Cloud

Review: Poly Studio X32 Brings Big-Boardroom Quality to Small State and Local Meetings

This video bar can create a professional meeting experience using nearly any conferencing platform.

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John Breeden II is an award-winning reviewer and public speaker with 20 years of experience covering technology.

Most state and local agencies have at least one or two rooms kitted out with the latest and greatest conference room gear, and that is great for big, official meetings. But the schedule to use those well-equipped rooms can fill up fast. Plus, it might be overkill if all that is needed is a quiet meeting space or project huddle with a small team.

Meeting the needs of small teams is what the Poly Studio X32 all-in-one video bar was created to do. It can offer many of the features found in large, dedicated conference rooms to groups meeting in smaller spaces. It’s perfect for rooms that are up to 15 feet deep.

The little X32 looks like a television soundbar with a camera lens in the middle. It weighs only 2.5 pounds, so it can be easily mounted on a wall or on a portable setup, such as a rolling cart. It supports Power over Ethernet, so there’s no need for a power cord, just an Ethernet cable.

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The Poly Studio X32 Boasts Impressive Features

The Poly device packs some impressive features for its size. The camera can record meetings at up to 4K resolution, while the four high-quality MEMS microphones constantly scan the room to zero in on human voices, blocking out most background noise. For output, there are two HDMI 2.0 ports at the top of the X32, so it can send its video feed to two monitors at the same time. And it has two stereo speakers that are more than loud enough to fill a small meeting space with quality sound.

For my test, the X32 was mounted on a wall facing a small table. It perfectly captured what four people were saying, regardless of where they were sitting, while the camera’s artificial intelligence kept speakers framed and in focus. Those joining the meeting remotely all commented that it was like being in the same room with the other presenters. And when remote participants spoke up, the people present in the meeting room could easily see and hear them, using the attached monitors and the X32’s stereo speakers.

The Poly Studio X32 Is Quick to Launch

It doesn’t stop at quality — everything about the X32 has been designed for simplicity. The video bar features one-touch meeting generation using either Zoom or Microsoft Teams and easily supports other meeting platforms as well. Users can also create presets and preferences; for example, to quickly launch a regular meeting every Thursday afternoon.

The Poly Studio X32 brings the same quality and features found in large, dedicated conference rooms to smaller meeting spaces, a boon to innovation in state and local government. It’s also perfect for hybrid work environments, where not everyone is in the office, and enables even small spaces and teams to quickly support big ideas and collaboration.

SPECIFICATIONS

CAMERA TYPE: 20-megapixel camera with 5X digital zoom
RECORDING RESOLUTIONS: 2160p or 4K UHD (3840x2160) at 30 fps
AUDIO INPUT: 4 MEMS microphones
VIDEO OUTPUT: 2 HDMI 2.0 ports
DIMENSIONS: 22.7x2.6x3 inches
WEIGHT: 2.51 pounds

Keep Conferencing With Poly Lens Management Tools

Like most of the videoconferencing devices in the Poly Studio line, the X32 is very easy for people to set up and use. In most cases, a single button can launch a Zoom or Teams meeting with near-perfect video and sound quality. But what about the administrators supporting those devices behind the scenes? And what happens if there are hundreds or thousands of Poly Studio devices embedded in an environment across multiple locations?

The Poly Lens management software was created for that situation. It provides administrators with full visibility into all of their Poly Studio devices. And because it’s a cloud-based service, it can show every device in a network from a central location, like a desktop computer or even a smartphone.

I tested the Poly Lens software with several devices I had in the testing lab, including an older X30 that I reviewed almost five years ago. All of the devices quickly registered with Poly Lens, including older ones along with the latest X32 model reviewed here.

Once connected, I was able to see usage patterns for all devices, including how long and how frequently each one was used. For the X32, the Poly Lens software showed that it was currently in use (it was undergoing performance testing at the time). Administrators armed with this information can quickly see if devices in their environment are being over- or underused and adjust their placement accordingly.

The Poly Lens software is also helpful for diagnosing problems with individual devices. If something is not working right, administrators can remotely see all of the various settings and take whatever action is needed. They can also perform routine maintenance, such as applying security or operating system patches, right from the app without having to be physically present in the conference room.

Using the Poly Lens management platform extends the simplicity offered to users of Poly devices back to administrators as well, making it a much more seamless process when adding new videoconferencing capabilities to their environment. With Poly Lens, adding new devices to small conference and meeting spaces can be done without increasing management complexity. Whether an agency has 10 Poly devices or hundreds, the Poly Lens management software can keep them all running and ready for the next big — or small — team meeting.

Photo Courtesy of HP.com