VKS equipment for meeting rooms

As already noted many times, lately the video conferencing (VCS) market has been rapidly shifting towards software solutions. In previous articles on similar implementations of our Russian developers ( Mind and TrueConf ), I described in detail the functionality, configuration and cost of the solution, but little attention was paid to the issue of video conferencing equipment. This is not fair - no matter how convenient and high-quality service of video conferencing, with unsuccessfully selected equipment for personal workplaces or meeting rooms, you will not be able to appreciate all the advantages of a software solution.

In the case of hardware products, we have ready-made kits for negotiation - the so-called terminals, which include a video conferencing codec, a speakerphone and a camera. In the case of software implementation, we can use both ready-made hardware terminals and various video conferencing equipment with a PC-based software client.

The choice of this equipment is very large, and the selection can take a lot of time: it is important to take into account the particular features of the meeting room, its size, shape and capacity.
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In this article I will describe typical tasks for equipping meeting rooms and solutions based on concrete examples.

If we are talking about equipping a personal workplace, then the solution, as a rule, is not difficult - just select a high-quality webcam and a convenient headset, taking into account the profile of the task being performed.

But if it is necessary to complete a meeting or conference room, then it is important to take into account all the characteristics of modern equipment for video conferencing:

1. Cameras for video conferencing, as a rule, have Full HD resolution, PTZ function and a large number of presets (saved positions). The main characteristics are:

• viewing angle
• optical zoom ratio
• digital zoom ratio
• angle of rotation and tilt

2. The means of capturing and reproducing sound are different, and are selected depending on the size of the room. The simplest solution for a small intercom is to use the microphone built into the camera and the TV's built-in speakers. In the mid-size negotiation, for a small number of participants, combined devices are used - speakerphones, including built-in directional microphones (usually with a 360-degree coverage) and speakers.

It is important to take into account the radius of high-quality voice capture. If the table in the meeting room is long, then use additional microphones, or similar speakerphones with cascading support.

If the number of participants is more than 12-15 people, then it makes sense to use the congress system with personal microphone consoles. Wired remotes often include a microphone and speaker, and wireless - just a microphone.

3. An important role in video conferencing is played by the means of displaying video and content. Since there are a lot of offers on the market and the variation in cost is extremely large - I will refrain from recommending anything concrete. In the article, the main criterion for selection will be only the screen diagonal. Considering that we will plan a solution for video conferencing, I will immediately exclude the use of projectors, since they are more suitable for presentations and, in order to provide the necessary brightness and contrast, we have to dim the light in the room. While in video conferencing it is necessary to show and shoot, the display tool must provide the necessary picture quality with good room lighting, which is required for high-quality video capture. Of course there are professional projectors working in bright light, but they cost a lot of different money.

Given these requirements, it is best to use LCD panels or televisions. And here already becomes a question of the budget. It is better not to use household TVs for work - they are not designed for such loads and have a short warranty period. Professional panels are multiply more expensive and their use makes sense for an unlimited budget or for highly specialized tasks (video walls in situational centers, the need for remote control and adjustment of panels, etc.)

Remains the golden mean: LCD TVs "Commercial" and "hotel" types. Suitable reliability and warranty, plus the necessary and additional functionality (for example, greeting with the logo when you turn on) at an affordable price.

Most panels and televisions now come with a 4K resolution - this is very important for video conferencing, because often used mosaic mode. With 4K-resolution panel, it is possible to display 4 FullHD streams without loss of quality.

Before turning to the typical examples of meeting rooms, I will describe a little general recommendations for lighting and interior.

Lighting meeting room with video conferencing

Functional VCS imposes special requirements for the lighting of the meeting room. It is recommended to use non-directional LED lamps with a color temperature in the range of 2700K-4000K. The use of fluorescent lamps is permissible, but it threatens the appearance of flicker when the image is captured by the camera. Many cameras VKS know how to deal with this problem, but the difference in the cost of fluorescent and LED lamps has already become not so great to try to save on this.

If the room has windows, it is better to use curtains or blinds. It is necessary to avoid direct sunlight in the camera lens and on the faces of conference participants - this causes flare and unnatural image contrast.

It is better to eliminate the back or side lights - this leads to the appearance of shadows, contour images and darkening of faces.
When selecting lighting, it is important to consider not only what the meeting room looks like from the inside, but also how remote conference participants see it. You can evaluate the quality of lighting by looking at the meeting room through the camera of a mobile phone in video mode - this will reveal the main problems with the flickering of light, sharp contrast and focusing.

