Planar helps Microsoft in its vision to create hybrid meeting rooms

Microsoft has built a boardroom prototype that aims to showcase the uses of Teams Rooms. It is a space equipped with a Led video wall of Planar, A multi-camera system Crestron AUTOMA VX and a Surface Hub whiteboard 85 Inch.

To demonstrate how Teams Rooms Can be applied to a boardroom, Microsoft has built a space, in the Executive Briefing Center (EBC) of your Redmond campus, which has as its protagonist a Planar Led video wall.

Signature Microsoft Teams Rooms represents the company's vision to create a more collaborative hybrid meeting experience. Born from the opportunity to enhance hybrid meetings for the flexible workforce, Teams Rooms evolved as an innovative new way to design streamlined hybrid spaces that foster interactions.

“Teams Rooms is our solution for Microsoft Teams in shared spaces, and more specifically, in conference rooms”, Explains Matt Taylor, Director of Product Marketing for Microsoft Teams. “With most meetings today involving a mix of in-person and remote attendees, We're embracing true flexible work. The goal is to improve the meeting experience through software, hardware and furniture design optimized for multiple users throughout the day and a hybrid-first scenario.”

An important component of Teams rooms is the use of video screens. With Planar as a display solution provider for Signature Teams Rooms, users can take advantage of fine pitch LED video wall technology. “Experience is elevated with a larger high-definition display, that allows remote participants to appear in real size”, Taylor says.

Hybrid meetings for high-impact spaces

To demonstrate how Teams Rooms can be applied to a boardroom, Microsoft has built a boardroom archetype in the Executive Briefing Center (EBC) of Microsoft's Redmond campus, Washington.

By offering clients executive-level engagement opportunities to collaborate on transformative digital initiatives, EBC works to inspire customers through immersive demonstrations, presentations of real solutions for customers and examples of Microsoft technology.

The EBC boardroom archetype features a Planar DirectLight Series Led video wall of almost 3,6 meters wide and 1,6 meters high with a pixel pitch of 0,9 mm. In addition, It has a multi-camera system Crestron Automate VX and a Surface Hub interactive whiteboard of 85 Inch.

“The reason for designing this space was to answer the question we've received from many customers about how Teams Rooms can work in a boardroom format and scenario”, Taylor says. “This is a model available for customers to use either to reproduce or to learn and develop”.

Specifically, This exclusive boardroom showcases how Microsoft technologies, together with partners such as Planar, are addressing flexible working in high-impact spaces.

According to Taylor, Planar's Led video wall in the EBC space helps support Microsoft's intended goals to demonstrate how stronger connections can be created in hybrid meetings between remote and in-person attendees.

Among the multiple views that users can select in Teams rooms, the 'Front Row' option’ Place remote attendees in the center of the video wall and at eye level with participants in the room. “With that setup, You have the feeling that people joining remotely are sitting at the same table”, Taylor says.

As it is a larger format screen, Planar's Led video wall offers more screen real estate for sharing content and using other Teams Rooms features during hybrid meetings, as a panel to raise your hand and chat within a meeting. “The video wall is incredibly sharp. It allows for more of the intuitive experiences that actually help reduce meeting fatigue and make discussions feel more real”.

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