Video Transcript
Integrating Microsoft Teams Rooms into Q-SYS
8m 54s
00:08
Today we’re going to show you how QSC can easily scale the Microsoft Teams Room experience into a high value space like this executive boardroom,
00:17
using an intuitive suite of resources, software innovations, and optimization tools. Let’s go over the physical components first.
00:24
First, the Teams Room “compute” device is running the Microsoft Teams Room software,
00:29
and is also connected to the Room control console—in this case, the Logitech Tap.
00:35
The Q-SYS Core is connected to this PC through a single USB cable, which delivers all of the room’s processed audio,
00:41
including the audio from the Sennheiser Team Connect Ceiling 2 microphone.
00:46
This same USB cable also delivers the conference video from the native Q-SYS PTZ cameras to the Teams compute device.
00:54
The Q-SYS Core is also delivering audio signal to the QSC SPA Series amplifier and the AcousticDesign Series loudspeakers,
01:02
as well as processing the control for all the audio, video and environmental pieces in the room.
01:09
The Q-SYS Core can also present a Room Control interface on the Logitech Tap. So in addition to all the expected Teams Room controls,
01:18
you can also provide the users with controls of the environmentals, cameras, video routing, etc., all on the same display device.
01:26
This Teams experience comes to us through resources that are available for systems running Q-SYS Designer Software v9.0 or higher.
01:34
This suite includes Q-SYS software components for Teams Room, a control license bundle, design template and a lot more.
01:41
We’ve rethought these elements to help simplify the design and deployment process for these high value spaces.
01:47
So keep a room like this in mind as we go to our computer, and look at each of these elements and how they work together to make this all possible. Nate?
01:58
Thanks Patrick. Let’s start with the “Q-SYS Control for Microsoft Teams” application, which is a standalone software that gets installed on the Microsoft Teams Room PC.
02:08
This is what allows us to push the Q-SYS UCI to the Teams Console device.
02:13
Once it’s installed, you don’t need to do anything else with it – but it’s a critical piece of this solution.
02:18
Next is the Q-SYS Feature License for Teams Room.
02:22
We’ve bundled both our Scripting Engine feature license and the UCI deployment feature license into a single SKU, to make it easier for people to deploy them together.
02:30
A Q-SYS Core needs both of these licenses active to run the Teams Room components, so we just packaged them together.
02:38
In fact, if your Core already has a scripting engine feature license and a UCI deployment feature license, you don’t need this Q-SYS for Teams feature license at all.
02:46
The only thing worth noting is that this solution also needs a Software based Dante feature license installed.
02:53
The only reason that’s not bundled in the Q-SYS for Teams license is because nearly every new Core already includes an 8 x 8 Software-based Dante license!
03:02
But if you’re installing this on an older Core, you'll need to upgrade it with a Software-based Dante license if it doesn’t have one already.
03:09
Next is the Microsoft Teams Sample Design file.
03:13
You may have used one of our Conference Sample design files in the past, but this Sample Design file for Microsoft Teams is a little different.
03:20
Its step-by-step presentation is user friendly and, more importantly, its audio signal flow and processing settings meet Microsoft Teams Room certification.
03:30
We highly recommend using this design file, but if you choose not to,
03:34
you should ensure that its signal integrity and gain structure is maintained, otherwise your design may not meet those performance expectations.
03:42
In fact, most of these components carry an exclamation mark that warns you about making any changes.
03:48
On the other hand, items marked with this less-intimidating icon may be edited based on your room’s needs, such as adding more cameras or Video Bridge outputs.
03:58
There are seven easy steps to complete.
04:01
Start off by listing whatever clever name your company has given this meeting space, followed by selecting which loudspeaker type and models you’re using in the room,
04:10
which automatically applies QSC loudspeaker voicings.
04:13
Next, input the IP address of your Sennheiser TCC2 microphone,
04:18
which you can get from the Sennheiser Control Cockpit application that you used to install that microphone panel.
04:24
Don’t forget to select the name of the TCC2 device here and the name of its Dante audio out channel, as defined by your setup of that device in the Cockpit application.
04:34
Critically, the TCC2 also needs to receive a return AEC reference channel from Q-SYS, so you’ll need to clearly label yours with a unique name here.