Color, background and interior

The most important background for video conferencing is the wall opposite the camera. In the background there should be no windows, doors, moving people and distracting objects. On this wall, it is better to place a company logo and a clock showing local time. In the decoration of the room is better to avoid motley colors, black and bright white.

The most suitable colors for the decoration of the room are blue, blue-green, light gray, light blue and, in extreme cases, beige or matte white. Matte materials look good on the screen.

Glossy shiny surfaces and glass objects should be avoided - glass reflects not only light, but also sound.

Designing a meeting room under the VKS

Conference table

In the calculations, I took into account the following minimum requirements for the table: for reasons of ergonomics, each participant should have a comfortable personal table area measuring 80x80 centimeters. 80cm wide - so as not to push your elbows, 80cm deep, so as not to kick your opponent with your feet under the table. Plus, in my opinion, the free space from the table to the wall should be at least 160 centimeters - free to pass, move the chair, take a seat at the table, leaving room for other participants to pass behind them.

Tables can be oval, rounded, but in the examples I used the classic rectangular version.

Camera for video conferencing

The camera, oddly enough, plays no primary role in video conferencing. But, in any case, when selecting a camera for comfortable communication, it is necessary to take into account the type and features of the events held.

At a minimum, the camera in normal mode should have a viewing angle that captures all the participants in the event. If necessary, using optical or digital zoom, the camera can select a group of participants or, if possible, close-ups of one of the speakers. For convenience, all necessary camera positions are saved as presets, and the master can switch them when required.

When using certain congress systems or specialized controllers, the necessary camera presets can be activated automatically by the speaker's microphone activity. But more on that later.

Cameras for video conferencing have a large number of settings, including: white balance, manual image correction, compensation for the flickering of light sources, intelligent image illumination and many other utilities.

Audio Capture and Playback Tool

Along with the means of sound reproduction, high quality microphones is a basic requirement for the VCS system. This is understandable: with collective communication, 80% of the attention is paid to speech and, sometimes, we do not always look at the speaker.

At the same time, reducing the quality of the picture does not greatly affect the understanding of the speaker’s speech, but poor-quality sound, on the contrary, will lead to problems with voice perception.

As mentioned above, speakerphones are used for small and medium-sized meeting rooms. The speakerphone models proposed in the article have a confident sound coverage with a radius of up to 2.5 meters, which allows them to be installed on tables with a width of one or two people. If the table is longer than the capture radius of the microphone, it becomes necessary to expand the coverage area.

Conference phones and speakerphones that come with a set of hardware terminals allow you to expand the microphone's coverage along the length of the table. For this, additional microphones are installed with a directional sound pickup angle (applicable to the Yealink terminal described in this article).

When using a solution based on a software terminal, the speakerphones are sequentially cascaded over a twisted pair through a dedicated switch. Thus, it is possible to cover a table of any length with a capture and playback zone.
In cases where the configuration of the tables does not allow the use of speakerphones, or additional functionality is required from the audio capture system, it is necessary to use the congress system.

The congress system consists of a control unit, delegate units and a chairman unit. This article will offer 2 options: with wired remotes and wireless.

Wired remotes are connected in series and, in addition to the microphone, have built-in speakers.

Wireless microphone consoles, for longer battery life, are devoid of dynamics and require the use of additional acoustics. The wireless solution is applicable in cases where there is no place to hide the wiring, or there is a need to quickly remove the consoles from the table for an event of a different format.

The delegate console microphone is activated manually or by voice (depending on the model). The maximum number of simultaneously active consoles can be from 4 to 6. Each new speaker will disconnect the first automatically connected (FIFO). The chairman’s console has the ability to mute the microphones of all delegates, if necessary.

Models of congress systems, which will be discussed in the examples, have a built-in camera preset management system. Thus, when the speaker's microphone is activated, the camera automatically points to the speaker. This is very convenient for a large audience.

Display tool

The diagonal and the number of panels for video conferencing are selected based on the length of the table and, as a result, the distance to the farthest participant. But this is an ideal, but in fact, many people choose panels based on the budget. The systems for calculating the diagonal are numerous, and each designer has his own method.

I will not qualify for the best option, but when calculating I followed the following rules: when using the negotiation along the long side - the farthest participant should be from the panel not more than the height of the panel multiplied by 6 (or 8 if there are duplicate screens) . When using negotiation along the short side - no more than four times the height of the panel. Of course, this is due to the need to provide distant participants the opportunity to comfortably follow the video conferencing and the demonstrated content (presentations, documents, etc.)

