presentation systems, cloud-based management, unified commmunications, touch screens for scheduling, and distribution technology.

On show in Las Vegas is the Crestron AirBoard which enables the capture, display and sharing of whiteboard content with anyone, anywhere. Crestron will also showcase its new AirMedia wireless presentation systems with AirMedia 2.0 technology. Crestron’s Xio Cloud, a cloud-based deployment management and monitoring platform which can reduce system installation time by up to 90% is also making its North American debut.

Among new announcements is a partnership with Huddly which makes the Crestron Mercury all-in-one tabletop UC and AV solution compatible with Huddly’s ultra-wide-angle USB camera, allowing all participants in a room to be seen during videoconferencing calls. Crestron is also debuting new lower-cost, scheduling-only touch screens with native partner room booking and an optional room availability light bar.

Crestron’s expanded DigitalMedia product range is also being demonstrated, to show how it offers the widest range of connectivity and switching options in the industry for in-room presentation, corporate messaging, digital signage, video walls, active learning, and command and control.

Further details of the Crestron range at InfoComm 2018 are below:

The Crestron AirBoard

The Crestron AirBoard network whiteboard capture device is described as the only enterprise-grade appliance of its kind. Crestron AirBoard enables both local and remote participants to see whiteboard content on the main room display and on their personal display device, and then share it with the touch of a button. Crestron AirBoard is simple to operate and easily mounts above any surface using the included mounting kit.

“The whiteboard is the last analogue device in the room, and with so much competition for ‘front of the room’ space, they’re typically installed on the extreme sides of meeting rooms, where visibility is limited,” said Dan Jackson, director of enterprise technology at Crestron. “Now, with Crestron AirBoard, the centre room display or projector screen can show the whiteboard so everyone can easily see it. Plus remote participants can actually see when someone writes on the whiteboard without holding up a phone or laptop camera.”

Crestron AirBoard is essentially a camera on an arm that attaches to any electronic whiteboard via the included mounting kit. Only a single Ethernet cable to the LAN is required for video, power, and secure connection to the network and Crestron ecosystem. People can quickly capture and share content via Crestron touch screens and integrated devices, such as Crestron Mercury.

With Crestron AirBoard, annotations can be easily captured, saved, and then posted, emailed, or texted to either a central web page (in education applications) or to invited participants (in corporate applications). Meeting participants simply choose “whiteboard” as a source on the in-room Crestron TSW touch screen or on the built-in touch screen on Crestron Mercury to start the session. When “end meeting” is selected, the user is prompted to save and send the file.

Remote conferencing participants can access the whiteboard session much like they would connect to Crestron AirMedia wireless presentation devices by entering the URL (or friendly name) shown on the room display in their web browser. Once on the web page, the user simply enters the dynamic PIN or access code, which is also shown on the room display.

“Crestron AirBoard delivers superior value compared to interactive displays, which cost more and are often underused because their complexity can be intimidating to office workers,” said Nic Milani, director of technology and market development at Crestron.

Crestron AirMedia

Crestron’s AirMedia Wireless Presentation Systems (AM-300 and AM-200) with built-in AirMedia 2.0 technology are making their North American debut. AirMedia 2.0 is the fastest, easiest, most manageable, and secure wireless presentation technology. The AM-300 and AM-200 enable organisations to increase workflow and facilitate collaboration by turning lobbies, lounges, and other open spaces into productive meeting spaces. They mount discreetly behind wall mount displays and enable wired or wireless presentation. No furniture, dongles, or new Wi-Fi networks are needed.

“AirMedia set the standard for wireless presentation, and now it just got even better with AirMedia 2.0,” said Fred Bargetzi, Crestron CTO. “It’s the only enterprise-grade wireless presentation solution that offers network security, cloud-based deployment and management, iOS mirroring without Bonjour – everything IT needs and expects.”

AirMedia 2.0 technology delivers: the lowest bandwidth consumption for optimal network efficiency; the lowest latency so keyboard and mouse movements track in realtime; silky smooth video playback; on-screen display with connectivity instructions, plus room availability and meeting details when connected to a calendaring platform; easy cloud-based provisioning and management; and full mirroring for Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS without Bonjour software.

While other products provide just a wireless access point, exposing confidential content to potential security breaches, AirMedia 2.0 is a network-based wireless presentation technology that leverages the latest security protocols: 802.1x network access control; Active Directory administrator authentication; AES-128 content encryption; and SSH, SSL, TLS, and HTTPS.

Because AirMedia 2.0 is a network-based appliance, it can be deployed, configured, and managed from the cloud. Using Crestron XiO Cloud, a virtually unlimited number of AirMedia 2.0 devices can be deployed using common configuration, with remote management of administrator access rights, automated scheduling of firmware updates, and live status monitoring. This enables organisations to deploy thousands of endpoints simultaneously. All that is needed is a simple connection to the network and they immediately work.

Crestron Xio Cloud

Crestron’s XiO Cloud, a cloud-based provisioning and management solution, is making its North American debut. Built on the Microsoft Azure platform, XiO Cloud enables organisations to simultaneously configure and deploy an unlimited number of Crestron products, thereby reducing installation time by up to 90%. IT managers can then monitor and manage all devices from XiO Cloud, proactively resolve events remotely to prevent lost work time, and gather actionable usage data, all with no programming required.

“With XiO Cloud, you simply connect a device to the network and it’s automatically recognised,” said Brian Donlan, Crestron technology manager for enterprise software. “There’s no time-consuming programming, and Crestron devices around the world can be managed remotely. The device doesn’t even need to be online when it’s configured. It’s simple, worldwide, browser-based management with the network security IT professionals demand.”

