The Crestron Mercury - Making Meetings Better
Today's meeting rooms need to include technology that facilitates better communication and allows the participants to share data in a way that is quick and efficient. But at the same time the technology solutions that are used need to be user friendly and improve the user experience not rely upon technical IT managers or support to come along and 'Fire up the projector'!
Technical Integrators can often be responsible for creating technical solutions that only they can operate and this makes the object of quick collaboration very difficult to execute.
When developing an audio visual solution for a board room or meeting room the end user typically has TWO key requests:
- We want everyone to be able to use this technology regardless of their technical ability
- We want it to work every time we want to use it.
These requests are not too much to ask for; why should a Board of Directors wait for the IT department to come and start their meeting? Also if you are investing in technology to improve collaboration and communication to expect it to work first time, every time is not too much to ask either. We carry around mini computers in the form of our smartphones every day and if these can support in running a business then the AV technology we have had installed into our meeting rooms should.
Whilst a number of companies have released products and software with the aim of simplifying the use of av in conferencing and meeting rooms; the Crestron Mercury is one of the most easiest to use, functional and simplest on the market. As stated on the Crestron Mercury website;
Crestron Mercury is the only room solution that supports any video conferencing service. By combining all the must-have conferencing and collaboration tools in one easy-to-use console, Crestron Mercury enables people to work together regardless of location or conferencing service. All others lock you in to a single platform.
An all-in-one unit the Mercury simplifies audio visual communication in small to medium conference rooms, meeting rooms and huddle spaces.
So why is this piece of kit making meetings so much better?
Functionality - It is simple to integrate into existing VOIP telephone systems as it has a fully featured SIP-compliant conference phone installed which can also be linked to an individuals smart phone if VOIP technology is not available.
Connectivity - The Mercury comes with a USB connection and cable so that you can connect to any laptop and use the conferencing solutions of other services such as Skype for Business, WebEx, GoToMeeting....To name just a few! You can also use a Logitech HD Webcam for video conferencing applications through the Mercury. It really is a neat piece of kit!
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) - BYOD is BIG News for today's meetings and conferences and in situations when web conferencing isn't needed but you just need to share information from people within the room then Mercury unsurprisingly has a solution. With a HDMI input and output for connection, Mercury can connect to any in-room LCD display or projection system.
But what if no one has remembered to bring the video adaptors or any of the numerous special cables that are required to connect!!!
No worries...The Crestron Mercury has a built-in AirMedia gateway that allows for wireless presentation of content from laptops, smartphones or tablet via the rooms wireless network...Cool huh? You can also have a wired LAN connection for presentations should you require...
And if all of that is not enough, the Mercury has a fully customisable touchscreen, simple power on/off of the room display, dynamic occupancy sensors, integrated room scheduling abilities, acoustic echo cancelling, Crestron Fusion integration, Crestron PinPoint integration (More about this in a later blog because it is a fantastic feature), expandable mic pods that are used for larger spaces and more.
Phew...
The Crestron Mercury is a really simple but powerful solution for your meeting and conference rooms that will most definitely improve efficiency and collaboration. However, it isn't perfect and you need to make sure that you get the right product and solution to fit your business objectives. But with the right audio visual consultancy and integration the Mercury is definitely a product that will make your use of AV technology much more productive and meetings more enjoyable.