The middle participant must sit further than 2 heights. This is due to the comfortable viewing angle of the panel. Not the one that many manufacturers declare as 178 degrees, but the one under which the image does not critically change its proportions.

Laying two scenarios for the use of a meeting room (in length and width) in the design, we expand the functionality of video conferencing. In the first scenario - along the long side, the room accommodates a larger number of participants, and the videoconference takes place in a classic form. One or more screens display the content and faces of the participants in different layouts.

The second scenario, along the short side, is close to the Telepresence or Telepresence mode. If one panel is displayed on each panel, then the panel size and the distance to the participants provide a real-life image of the person, and such a video conference takes on the character of the personal presence of all the participants. In this mode, the negotiation can be used for important video conferencing with a small number of participants from both sides.

VKS kits for typical meeting rooms

The kits will be calculated in two versions: based on the software and hardware terminal system.

Very small meeting room for 4-5 people

Solution based on software terminal

Immediately I will explain - this is the only example in which not the room was designed for the tasks, and the tasks were adjusted to the size of the room. The fact is that this is a very common size of negotiations in small companies - 3x4m. Even we have a similar room in the company.

Therefore, I wanted to show how it can be adapted for video conferencing. Of course, the inconvenience in this type of mass. The table is narrow and, therefore, lovers to throw their legs over one another should not be planted. The distance from the table to the wall is insufficient, therefore - you will have to go in one by one and go out in the reverse order.

And so, when everything is at the table - the room is suitable for video conferencing in two scenarios.

Panel, with a diagonal of 46 "-55" is installed on a mobile rack. It also holds the client terminal and the camera. Wired speakerphone is installed in the center of the table and provides coverage of almost the entire room.


It was a software terminal based implementation. The set of equipment for the Flagman VC1.105.3-S VKS is as follows:

1. Terminal client VX based on Intel NUC




2. Video camera for CleverMic Wide video conferencing




3. Phoenix Audio Duet Executive Speakerphone




The cost of the Flagman VC1.105.3-S kit can be calculated through the configurator on our website.

Solution based on Yealink hardware terminal

To solve this problem, we will use the Yealink VC110 terminal system with a wireless microphone VCM60. The PTZ camera is integrated with a codec and has 4x digital zoom.


The kit Flagman VC1.100 / 4-H includes:

Hardware terminal VC110-VCM60




The price of the Flagman VC1.100.4-H kit, based on Yealink VC110-VCM60, is available on our website .

Small meeting room for 5-7 people

Solution based on software terminal

In this and subsequent examples, the size of the room is conditional. With the walls I have designated the minimum boundaries of the space required for the VCS zone. But negotiation can be much larger and include additional furniture and equipment.


The composition of the Flagman VC2.105.3-S VKS equipment package is as follows:

1. Terminal client VX based on Intel NUC




2. Video camera for CleverMic Wide video conferencing




3. Phoenix Audio Spider Speakerphone




The cost of the Flagman VC2.105.3-S set can be calculated through the configurator .

Solution based on Yealink hardware terminal

In this case, we will use the same VC110 codec as in the previous example.The audio unit will be the VCP41 conference phone. It is equipped with high-quality speakers and directional microphones with a 360-degree coverage area with a radius of 3 meters.


The kit Flagman VC2.100 / 4-H includes:

Hardware terminal VC110-VCP41




In the configurator on our website , if necessary, you can add a set of Flagman VC2.100.4-H wired microphones Yealink CPE80 and get the calculation of the cost.

Average meeting room for 5-9 people

Solution based on software terminal

In this negotiating table is slightly longer than the previous version, so there is a need to use the speakerphone and camera 2 b with a lshim optical zoom. In order to provide comfortable perception of information by distant participants, in my opinion, it is better to use a pair of 70 "panels to display video and content.


The composition of the Flagman VC3.72.12-S VKS equipment kit is as follows:

1. Terminal client VX based on Intel NUC




2. Video camera for CleverMic Uno video conferencing




3. Two Phoenix Audio Spider Speakers




4. Hub for Cascading Phoenix Audio Quattro3 Power Hub Speaker Phones




A little bit about the features of speakerphone cascading. This model has several types of connection and expansion: The

speakerphone is connected to the terminal via USB and receives power through it. If you need to add another device, you need to connect it to the headphone speaker over a twisted pair. Moreover, the power of the headphone speaker must be provided through the adapter 48V AC / DC. Thus you can assemble a chain of 15 devices.
If the first speakerphone is far from the terminal, then you need to use Power Hub, which connects via USB to the terminal, and to all devices via UTP. Power and sound transmission occurs through a single cable, which greatly simplifies the task of connecting.