XiO Cloud provides IT managers with a powerful centralised tool that enables them to deploy and manage thousands of devices in the same amount of time as it would to manage just one. Using simple drag and drop functionality, devices can be named, configured, and organised by groups and subgroups. Settings and firmware updates can be securely and silently pushed to one or all devices. Device licenses can be quickly activated, transferred, or removed. Devices can be moved or replaced, and all the settings are automatically uploaded. There is no need to roll a truck or dispatch programmers onsite.

With live status and full monitoring of thousands of connected devices, from anywhere at any time, the help desk can quickly know about any change on a device within seconds, and then resolve events remotely to maximise uptime. No extra configuration tools are required.

People are organisations’ biggest investment, and XiO Cloud helps ensure spaces and the technology in them are designed to support how they work. The XiO Cloud dashboard provides interactive charts that show how spaces and technology are used, a fully searchable activity log of all actions within the portal, and a group status page. No programming is required. 

Crestron Mercury and Huddly

Crestron Mercury, the all-in-one UC and AV tabletop solution, is now compatible with the Huddly wide-angle USB camera. The new pairing provides an undistorted, ultra-wide viewing angle of all participants in a meeting room during videoconference calls.

“By pairing the best USB camera in the industry with the best open UC platform, Crestron continues to raise the bar for the unified communications experience,” said Nic Milani, director of technology and development at Crestron.

Beyond simply supplying the camera, Huddly is also partnering with Crestron on next-generation features that leverage Crestron’s XiO Cloud service. Embedded in every new Crestron device, XiO Cloud enables organisations to reduce installation time by up to 90% with no programming or set-up required.

The Huddly partnership comes quickly on the heels of a recent announcement from Microsoft regarding further expansion of the Crestron relationship around the launch of Microsoft Teams this fall.

“The Huddly partnership demonstrates our commitment to providing all of our unified communications partners with the industry’s best workplace solution,” said Milani. “Whether embedding Crestron technologies such as plug-and-play wired presentation, or AirMedia 2.0 wireless presentation, we’re committed to bringing together best of breed products to ensure our customers and partners are successful.”

Scheduling-Only Touch Screens

Crestron is debuting its new TSS-7 and TSS-10 room scheduling-only touch screens, featuring native partner room booking and an optional Room Availability Light Bar. Based on the award-winning line of TSW touch screens, the TSS-7 and TSS-10 touch screens are simplified to reduce cost and meet the needs of a broader customer base.

Crestron TSS and TSW touch screens natively support the broadest set of third-party partners in the industry, so organisations can choose the scheduling provider that best meets their operational needs. TSS touch screens currently support Appspace, Robin Powered, Teems, and EMS software. The complete solution delivers best-in-class network room scheduling.

Providing an alternative to the Crestron SSW-100 and SSC-100 Room Availability Hallway Signs, optional new light bars for TSS and TSW models offer a high-visibility availability indicator for those that prefer to check at the touch screen. The light bars create a glowing green halo around the touch screen when the room is available and red when in use. Compatible with wall or glass mounts, the light bar can easily be added to any new or existing TSS or TSW installation. No special tools or configuration are required. The small control module fastens to the rear of the TSS or TSW and connects to USB. The light bars attach to the mounting bracket and plug into the control module as the TSS or TSW is installed into the mount.

Crestron DigitalMedia

Crestron is demonstrating how its DigitalMedia product line delivers any content, anywhere via the widest range of connectivity and switching options in the industry for in-room presentation, corporate messaging, digital signage, video walls, active learning, and command and control. Customers can choose from networked, all-in-one, point-to-point, and standalone solutions to best meet their specific needs.

“DM is simply the most complete platform to transmit and distribute AV,” said Andrew Ludke, director of technology management at Crestron. “Whether you have one room or thousands, an entire building or campus, or sites around the world, DM offers the perfect solution, delivering pure high-definition to every display, laptop, and mobile device.”

DM NVX Series delivers secure 4K60, 4:4:4, and HDR video over existing 1Gb network infrastructure, with maximum flexibility and unlimited scalability. DM NVX products also include USB 2.0 routing, built-in DSP, and all-in-one encoding/decoding, all at a price similar to competitive products that aren’t secure and have less capability.

Industry standard DMPS3 Series 4K DigitalMedia Presentation Systems provide everything needed to deliver the best possible 4K presentation experience. Now, AirMedia 2.0 technology is built into the DMPS3-4K-350 and DMPS3-4K-250 to provide the fastest, easiest, most manageable, and secure wireless presentation capability

DM Lite is a new ecosystem of simple, interchangeable video extender products that deliver a winning combination of low cost, high performance, flexible form factor, and wide selection. Simple to deploy, and available in both 1-gang and standalone boxes, DM Lite products are ideal for basic point-to-point and small auto-switching applications. They can extend 1080p signals up to 70m, and 4K60 4:2:0 signals up to 40m using CAT5e.

Fully scalable and modular, DM matrix switchers can accommodate any combination of digital and analog sources with the ability to combine copper, fibre, and streaming technologies on a single chassis. The new line of DM 4KZ I/O cards, transmitters, and receivers deliver 4K60, 4:4:4, and HDR over HDBaseT using the same DM switcher chassis and same DM cabling.

Anything that goes on the network must be secure. IT managers need to know who and what is on their network. DM NVX leverages 802.1x authentication, AES encryption, and Active Directory to provide network security at the product level.