Hybrid Collaboration, BYOM, Black Magic? KLIK Wireless Video Conferencing is here.

The seemingly endless word-salad of the professional AV industry has most recently welcomed “Hybrid Conferencing” and “BYOM” to its stable of obscure terms and acronyms. Too bad, because acronyms and weird word pairings are getting in the way of a clear explanation of what Wireless Video Conferencing is all about.

KLIK Conferencing improves collaboration, reduces cost, and renders a better user experience.

With the recent launch of Version 4 OS, the KLIK HUB has added, among several other features, Wireless Video Conferencing capabilities. This is perhaps the most significant feature addition since the HUB was first launched in late 2019, and it’s a complete game-changer for many operators from education, to enterprise and even SMB.

So, what exactly is Wireless Video Conferencing? Glad you asked.

First, a little background. Video conferencing has become the de facto standard for communication with remote parties, especially since the recent pandemic. It seems that now, every meeting worthy of a calendar invitation will be held over video. Zoom, Teams, Meet, Webex, they’re all verbs now. And until recently, there were essentially three ways t0 provision these calls:

Laptop video conferencing supports one, maybe 2 people.

1. Laptop – Actually, all-in-one computing device is more accurate. One person, one device with a built-in camera and microphone, and a video conferencing app. Sometimes, 2 or more people squeeze into the camera’s field of view, often with mixed results. Cost, $500.

Dedicated hardware includes a PC, lighting, camera and audio equipment.

2. Dedicated PC – Sometimes it’s tied to a room, and others it’s in someone’s office, but it’s a PC with an attached camera, microphone and speakers, intended to expand the capacity beyond one or two local participants. Cost, $2,500.

Dedicated room systems are complicated and expensive.

3. Room System – A hardware package that includes a PC, camera, microphone, speakers, wireless screen-sharing hardware, a rack, and a control system. Designed for larger rooms, with more complex requirements, the system becomes so difficult to manage by mortals that it requires an automated system to combine all of the controls into one interface. Cost, $15,000+.

Taking the leap from a laptop to a dedicated PC equipped with peripheral devices isn’t complicated, it’s expensive. At 5x the cost of a laptop, small businesses and budget-constrained larger organizations have carefully consider when and where they make the switch. Do huddle spaces warrant the expense? What about teachers’ offices, or study spaces?

And there’s one more component that rarely gets the attention it deserves, the cost of “room” subscriptions. Yes, for a variety of reasons, a Zoom Rooms subscription is $49 per month[1], on top of whatever you’ve spent for hardware, installation and maintenance of your new “room” video conferencing system.

And this is where the KLIK HUB comes into the picture.

The HUB of every hybrid collaboration space.

HUB allows the use of video conferencing peripherals like cameras, microphones, speakers and video displays, using any PC. Walk into the room with your laptop, open the KLIK app and connect to the display, camera and audio system of that room, and start your call. In fact, the call could be started before you get to the room, then expanded to the big screen once you get there.

Let’s break down what’s going on here.

First, each room has a large display (TV, Monitor or projector), a webcam, and an audio system. Those components would normally connect to a PC that would be used for video conferencing. But instead of a PC, the peripheral devices connect to the KLIKBoks HUB. HDMI to the display, USB to the camera and audio system. Choose your own components, from webcam and speakerphone, to AI-powered tracking cameras and Beamforming microphone systems.

In operation, the room equipment delivers a “room” experience; sharper and more adaptive video, clear audio pickup with noise cancelling and any type of sound reinforcement needed to properly amplify both the far side, and local participants. In other words, an engineered system, or one fashioned from off-the-shelf parts. Whatever the mission and budget call for can be supported by the KLIK.

HUB is affordable enough for all spaces.

When a user decides to “Bring Your Own Meeting” they simply take their laptop to the room, and connect wirelessly. All from one app. No cables. No drivers. No setup. No room subscription. No added costs. No need for a control system. No need to remember other credentials. No cryptic room system naming conventions.

The improvement of outcome between the “laptop” approach and the KLIK system is obvious. Better visuals, better audio, a greater number of in-room participants, and lower costs. What’s not immediately apparent however are the added benefits of including KLIK in the room’s system.

Here’s a brief list:

• Proximate Screen Sharing – With KLIK’s wireless screen sharing capabilities, in-room participants can share content with all participants, without joining the video call. So, instead of the chaos of feedback and multiple camera views added by local users, meetings remain orderly, while everyone participates fully.

• External Video Capture – Need to show a prototype model, or physical object? KLIK offers an HDMI input for direct connection of document cameras, video camcorders, even security camera feeds, directly into the device. Share all of those images and full-motion video with both local and remote participants.

• Touchscreen Integration – If your room includes a touch-enabled display, users can control their locally-connected PC right from the screen. Plus, they can switch from one PC to the next, and along with video comes full touchback capability.

• Live Streaming – Hosting a lecture, webinar or public event? Live stream the session instead of or in addition to video conferencing. KLIK’s live streaming capabilities allow 720 or 1080p streaming of all onscreen content, plus live video and audio to any RTMP destination like YouTube, Facebook Live, Twitch, and many more.

The key takeaways from the KLIK Conferencing feature in the HUB.

• Better hybrid collaboration with improved audio, video and content sharing.

• Better in-person collaboration with content sharing, live streaming & annotation features.

• Better user experience through simplified controls without compromising quality.

• Lower costs by eliminating redundant hardware and expensive room subscriptions.

Why the KLIK version of Wireless Video Conferencing?

• Robust hardware with free updates and bug fixes for life; no recurring costs.

• 5-Year[2] Limited warranty included, protecting your investment.

• Unmatched feature set with better UI, Live Streaming, Hybrid Collaboration, Native Annotation, Recording & more.

• Lowest Initial Cost, Maintenance Cost & Total Cost of Ownership in the category.

Find out more about KLIK wireless video conferencing at https://www.klikboks.com/wireless-video-conferencing.

[1] Zoom used for illustration; other service providers also offer room subscriptions at comparable rates. [2] 3-Year standard warranty supplemented by an additional 2 years on product registration.

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About KLIK.

KLIKBoks was founded to solve the problem of how people share content in meetings, classes and conferences. From the company’s early KLIKBoks™ and KLIKStik™ wireless collaboration devices to the breakthrough technology found in the KLIKBoks™ HUB, KLIK is still dedicated to fostering frictionless collaboration between people. https://klikboks.com/about.