is an HDMI connection on the touchscreen controller for laptops to connect to. 65 or 75" TV on a mobile cart so it can be positioned around the room or even moved to another room with the device mounted on the cart with the TV.

 

[alexandicity]

Hmm, that's an interesting solution - thanks for the tip! A little pricey, but it seems to do everything. Only real downside is that it is its own computer, while I'd prefer the videoconferencing software (Teams, in our case) to run off of an employee laptop, so that no login is required.

 

[hang-the-9]

Hmm, that's an interesting solution - thanks for the tip! A little pricey, but it seems to do everything. Only real downside is that it is its own computer, while I'd prefer the videoconferencing software (Teams, in our case) to run off of an employee laptop, so that no login is required.

Then you can setup a dedicated small form computer mounted by the TV with a wireless mouse and keyboard, the people would logon to that to use Teams and have the PC connected to the video camera and TV for audio and video. Otherwise you will need to use a USB cord running to the table where the laptop is to use the video conferencing camera if you don't use the Poly unit. Dell and other companies make enterprise large form displays with built-in slots for a SFF computer, this is is nice if 55" is large enough for your room https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/sho...ies?ref=p13n_ena_pdp_vv&c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

 

[alexandicity]

Yeah, it seems there isn't much in terms of a "webcam miracast" protocol that allows my staff to connect to a full videoconference setup without plugging in. Share a screen for presenting - yes, get a feed from a video/microphone - seemingly not.

While I prefer to avoid it, I wouldn't rule out an SFF PC or Poly-like solution. Seems to be the most popular approach!

Thanks again