SMART Room System Supports Microsoft Lync

By Robbie Pleasant TMCnet Contributor

It’s time to get SMART with Microsoft Lync. That capitalization was intentional, as SMART Technologies (News - Alert) Inc. has announced the SMART Room System for Microsoft Lync. This turnkey solution for meeting rooms is designed to make collaboration easy for virtual and face-to-face participants alike by providing video, voice and data sharing for seamless online collaboration.

The solution uses the Lync experience through SMART’s interactive technology components, which includes SMART Board interactive displays, a wide-angle HD camera with a 109 degree field of view, customized speakers and microphones and a room control console. All of the above are designed to integrate perfectly with each other and Lync, creating a rich meeting experience for all involved.

SMART provides clear audio with up to four echo-cancelling microphones that can be daisy-chained together. Video is equally clear, with a high-definition camera that shows remote participants the entire room without needing to pan, tilt or zoom, and that’s just for the remote viewers. For those using the system, the display option goes up to 84” and can accommodate rooms of all sizes.

Thanks to a custom-designed codec, connectivity to Microsoft (News - Alert) Lync is simple. One just has to connect the SMART Room System to Lync after installing and configuring it, and it’s done. No need for additional hardware or software, just a quick natural experience.

According to Giovanni Mezgec, Microsoft’s general manager for Lync Product Marketing, "The SMART Room System combines SMART's industry-leading visual collaboration solutions with Microsoft Lync, to provide customers the advantage and choice that meets their specialized communication and collaboration needs to help increase productivity, efficiency and organizational flexibility.”

The SMART Room System for Microsoft Lync will be made available in the summer of 2013, ranging in price from $19,999 to $29,999 depending on the version purchased.

Microsoft Lync is a very popular and useful tool for communicating and collaboration, so combining it with SMART makes for a powerful system that provides great online collaboration and sharing. It’s a smart choice to make for those who often use Lync for business communications.

Edited by Rachel Ramsey