Date of Handover: February 2016
We were asked to propose a solution that would allow teams to meet in the board room and use wireless technology to collaborate on one screen. The idea was to ensure meetings were productive and get round the issue of never having the cable or struggling with resolution issues due to age of laptop etc.
Wireless connectivity only works if it’s easy to connect and reliable, otherwise people lose confidence in the system and find a work around. After some research into the technology currently on the market the product that stood out most clearly in terms of being able to deliver to the brief and offer much much more was the Kramer VIA system. Once we identified the product and put it before the client it was clear this was exactly what they were looking for and actually inspired to upgrade to a more complex system with a camera and speakers to support video conferencing as well.
The advantage of VIA is that it’s not a bluetooth connection, it doesn’t create its own wifi network that could interfere with an existing one – it sits on your network and anyone who is wirelessly connected to your network can connect to VIA. Once you have the app on your mobile device or the application on your laptop you can connect to the system within seconds. For occasional users there are VIA USB Pads that you plug into your laptop and they link to the system automatically.
VIA has several levels depending on how many users you have and how many people need to collaborate at any one time. In this case we used COLLAGE which allows 6 users to collaborate simultaneously on one screen or twelve across two screens and supports 4K video. We upgraded the existing 60” display to a NEC X981 98” UHD display which has transformed the experience for everyone. Not only can people work on documents during the meeting these can saved and emailed to all participants; the larger screen means even large, complex sheets are easy to read and with the facility to run third party apps there is no file format that’s off limits.
An SSE Audio Group Project, designed by Emma Bigg whilst SSE’s Installations Director