The cost of the Flagman VC3.72.12-S set can be calculated inconfigurator .

Solution based on Yealink hardware terminal

As with the software implementation of the terminal, for this we need the room with the camera used on lshim increase - table was long and the distance increased to distant participants. For this task, we choose a new model of the Yealink VC120-12X-VCP41 terminal system. The VC120-12X codec includes a PTZ camera with 12x optical zoom. And as the audio unit serves the same conference phone VCP41.


The kit Flagman VC3.70.12-H includes:

Hardware terminal Yealink VC120-12X-VCP41




In the configurator on our website , if necessary, you can add a set of Flagman VC3.70.12-H wired microphones Yealink CPE80 and get the calculation of the cost.

Meeting room for 12 people

Solution based on software terminal

For equipment of such a meeting room, you will need the same set of VC3.72.12-S as in the previous example.
But there have been significant changes in the display system. The distance from the far party to the screen is more than 7 meters. Therefore, it is better to add a pair of duplicate screens of 46 "-55" diagonal to the two panels 70 "-75" and place them on two sides of the room closer to the distant participants.


For order, I will repeat the composition of this set under the spoiler.


The cost of the Flagman VC3.72.12-S set can be calculated through the configurator .

Solution based on Yealink hardware terminal

In this example, we use the same Yealink VC120-12X-VCP41 terminal system. To increase the range of the microphone, we use an additional wired microphone Yealink CPE80, which connects to the conference phone VCP41.


The kit Flagman VC3.70.12-H includes:

Hardware terminal Yealink VC120-12X-VCP41 + additional microphone CPE80




To implement this scenario, in the Flagman VC3.70.12-H kit configurator, you must select one additional Yealink CPE80 microphone.

Large meeting room for 14 people

Solution based on software terminal

At this stage, given the number of participants, it is worth considering the use of professional congress systems. As a display for such an extended audience, in my opinion, it is better to use an LCD panel with a diagonal of at least 80-84 ". Duplicate screens can be used with a diagonal of 55". The camera can already be watched with an optical zoom of x20, but I still leave our previous version with a 12-fold zoom. In the configurator of this set, I provided a choice of various camera options.


The composition of the Flagman VC4.72.12-S VKS kit based on a wireless congress system:

1. Terminal client VX based on Intel NUC




2. Video camera for CleverMic Uno video conferencing




3. The control unit BKR WCS-20M




4. Wireless remote delegate BKR WCS-201D Silver (13 pieces)




5. Wireless console BKR WCS-201C Silver




6. Set of active speakers (2 pcs.) APart SDQ5PIR-W



7. Audio Mixer Phoenix Audio Octopus (optional)




You can choose Flagman VC4.72.12-S VKS system through a convenient configurator .

Solution based on Yealink hardware terminal

For such a meeting room, it is recommended to use the Yealink VC120-12X-VCP41 video conferencing system with two additional Yealink CPE80 wired microphones that extend the coverage area of ​​the VCP41 conference phone.


The set of Flagman VC3.70.12-H includes:

Hardware terminal Yealink VC120-12X-VCP41 + 2 additional microphones CPE80




To implement this scenario, you need to select two additional Yealink CPE80 microphones in the Flagman VC3.70.12-H kit configurator .

What's next? Only project approach!

When planning for video conferencing large rooms with a capacity of 15 people or more, it is difficult to choose a standard solution. Too many details appear that are difficult to consider in a typical equipment configuration. Such projects are calculated individually, they can be used in parallel multiple sound capture systems, various external speakers, mixers and controllers. Camcorders can be several, and they can work through a video controller. The display system may include various additional displays that duplicate information for each participant individually.

At the end of the article I want to describe another interesting set that did not fit into the description of typical configurations, but is present in the configurator .

Microphone array Phoenix Audio Condor

Phoenix Audio Condor is a 122 centimeter panel, which is an array of microphones. They create an area of ​​sound capture within a radius of 10 meters from the device, which allows equipping rooms of small and medium sizes with one device, usually located below or above the display.

Condor connects to your video conferencing system via USB or analog outputs. Also, the device can be directly connected to SIP systems and controlled remotely.

Since this device is a set of microphones, it requires the use of external acoustics.




In fact, several conference participants can move around the room, turn their backs to the microphone and speak without changing the volume of the voice - the microphone array will track all sources of sound and output a high-quality signal of one volume level.

You can test this system at any time - for this you need to agree on a call to the demo-negotiation room, where it is installed.

Thank you for your attention, waiting for your comments and suggestions.