Bose is very best recognised for its superior-good quality speakers and amplifiers, but the organization is also lively in signal processing and networking, software program, PA methods and conferencing solutions. It is really the latter that issues us in this article, in the condition of the Videobar VB1, an all-in-one USB gadget comprising a digicam, microphones and speakers, aimed at huddle areas and compact conference rooms accommodating up to around ten persons.
The Videobar VB1 integrates with the normal conferencing software program suspects, together with Microsoft Teams, Google Satisfy and Zoom, and can make a wired or wireless connection to the organization network for IT administration obtain. It is really a premium product costing $1,199. But how very good is it?
The $1,199 Videobar VB1 brings together a 4K PTZ digicam, 6 beam-steering mics and a pair of stereo speakers.
Picture: Bose
Design
The Videobar VB1 is a modern matte-black cuboid with a digicam entrance and centre, flanked by grilles masking the speakers and microphone array. It measures 686mm broad by 96mm deep by 48mm superior and weighs two.5kg — that is 27in. by three.8in. by 1.9in. and 5.6lbs for US viewers (and Brexit diehards in the United kingdom).
The VB1 will come with a table stand (together with a Kensington lock slot) and a wall-mount bracket. Possibilities consist of a display mounting kit for attaching the videobar to a conference area monitor (42in. – 85in.) and a Mud ring.
You can use the Videobar VB1 with just ability and USB-C Pc connections, though other ports, together with RJ-45 and HDMI-out, are also out there.
Picture: Charles McLellan / ZDNet
Connections at the again, from remaining to suitable are: network (RJ-45), ability (spherical pin), audio in (three.5mm jack), CTRL Enter (two-pin Euroblock), USB-C and HDMI out. The offered USB-C cable is 5 metres (16.5ft) in length if you need a more time connection to a Pc, be confident to look at Bose’s list of recommended third-bash USB extenders.
Microphone mute and Bluetooth pairing buttons on the end of the VB1.
Picture: Bose
There are a pair of buttons on the suitable side of the movie bar (as you glimpse at the digicam): one mutes the microphones and the other engages Bluetooth pairing method (both of those of these features, and more, can be accessed by using the involved remote command and the Bose Function mobile app, which is out there for iOS and Android).
In the box you get the Videobar VB1 by itself, USB-C (5m/16.5ft) and HDMI (1.5m/four.9ft) cables, an infrared remote with two AAA batteries, a wall-mount bracket and table stand, a ability adapter, a cable administration kit, a digicam privacy address, a USB-C to USB-A adapter, a two-pin Euroblock connector, as well as a printed swift-start information and other set up instructions.
Features
The Videobar VB1 digicam is an 8MP PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) device with 115° horizontal, 81° vertical and 123° diagonal industry of view, and up to 5x electronic (not optical) zoom. Beneath it is an LED strip that glows different with colors and widths to deliver position facts. Indicator lights for microphone mute and Bluetooth pairing also display in this article. For the protection-aware, there is certainly a detachable privacy address involved in the box.
The VB1’s 4K PTZ digicam has a 115° horizontal and 81° vertical industry of view, and can use autoframing to hold conference contributors in view.
Picture: Bose
The digicam supports movie resolutions up to 2160p (4K) at 30fps, which offers some headroom as most movie conferencing services work at 1080p (FHD) — Lifesize being the exception. Autoframing, selectable by using a button on the infrared remote, adjusts the pan, tilt and zoom to hold all conference contributors in-frame — there is certainly no assistance (yet) for monitoring specific speakers. You can also specify PTZ options for the remote’s residence button and two presets, by using the desktop Bose Function Configuration app (out there for Home windows and MacOS).
There are 6 dynamic beam-steering microphones, a few on both side of the digicam, which hone in on voices and reject extraneous noise. If there is certainly a persistent resource of noise from one course (the hum of an air-con device, for instance), you can specify an ‘exclusion zone’ in the Function Configuration app, which will cause mic beams pointing there to be suppressed.
The stereo speakers deliver 20W for each channel with a frequency response of 85-20,000Hz and a utmost audio force amount (SPL) of 89dB at 1m length.
As properly as the Bose Function mobile app and Function Configuration desktop app, which are person-oriented, there is certainly Bose Function Administration, a Home windows app that IT admins can use to deploy and deal with numerous network-related Videobar VB1s throughout an organisation.
Overall performance & person experience
The Videobar VB1 is impressively easy to established up and configure, though I failed to check out the network connection and Function Administration software program side of issues. To put in a solitary device, you mount it on a table or wall (we used the table mount), plug in ability and a USB-C Pc connection at the again, attach your conference area screen by using the HDMI-out port if expected, select the Videobar VB1 as your digicam, mic and speakers in your movie conferencing software program, and off you go.
If you’re utilizing a Pc that is installed in a conference area (a Teams Space or Zoom Space set up, for instance), you is not going to need the HDMI connection from the VB1, which demands DisplayLink drivers and demands to be turned on in the Function Configuration app.
The infrared remote control’s features are replicated on the Bose Function app (Android or iOS).
Picture: Charles McLellan / ZDNet
Controls above pan-tilt-zoom and presets, quantity and autoframing, as well as mic muting and Bluetooth pairing, are all out there by using the helpful infrared remote or the mobile Bose Function app.
Environment an audio ‘exclusion zone’ in the desktop Bose Function Configuration app, to block out an extraneous noise resource.
Picture: Charles McLellan / ZDNet
The 4K-able digicam provides a superior-good quality picture, with controls out there in the Function Configuration app for small light and backlight compensation, anti-flicker/powerline frequency, brightness, distinction, saturation, sharpness and white stability. Autoframing will work successfully, zooming in and out to assure that all conference contributors are in the photo. You can regulate the autoframing pan-tilt-zoom velocity in the Function Configuration app way too.
As you’d count on presented Bose’s heritage, audio good quality is fantastic — in fact, throughout tests I frequently used the Videobar VB1 to participate in audio from Spotify on my smartphone above a Bluetooth connection. Back in movie conferencing-land, you have very good command above the conference room’s audio-scape. We have stated the ‘exclusion zone’ characteristic that allows you blank out extraneous noise from a specific course. This is out there when the mic beams are in dynamic method alternatively, you can place the beams how you want them in static method. Also in the Function Configuration app, you can toggle microphone mute obtain and acoustic echo cancellation, and regulate the quantity of any enter getting into by using the three.5mm audio-in jack to match that from the host Pc.
Conclusions
The Bose Videobar VB1 is a slim but strong digicam/mic/speaker combo designed to provider conference rooms with house for up to around ten persons. If you’re happy with the premium $1,199 selling price, you may get a quite able and configurable product.
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