04:45
Once you’ve named that Dante channel, you’ll have to open your Dante Controller application
04:51
and subscribe this AEC Reference channel of the TCC2 in question to the Dante audio flow that you just named.
04:58
Step 5 is to enter the IP address of the PC that is running the Microsoft Teams Room application,
05:05
and also to select the UCI in your design that you want to be displayed within its associated control software.
05:12
By default we’ve named this “Room Controls”.
05:15
Under the hood, the “Room Controls” UCI is already linked to a new Q-SYS component called the Microsoft Teams Room Component.
05:24
This is what provides the control link between Q-SYS and the Teams Room compute device.
05:29
But guess what – you don’t need to worry about it, because it’s already in the Schematic.
05:34
But if you ever need to add this component to one of your own designs, you can add it from the Inventory under Peripherals.
05:41
This component also provides monitoring information from the Microsoft Teams Room computer back into the Q-SYS environment,
05:48
which means you can monitor the health of all your Microsoft Teams Room PCs with Q-SYS Reflect Enterprise Manager.
05:55
Wait, what? Did somebody mention you can get a free trial available at www.qsc.com/enterprisemanager? Oh that was me. (Nailed it.)
06:06
Alright, back to our Sample Design walkthrough, Step 6 introduces us to something called: Webhooks.
06:12
This is an optional step that allows a system administrator to receive notifications if the approved Q-SYS design is altered or falls out of spec.
06:22
Simply create a new webhook in Teams, and copy this Webhook code right here to enable these notifications.
06:30
The final step in this setup process is the Room Optimization UCI for Teams Rooms.
06:36
This is a custom UCI that's built into the sample file that's intended to be opened on a mobile device in the room in question.
06:43
And Patrick’s still over there, so I’ll let him tell you about it.
06:46
Thanks! So now that the room is up and running thanks to what Nate’s done on the design—all that’s left is to finesse it.
06:54
As long as your system is on the same wifi network as your smartphone,
06:58
you can access the special Optimization UCI in this design from the palm of your hand,
07:04
which will guide you through some simple steps to optimize the audio flow for your specific space.
07:09
You’ll go through this friendly step-by-step guide by actually getting on a Teams call with someone else,
07:15
which allows someone on the far end to help you verify and fine-tune elements of the call quality.
07:21
Once you’re done, select the “Finish” button, and these optimized settings will be saved in your design.
07:27
In fact, now that Patrick’s done, my system’s status indicates that it's running with commissioned settings.
07:33
And once again, this update will appear in my Microsoft Teams Channel via the Webhook.
07:39
Finally, let’s look at that UCI Deployment within the Microsoft Teams Room Console.
07:44
Let’s look at our Logitech Tap which is displaying that Microsoft Teams Room application.
07:49
We can tap the options icon and then the “Room Controls” label to gain access to our UCI.
07:55
It looks like it’s a native interface to Microsoft Teams Room, and that is by design … but make no mistake,
08:02
you are interacting with a Q-SYS UCI, just the same way you might on a Q-SYS touch screen.
08:08
In fact, the version that I see inside Q-SYS looks noticeably more boring.
08:13
But that’s because we’re applying a Microsoft Theme that we’ve provided within this sample design file.
08:20
It tells the display to reinterpret each object according to particular colors, fonts,
08:26
and sizes that we’ve worked out to make each control look like it’s native to the Microsoft Teams environment.
08:31
So if you need to adjust this UCI, add or remove some controls, etc.,
08:36
you can specify which CSS Class styles to apply to each control to keep that visual appearance seamless for the end user.
08:44
Thanks for watching and we’ll see you next time.
Lesson Description
Integrating Microsoft Teams Rooms into Q-SYS
8m 54s
We show you how to use the new tools for achieving the Microsoft Teams experience in your next installation.
Tutorial includes:
- Connecting "Q-SYS Control for MTR" app onto your Teams Compute device
- using the Sample Q-SYS design for Teams Room
- tuning the room with the Room Companion App
- controlling the room with a single pane of glass to control Teams and Q-SYS using Logitech Tap,
- tuning the room activating to your Q-SYS Designer.
Downloads and Links
Integrating Microsoft Teams Rooms into Q-SYS
8m 54s