The Challenge: Why Hybrid Meetings Still Struggle to Feel Equal
It’s no secret that hybrid work is here to stay. According to recent Gallup data, more than 79% of employees in remote-capable roles join meetings virtually at least part of the week. That means most organizations are now operating in a world where nearly every meeting includes both in-room and remote participants.
Yet, despite significant investment in video conferencing tools, many teams still face the same frustration: unequal experiences.
Remote participants struggle to see faces clearly. Room attendees forget there are colleagues on-screen. Side conversations, poor camera angles, and limited visibility leave remote employees feeling disconnected, and that disconnection can quietly erode collaboration, engagement, and inclusion.
This is the core problem behind what Crestron calls meeting equity: ensuring every participant, whether they’re across the table or across the country, has an equally engaging and effective meeting experience.
The Limitations of the Traditional Setup
Many hybrid rooms still rely on a single camera mounted at the end of a table, what many refer to as the “bowling alley view.” While this setup captures the room, it fails to capture the conversation. Gestures, facial expressions, and body language, all critical to communication, are lost.
As teams grow more distributed, the single-camera approach simply doesn’t scale. What today’s workplaces and classrooms need is intelligent video, systems that understand the space, track participants automatically, and deliver broadcast-quality views that make hybrid collaboration feel natural again.
The Solution: Multi-Camera Systems That See What Matters
To bring equity and clarity back to the hybrid experience, organizations are turning to multi-camera systems with intelligent switching, technology that automatically shifts perspectives based on who’s speaking, where they’re standing, or how the conversation moves through the room.
BCS partners with Crestron to deliver two proven approaches:
1. Intelligent Switching with 1 Beyond Cameras
Designed for medium to large collaboration spaces and classrooms, 1 Beyond systems use visual cues or manual triggers to switch between up to five cameras in a room.
This solution offers:
- Automatic or manual switching based on where someone moves or interacts.
- Presenter tracking and group framing, ensuring everyone is clearly visible.
- Simplified setup with a single USB connection and no complex programming.
- UC platform flexibility, integrating seamlessly with Microsoft Teams®, Zoom®, and other conferencing tools.
It’s a practical choice for spaces where flexibility, ease of use, and cost-efficiency matter most, like classrooms, training areas, or collaboration rooms where visual coverage is essential but heavy customization isn’t required.
2. Automate VX: Advanced Speaker Tracking for Executive and Large Spaces
For high-impact environments such as executive boardrooms, auditoriums, and hybrid lecture halls, Automate VX brings a premium, hands-free video experience.
Driven by microphone data and spatial awareness, this system dynamically directs and switches between up to 12 cameras. As a speaker moves, the system reframes automatically, capturing natural, head-on views that mimic in-person interaction.
The result is broadcast-quality production, achieved entirely through automation. No camera operators, no manual switching, just seamless coverage that makes remote participants feel like they’re in the room.
Matching Solutions to Spaces: Choosing the Right Approach
Each organization’s needs are different. The right solution depends on how your rooms are used, how dynamic your meetings are, and how much production quality you need.
Ask yourself:
- Is your space focused on collaborative interaction or executive presence?
- Do you need a plug-and-play setup or a custom-programmed experience?
- How important is precise speaker tracking versus basic zone-based switching?
For team-centric rooms, where brainstorming and flexibility matter most, the 1 Beyond solution offers simplicity, lower cost, and ease of support. For executive or client-facing environments where every detail matters, Automate VX delivers polished, spatially aware coverage that feels effortless.
Even better, the two solutions integrate: existing 1 Beyond cameras can be upgraded later as part of an Automate VX system, making it easy to scale as your needs evolve.
The Broader Impact: From Technology to Experience
At its core, intelligent video isn’t about the hardware; it’s about connection. It ensures that:
- Every participant is seen and heard clearly.
- Every voice carries equal weight in a discussion.
- Every meeting, whether hybrid, virtual, or in-person, feels cohesive and inclusive.
For businesses and institutions navigating hybrid collaboration, these technologies are not a luxury. They’re a necessity to keep distributed teams aligned, engaged, and productive.
How BCS Consultants Helps You Get There
Implementing intelligent video systems requires more than choosing cameras; it takes a deep understanding of space design, acoustics, network infrastructure, and user behavior. That’s where BCS brings unmatched expertise.
We help organizations:
- Assess room layouts and acoustic conditions.
- Design camera, audio, and control systems for maximum performance.
- Integrate Crestron video solutions with existing conferencing platforms.
- Ensure seamless, reliable operation through professional installation and support.
Our goal is simple: to create hybrid collaboration spaces that feel natural, inclusive, and effortless, because great technology should disappear into the background, letting people focus on ideas, not interfaces.
As hybrid work becomes the standard, organizations must design spaces that support human connection across distance. Intelligent video, powered by technologies like Crestron’s 1 Beyond and Automate VX, is redefining what those spaces can achieve.
At BCS Consultants, we help bring that vision to life, integrating the tools that make every meeting equitable, every conversation clear, and every space smarter.
Let’s build the future of hybrid collaboration, together.
You must be logged in to post a comment.