HP|Poly announced the Poly Studio G62 system. It is a small codec that the company was clear to identify as “modular” which is designed for flexible spaces. It is meant to work with various ethernet peripherals and support expansion options for scalability. It’s also nice to see the codec can be completely powered with a single PoE+ cable. HP|Poly stated it is MS Teams certified now, and will be certified for Zoom and Tencent in the near term. They went out of their way to mention Tencent, thus emphasizing how important the Asia market is to them. With a sub-$2000 US list price, the Poly Studio G62 system is set to aggressively compete in the space.
Video meetings are inherently green compared to commuting and travel, and it’s nice to see the vendors are integrating sustainability into the products themselves. With this announcement, HP|Poly is following Logi and Cisco with green claims. The G62 is made from 80% post-consumer recycled plastics and 20% recycled metals.
HP|Poly also announced the Poly Studio G9 Plus base kit, a room solution tailored for Microsoft Teams Rooms (and presumably Zoom Rooms in the future.) This kit combines the HP Mini IP PC G9 with the Poly TC10 controller. They described this as ‘the first product co-engineered by HP and Poly since the companies merged 16 months ago.’
What stands out on the G9 kit is that the touch-panel is not connected to the controller over USB - which is standard amongst MTR solutions. Instead, it uses ethernet which enables simpler, less-expensive cabling, and also allows up to four controllers in a room. This provides an elegant solution to the inevitable problem of the controller always being at the wrong end of the table. It also doesn’t need a keyboard or mouse to work as the touch-panel can do all of the major meeting functions.
This system is designed to support various meeting spaces, from small focus rooms to large boardrooms, by pairing with other compatible Poly cameras and devices appropriate for each space. The Kit is priced at $2,699.
Poly also announced that their software update for devices, VideoOS 4.3, will soon be available, enhancing the functionality of the Poly TC8 and TC10 controllers. This update will allow users to tab to any HTML5 page, allowing such things as room control settings from Crestron, AMX, Q-SYS and other such systems, and any other custom HTML5 page, all through a single HP|Poly device, improving the in-room experience.
Additionally, HP|Poly announced that their Lens management software now integrates with Zoom Device Management for efficient monitoring and troubleshooting of Zoom Rooms.
All products described above are expected to be available in June.
