These days huddle rooms are the rule rather than the exception, and for good reason. Huddle rooms help mitigate one of the main downsides of open floor plans—noise and distractions—so employees can focus on productive collaboration. Huddle rooms also provide flexibility and are often a more practical use of space than large, infrequently used conference rooms.
However, huddle rooms are only as good as the audiovisual technology they are equipped with. While most huddle rooms include some standard components—a display, a camera, a microphone, a control system, as well as collaboration software and network access—the quality of those components can make or break your huddle room. And their cost can make or break your budget.
Improving Huddle Rooms with Crestron
Crestron, one of the leading AV design and engineering firms, has several low-cost, high-impact solutions that can help you design an affordable huddle room with powerful and functional technology solutions.
- Professional presentation solution. A small huddle space doesn’t have room for a large projector or other presentation equipment that takes up a lot of space. But the quality of huddle room presentations should match what is possible in larger conference and meeting rooms. Crestron’s HD Scaling Presentation Switcher & Extender is a high definition AV presentation solution that can connect to computers and mobile devices and route any media to your huddle room’s display. Built-in scaling means this solution can handle a variety of formats and resolutions, and the compact size means you can install the hardware inside a lectern, under a table, or behind a screen.
- Wireless content sharing. Struggling to get devices connected takes time, causes frustration, and is a common cause for meetings starting late. Wireless presentation means you can share content from any device, including a tablet or mobile phone, without having to plug it in. The Crestron AirMedia® App not only lets you share content wirelessly, but it can accommodate up to 32 devices so collaboration is streamlined and immediate.
- Cable and device management. A small huddle space can easily get cluttered with too many cables and wires. The Crestron Connect It™ Cable Caddy keeps all your connector cables in one place—including HDMI, VGA, Audio, and Ethernet cables—so you can quickly find the cable you need and connect your devices without any hassle. Once you’re connected, press the button on your interface to instantly display your content.
- Centralized control. You can pack a lot of technology into a small huddle room, but if each component has to be managed and controlled separately, the user experience is compromised, and people are less likely to use all available features. The Crestron Mercury® is an all-in-one tabletop solution that lets you control all your collaboration and conferencing tools regardless of the application or platform. With a single touch you can also control room scheduling, microphone and speaker volume, and web-based collaboration.
- Unified communications packages. If you are just starting to design or equip a new huddle room, Crestron offers UC packages that include all the technology you’ll need for a highly efficient—and effective—space, including a touch screen, camera, and speakerphone, all powered by the Crestron RL® 2 Codec.
Next Steps
Huddle room solutions are one piece of your enterprise AV system, and they should be compatible with other AV solutions for maximum effectiveness. A Level 3 Audiovisual Crestron expert engineer can help you find the right huddle room solutions and make sure they integrate effectively with your other AV solutions.
