Yamaha has offered products from its Projectphone Series as well as conference-oriented microphone and speaker systems since entering the web conference systems market in 2006, delivering solutions that ensure participants in remote conferences can both hear and be heard clearly. Yamaha’s remote conferencing systems (for web, TV and telephone conferences) are also being used for activities unrelated to remote conferencing, such as remote class sessions, lectures, and seminars. Building on the technologies developed through the Projectphone Series, Yamaha is now launching “Yamaha Voice Communication (YVC),” an advanced series of products that will facilitate even more natural remote communications.
The YVC-1000 features a separate microphone and speaker unit that smoothly integrate audio and video for natural, comfortable remote communication for mid- to large-size conferences. The high performance, full range speaker unit can be placed close to the display so that audio and video from the remote location blend naturally, while adaptive echo canceller and other Yamaha sound processing technologies facilitate stress-free conversation.
The YVC-1000 incorporates a unique Human Voice Activity Detection (HVAD) capability used to detect human voices. Developed by Yamaha, HVAD is an important element of several different sound processing features that require fast and efficient sorting of noise and human voices in order to make speaking and listening a more relaxing, stress-free experience during remote conferencing.
Yamaha’s unique sound optimization technologies also include adaptive echo cancelling, intelligently eliminating the echoes generated when microphones pick up sounds from speakers in environments with varying reflective properties. Adaptive echo canceller processes sounds of up to 20 kHz to facilitate clear, effective conversation.
A noise reduction function suppresses or eliminates unwanted sounds emitted from sources such as projectors and air conditioners. Continuous noise is removed from ambient sound picked up by the microphone in order to ensure that listeners hear only clear, intelligible voices, while auto gain control automatically boosts or attenuates the gain for individual voices depending on their level and distance from the microphone.
The new Yamaha communication solution features reverb suppression and auto room EQ, optimizing the speaker output in real time to match the dimensions and acoustic properties of any room, based on the audio signal of the current call to provide a more listenable tone and even reduce unwanted echoing. Finally, the YVC-1000 uses automatic tracking to detect and track the location of a person’s voice in order to provide the clearest sound pickup possible. The ability to distinguish human voices from random background noise is particularly useful in conferences held in noisy environments with a large number of participants.
Connectivity to the YVC-1000 includes USB, Bluetooth, or external RCA audio inputs from a conferencing system and outputs. An audio mixing function mixes multiple voice input sources connected to each interface allowing simultaneous communication over different lines. The YVC-1000 also features NFC compatibility, for quick and easy Bluetooth connection on NFC-compatible smartphones and tablets.
In its standard configuration the YVC-1000 is ideal for small and medium-size meetings. For conferencing on a larger scale, external speakers and up to four additional YVC-MIC1000EX microphones can be added to cover a wider area and accommodate more conference participants. There’s even an external microphone input for applications such as remote classes or seminars where a handheld microphone may be preferable.
www.yamaha.com/products/en/communication/
