It’s the hottest new product form factor for work-from-anywhere and hybrid working environments, and even audio-focused manufacturers are entering the new “videobar” category (note: like the single word “soundbar,” which has entered the lexicon, “videobar” also needs to be a single word). Jabra was the latest audio brand to announce its new Jabra PanaCast camera line-up, designed to reinvent meeting room video, audio, and intelligence for the 'new normal' workspace: the Jabra PanaCast 50 – engineered to be the world's first new-normal-ready intelligent videobar, and the Jabra PanaCast 20 – a standalone intelligent personal camera.
According to the GN Group brand, the new PanaCast range has been engineered to help businesses in the hybrid way of working by combining immersive vision and video, leading audio technologies and cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) to “completely reinvent meetings and collaboration.”
“When it comes to a solution for the office, organizations are often forced to choose between outstanding audio and high-definition video. Jabra PanaCast 50 addresses that by offering a plug and play solution to deliver the most immersive and engaging video experience available on the market today,” the company states.
The PanaCast 50 videobar effectively takes on the role of the "director" of a meeting – intelligently adjusting the video stream to follow the action in the meeting. This includes detecting active talkers and the flow of conversation, delivering a more responsive remote meeting experience. Like these new UC systems feature microphone arrays, the Panacast 50 features three 13-megapixel cameras mounted in a high-precision multi-camera array to create an immersive 180° field of view in panoramic-4K that covers the whole room. From single person calls to full team meetings, this intelligent technology always includes all the participants facing the camera and within microphone range.
To be able to create a seamless experience for the users, the Jabra PanaCast 50 videobar features nine powerful processors, including two state-of-the art edge AI processors, specifically engineered for audio and video. This ultra-advanced system architecture enables the intelligent videobar to carry out real-time integration of audio, video and data. The PanaCast 50 also features eight beamforming microphones with precision voice detection which are backed up with intelligent algorithms that remove disruptive noise. Four powerful Jabra-engineered speakers – two 50mm woofers and two 20mm tweeters – in a zero-vibration stereo setup fill the room with high-quality audio, while the latest two-way audio technology delivers more natural conversations.
The Jabra PanaCast 50 can also deliver two video streams simultaneously allowing the device to perform multiple functions at once. For instance, while one video stream is busy focusing on the meeting participants, the second can be used to focus on a particular area of interest in the room. The two video streams also enable a whiteboard sharing feature, which is built into the device itself – allowing whiteboard content to be captured and enhanced in real time. This is then streamed live within the meeting so every participant can see the whiteboard content and contribute to the discussion.
The PanaCast 50 videobar also delivers an independent data stream which provides anonymous people count metadata as real-time numerical information. Because of its 180° field-of-view, PanaCast 50 can achieve 100% coverage of the meeting room which allows everyone to be counted.
The PanaCast 50 PeopleCount feature enables the system to compare that count with a customer-defined room capacity limit number to determine if the room utilization is over capacity. If the number of people exceeds that limit, visual and aural cues are provided to the people present, enabling them to make informed decisions for their safety and wellbeing.
Additionally, through the network interface, longer-term analytics data is available for IT administrators, enabling the business to make data-driven decisions about how they're utilizing their meeting spaces. Organizations will have an overview of how many rooms are being used, even when there is no active meeting, helping inform decisions on office space.
The PanaCast 50 videobar is optimized for all main unified communication & collaboration solutions, working with Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Teams Rooms, Zoom, and Zoom Rooms, and the likes. It will be available beginning June 15, 2021 in black and grey models, for US $1195 (MSRP).
The Jabra PanaCast 20 standalone 4K webcam ($299 MSRP) also features AI that is managed on-device with edge processing and offers HDR video as well as personalized intelligent zoom, which always frames the main user properly, regardless of their environment. It also features automatic lighting correction. The webcam will be available in August 2021 and will be sold with separate mounting accessories, such as a table stand and a screen mount.
“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary solutions and we believe the new Jabra PanaCast 50 and PanaCast 20 deliver just that," says Aurangzeb Khan, Senior Vice President of Intelligent Vision Systems at Jabra. "We are happy to present the PanaCast 50, the first videobar to combine world-leading Jabra audio with our unique 180° field of view and unique room usage insights, for inclusive, collaborative meetings in the new normal. The time is now to start thinking about future-proofing offices, creating optimal collaboration circumstances for flexible hybrid workers and to ensure maximum productivity as your teams return. We invite businesses, organizations and institutions all around the world to experience audio and video like never before with the Jabra PanaCast intelligent devices."
www.jabra.com
