Logitech CollabOS 1.6 updates place greater emphasis on creating equitable, hybrid meetings

Logitech is powering up its video collaboration (VC) devices through the latest CollabOS 1.6 and firmware updates, bringing helpful enhancements like expanded mic and camera support, camera speed controls, local network access (LAN) configuration and auto-rotate features to facilitate the hybrid meeting experience.

The updates will make hybrid meetings easier to deploy, manage and join.

CollabOS is the unifying operating system that runs on select Logitech video collaboration devices. With CollabOS, these devices work seamlessly together, continuously improve and are easier than ever to deploy, manage and help deliver high-quality, equitable meeting experiences for everyone.

“As virtual meetings become more commonplace, businesses are seeing the need to facilitate meetings where every participant – whether remote or virtual – can contribute equally and have productive meetings,” says Charis Nicholas, Head of High Touch End User, Video Collaboration – South and Southern Africa. “The latest CollabOS 1.6 update vastly improves the functionality and user experience of our video collaboration solutions, stretching the value that businesses can get out of their existing systems and creating more equitable, effective meetings.”

Creating more equitable meetings through enhanced video and audio capabilities

Ensuring equitability in hybrid meetings is important in today’s business environment and this means that every participant should feel and be equally seen and equally heard no matter if they are in the office or working at home. Having responsive and adaptable video is a crucial fixture in today’s meeting rooms, and Logitech’s CollabOS 1.6 update helps achieve this through expanded Mic Pod support, external camera support and adjustable camera speed controls:

• Expanded Mic Pod support: With the latest CollabOS 1.6 update, Logitech’s all-in-one VC solution ‘Rally Bar’ can now support up to four Rally Mic Pods extending the mic range and modular microphones which suppress background noise. The Rally Bar Mini, which is ideal for small and medium-sized rooms, now supports up to three Mic Pods. Mic Pods allow people farther from the camera to contribute to the conversation more easily, be heard by remote participants and brings mute controls within reach.
• External camera support: Zoom Rooms powered by Rally Bar and Rally Bar Mini now allows users to connect a Rally Camera or MeetUp as an external camera. This allows users the flexibility to switch between the built-in Rally Bar and Rally Bar Mini cameras or these external cameras, thus providing users with unfettered in-room views. RoomMate, Logitech’s computing appliance that turns any space into a video conferencing room, now allows users to connect to two external cameras.
• RightSight 2 camera speed controls: RightSight2 introduced auto-framing technology that simultaneously presents both a close-up view of the individual speaker and a view of the entire meeting room during video calls. Now, IT admins can also adjust how quickly RightSight 2 pans and zooms between speakers, both in Speaker View and in Group View. This setting allows you to speed up or slow down camera transitions as different people begin or finish talking.

Simplifying back-end set-ups for maximum efficiency

Logitech’s CollabOS 1.6 update helps simplify IT operations, easing some of the headaches associated with supporting teams as they return to the office, such as being able to configure meeting room devices through LAN and auto-rotation functionality for Tap:

• Simple LNA configuration: Meeting room devices can be easily configured right out of the box with local network access (LNA), which provides access to device settings through a web browser using a computer connected to the same network agency. Previously only available as a beta feature for Rally Bar and Rally Bar Mini, LNA is now available for all CollabOS devices, including RoomMate, Tap Scheduler and Tap IP, significantly simplifying set-up and deployment of video conferencing cameras and devices.
• Auto rotate for Tap: On updating the Rally Bar, Rally Bar Mini and RoomMate, the Logitech Tap screen can be set to automatically rotate to the correct orientation, whether used on a table, riser mount or mounted on a wall. This ensures the screen is always in the right orientation to be read by users.

Availability:

The new CollabOS1.6 update is available globally through the Logitech Sync Portal. Logitech video collaboration devices can also be updated with the Microsoft Teams admin centre and Zoom Device Management as the updates become available.