Don't Let Poor Audio Kill Your Conference Calls

In an age of Teams, Zoom and Google Meet, jumping on a video call is now a daily occurrence for many professionals around the world.

But there's one key component even more important than pristine picture performance, reliable connectivity and ease of use: audio quality!

If people can't be heard clearly then in many ways remote meetings become worthless and dead! From a home worker with inferior equipment to a CEO sat too far away in a long boardroom, being heard matters.

Top tips to maximize audio

• Room design and dynamics are crucial.
• Carefully choose materials and layout to optimize acoustics, especially around carpets and shiny glass tables. Avoid distracting busy environments with lots of background noise.
• Do you prefer videobars or PTZ cameras and separate audio capabilities, such as ceiling mounted options?
• Speaker positioning needs to ensure all participants are clearly heard
• Master microphone techniques. Adopting good microphone etiquette will help participants sound clearer. Position microphones directly in front of participants, facing toward them. Speaking clearly and naturally and not sitting too close or too far away can make a significant difference.
• Make mute your friend. It’s better to have to be reminded to unmute than to be the person disrupting meeting flow with the sounds of kids, dogs, keyboard clicks and phone alerts, especially when working from home.
• Avoid messy cables that not only look unsightly but could be a safety hazard
• Think about meeting equity, so wherever people are working they have an equal voice with quality equipment. Don’t rely on a laptop with often poor speakers and cameras.
• Adopt vendor agnostic plug-and-play systems with easy user set-up and full Duplex capabilities, for more natural two-way conversations.

Next Generation AI Audio

As a market leader in both video and audio conferencing, Boom’s expanding portfolio covers every meeting room, big and small. Videobars are now a very common sight in many meeting facilities but often their audio range is limited to around 6 meters which is not ideal in larger spaces.

So Boom has developed a HALO videobar with up to eight expansion mics that can be placed literally anywhere in any shaped room. Our standard HALO already benefits from a 4K UHD camera, six microphone array and high fidelity speakers for a seamless collaboration experience.

It boasts many advanced features such as facial recognition, speaker tracking, intelligent noise reduction and AI auto-framing. Additional ports allow for audio expansion for flexible rooms and growing teams.

High-fidelity audio with a 48kHz sampling rate and dual 10W speakers provide lossless audio and full spectrum sound for meeting participants. Acoustic Echo Cancellation and Automatic Gain Control further enhance the meeting experience and work to ensure full duplex quality.

A flexible and portable solution is our GIRO Pro speakerphone that represents a great audio choice. With 360° omnidirectional microphone pickup and full-duplex HD Audio, the Boom GIRO Pro provides a professional conferencing experience anywhere. Enjoy the convenience of wireless audio with the built-in lithium ion battery via Bluetooth or connect directly to a computer with simple USB for a plug-and-play experience. Wireless charging adds convenience while an additional Bluetooth dongle adds increased connectivity

Furthermore, we’re at the cutting edge of new developments where AI-based noise cancellation represents an even bigger leap forward – able to differentiate between different sound fields, such as unwanted banging on a table whilst enhancing human voices.

Our ethos is based on creating better meetings, simply – any device, any platform, any room. Whilst exceptional visual performance and quick connectivity is crucial, don’t let poor audio undermine meeting experiences.