Conference Room AV: The Latest Advancements in 2024

Provide ‘Meeting Equity’ to In-Person & Remote Participants 

We’ve come a long way from flip charts and overhead projectors in the conference room. And truthfully, we’re far past simply hooking up a USB or computer to host presentations. What happens in the conference room isn’t isolated anymore—we need a way to connect and share with remote participants and revisit ideas later. 

When hybrid meetings began, remote workers were often left out during in-person meetings. Now, as hybrid work becomes more prevalent, in-room attendees are often at a disadvantage, unable to see screen-sharing features or capture their voice and face clearly over video. 

But with the latest conference room AV solutions, it’s entirely possible to bring ‘meeting equity’ to your calls—that is, ensure everyone can equally participate, whether they’re in the room or not.  

See all that’s new and noteworthy in the world of conferencing AV for your New Orleans business below. 

SEE ALSO: Selecting Conference Room AV for the Hybrid Workforce  

New Hardware Solutions for Better Meetings 

Center-Room Cameras  

Relying on one camera at the head of the table likely isn’t enough to capture everyone. Center-room table cameras from vendors like Logitech and Owl Labs sync with front-of-room systems to provide a direct view of active speakers. This way, you won’t only capture people’s side profiles at the table. 

Adaptive Framing Cameras

Multi-camera systems from manufacturers like Crestron, Cisco, Poly, and Q-SYS are engineered to capture folks in the room no matter where they are. These smart cameras use software intelligence to tilt, pan, and zoom cameras, sharing an ideal video frame of each person. 

Intelligent Microphones 

Tabletop and ceiling microphones from brands such as Shure use an internal algorithm to locate the exact position of each speaker and isolate their voice with minimal background sound. Shure’s microphones provide precise coverage control, lifting sound levels to enhance speech quality. 

Touchscreen Controllers 

Tabletop touchscreen controllers like the Crestron Flex are designed to easily start conference calls, control room technologies, and share content to displays from an all-in-one device. 

Latest Software Solutions 

Companion Mode 

If someone’s in the conference room, they still might want to see chats, share content, or participate in other online-only activities. For this reason, Google Meet has introduced “Companion Mode,” a feature that allows people to join the call without the video or audio portion. 

If you’d rather not have people on their laptops during meetings, you can also display meeting chats on front-of-room video screens with framing capabilities from brands like Google, Zoom, Microsoft, and Webex. 

Live Translation & Voice-to-Text 

Video conferencing is getting so smart you can now transcend language barriers. Platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet now offer live speech-to-text translation captions during virtual meetings, currently available in dozens of languages. 

Plus, if you want to revisit the discussion later, new conferencing software offers transcription services. Video conferencing platforms can even attribute speech to specific people, improving references for transcripts and notes. 

Virtual Whiteboards 

Digital whiteboard hardware never really took off—it was always quite clunky and cumbersome. But now, whiteboards are going entirely cloud-based, like Zoom and Team’s online whiteboards that are accessible on any device. Whether you’re on a web browser or touch screen, people can draw, arrange sticky notes, add comments, and more. Whiteboard sessions can be saved and shared during and after your video calls. 

Prefer to use markers and erasers the old-fashioned way? Cloud-based whiteboard capture from vendors like ShareTheBoard uses a camera to digitize what’s written on your whiteboards or chalkboards. The system integrates with the conferencing system you already use, so you don’t have to deal with new log-ins and platforms. 

Ready for the Future of Conference Room AV? 

Set your New Orleans business up for success with the latest conference room AV solutions. We can install and assemble a system for you that’s scaled to meet each room’s needs. 

To upgrade your conference room technology, contact Acadian today!