Polycom RealPresence Centro • For Better Remote Roundtable Discussions
With the release of the new Polycom RealPresence Centro in South Africa we thought it might be a good idea to highlight the key features of this unit. The unit seems like the perfect solution for round table discussions, but does it really add more value than a traditional video conferencing room solution?
How does the Polycom RealPresence Centro Work?
The Polycom RealPresence Centro consist of the following Audio Visual and Video Conferencing components.
Display & Camera System
The optimised placement of the four 27″ LED displays allows everyone in the room to remain in a comfortable, seated position, while maintaining a visual connection with local and remote participants.- It also incorporates a 360° camera with five high definition lenses to blend the image together, as a result producing a panoramic type scene.
- Don’t worry about being outside the camera view, since the cameras will keep you on-screen even if your are sitting, standing or walking around the unit.
Audio System
- The most soft-spoken people in the room will also be captured by the integrated microphones, even when multiple people are speaking simultaneously.
- With the built-in powered speakers audio reproduction is crystal clear, ensuring that every person is audible.
- The incorporation of NoiseBlock technology, removes all distracting noises including paper rustling and keyboard typing, etc.
Content Sharing
- Share video clips, CAD animations, medical diagrams and other content while maintaining a 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second.
- All users can connect, share and save multi-media content directly from their BYOD (bring your own device) because of the built-in Polycom SmartPairing technology.
- The Polycom VisualBoard technology allows you to easily mark up documents, drawings, or anything else from the unit.
- You can also transform simple content sharing into an interactive experience with the Polycom UC Board accessory.
- Another option is to wirelessly share your content from any PC or Mac using the Polycom People+Content IP software.
Handy Features
Control the system from any one of the four LED displays, since they all have a built-in touch interface.- BYOD (Bring you own device) charging is possible directly from the unit when connected to one of the 4 x USB ports.
- Built-in casters allows for easy mobility between different rooms.
- Microsoft Outlook can be used to schedule the use of the unit, thus allowing meetings to be initiated directly from unit itself.
- Native interoperability with Microsoft Skype for Business, also known as Microsoft Lync.
- Backwards and forwards interoperability with the H.323 and SIP protocols.
Negative Points
- The Polycom RealPresence Centro will probably not be a viable option for most organisations in South Africa, due to the expensive price tag of around one and half million South African Rand.
- Eye contact, or perceived eye contact, is not always achieved with the 360° camera pickup. This can be distracting for some users and it is the same issue we experienced with the Polycom CX-5500 Unified Conference Station.
- Because the unit is positioned very low on the ground the camera pickup might be below the waistline for people in a seated position.
- The Polycom Partner Premium license fee is high and must be renewed annually to qualify for faulty equipment replacements and software updates.
- Limited backup stock might be a problem if the uptake in sales are lower than expected. This can cause extended downtime in case of hardware failures.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, the Polycom RealPresence Centro is definitely a unique video conferencing solution but unfortunately only affordable for bigger organisations. For this reason we would highly recommend the Polycom RealPresence Debut video conferencing system. This unit is the ideal solution for huddle rooms and includes all the key video conferencing features but excludes the interoperability with Microsoft’s Skype for Business. Hopefully this feature will be included in future software updates and we will update this post when available.
For more technical information about this product we recommend you download the datasheet.
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