TANGRAM SERVICES

Audio Visual Technology

Connecting Teams ARound the World

Integrated technology that empowers your brand and culture.

Our Technology team understands how technology can foster communication, support mobility, enhance collaboration and drive better business results. HD telepresence boardroom, surround sound theatre, enterprise wide streaming or master control of your technology and building systems —we’ve got you covered.

AUDIO SOLUTIONS
Voice Reinforcement
Media Audio Reproduction
Audio Conferencing
Digital Wireless Audio
Live Sound
Sound Masking
Steerable Column Arrays
Sound Systems for Intelligibility

VIDEO SOLUTIONS
Flat Panel Display
sLarge Format Projection
Laser Projection
Ultra-Thin Bezel Display Arrays
Seamless Fine Pitch LED Walls
Mosaic Video Walls
LED Tickers
Hybrid Display Solutions
Interactive Displays

CONTROL + MEDIA DISTRIBUTION
‍‍Classrooms
Digital Media Distribution
IP/Network Based Media Distribution
Fiber Distribution for Production
Touch Panel Control
iPad Control
Web Based Control
Remote Control & Diagnostics Solutions

People, space and technology drive the way we work.

Technology is in the driver’s seat in today’s hybrid workplace. Employees now have very different expectations, preferring a hybrid work schedule to support work/life balance. In order to attract and retain talent in an extremely competitive market, organizations are rethinking what hybrid means to them.

In a hybrid work model, the office serves as a hub for collaboration. Conferencing technology goes beyond the meeting room. Employees need to collaborate locally and with remote team members throughout the office with fixed and mobile technology to make every space a collaboration space.

With high quality collaborative room systems, remote participants can see and hear everyone as if they are in the same room. With the feature sets of Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and other platforms, participation and engagement has never been better, creating equitable experiences for all.

We serve as a consultative partner to help you integrate office technology. We look at hybrid office design holistically, integrating technology with furniture and architectural systems to create high performing collaborative environments.

‍We help you create the perfect collaborative workspaces and keep them running smoothly.

Experts in Technology + Space

What really separates us from other AV/IT integrator/consultants is that we are not just technology experts, but experts in space and its impact on organizations.

In a challenging, complex and competitive environment, we are all united by a common desire to anticipate the future and make thoughtful decisions.

‍The Bigger Picture
That is why our experts and our primary partner Steelcase, spend time analyzing trends and thinking about what lies ahead. We know that space shapes the behavior of employees, and behavior over time becomes the culture of an organization.

Space and technology are the second largest business expense after salaries and a critical strategic asset in driving an engaged workplace culture.

We specialize in creating collaborative workspaces that support people in doing their best work. Don’t you want to partner with someone who is thinking about the bigger picture?

‍Our Manufacturing Partners
We partner with more than 95 technology manufacturers, including Microsoft, Cisco, Zoom, Pexip, Poly, Logitech, and Crestron.

Your Technology Design Goals

As you think about adding or enhancing your existing collaborative workspaces, there is a lot to consider. Purchasing technology for your organization is a significant investment in time and resources, and needs to be well-thought out. There are a number of questions you should ask to discover the right solutions for you:

‍How is technology used in your organization?
- Is it for scheduled meetings?
- Impromptu collaboration?
- Displaying content?
Interactive collaboration?
- Company-wide news and announcements?

‍How effective is the technology you currently use?
- What capabilities would make your people more productive?
- What are you currently not able to achieve that you would like to?
- How long does it typically take your people to start a meeting?
- Is the user experience consistent, whether someone is working locally in an office or remote?

‍Do you use web or video conferencing?
- Do people typically meet face-to-face using displays to share content?
- What percentage of your workforce works remotely?
- How frequently are people looking to collaborate with others that are both local and remote?
- Do remote workers have a satisfying and productive user experience?

Do you have a standard platform across the organization?
‍
- Are you standardized on Microsoft, Zoom or Cisco?
- Do you instead use a mixed platform of solutions?
- Do you have challenges with the interoperability of a mix of conferencing applications and/or video conferencing systems?

‍What is your workplace culture?
‍
Is your organization more “classic,” seeking practical, cost effective solutions that get the job done?

These solutions might include basic engineered systems.

Is your organization more progressive, seeking immersive technologies integrated holistically within the space to drive a creative and collaborative workplace culture?

These solutions might include open and enclosed spaces with bundled systems and all-in-one solutions.

Does your organization require integrated high-performance systems that provide the highest fidelity video and audio for local and remote participants?

These solutions might include integrated conferencing systems.

All spaces are now video spaces.

Hybrid collaboration happens
when people in the office
are working with people who
are remote. It’s complicated. what we know:

Proximity matters.

Think about the relationship between people, content, displays and cameras.

Acoustics are important.

Variables such as architecture, floor plan location and adjacencies have an impact.

Software and hardware are evolving constantly.

Right now, IT support is often necessary to make sure elements work together.

Hybrid collaboration takes place
in settings traditionally designed
for collaboration as well as social,
personal and learning spaces.

Teamwork may be scheduled or spontaneous. And, it helps to identify the type of collaboration being supported; informative (sharing), evaluative
(feedback, reviews) and generative (solving problems, developing new ideas). Generative is the most difficult, yet the most critical because it drives innovation and growth.

See and be seen. Design for the camera, consider how displays are used and think about the impact of well-placed lighting.

Camera
To keep people engaged, make sure they can see and be seen, whether they are
in the office or remote. This means choosing the right camera or cameras
for the type of collaboration being supported.

Field of view angle
Angles typically range between 70° for
individual use, 180° for wall-mounted
use in group spaces and even 360° for a
center-of-the-room device. Wide-angle
lenses can create a “funhouse mirror”
effect which is not ideal. Ensure the
field of view is wide enough to take in
participants and content, but narrow
enough to avoid visual distractions.

Proximity + placement
Eye contact is a three-way relationship
between the camera, remote attendees
and the people in the space. It is best
achieved when the camera is placed
less than 10° (vertical & horizontal) from
where you would expect a person’s
eyes to fall — typically top center of the
display. Also, keep the camera as low as
practical and make sure those in the room
have some distance from the screen.

Number of cameras
Some off-the-shelf hardware and software systems can support multiple cameras. Consider using a content camera in addition to a room camera in spaces that support generative collaboration. Large training rooms can benefit from audience and presenter view cameras.
‍
Manual tilt, pan, zoom
These features allow people within the
space to control what’s being viewed.
This can be done mechanically or digitally. Presets may be available. A few cameras
allow for remote adjustments, but most
must be done in the room.
‍
Resolution
Higher resolution is better for capturing
image details such as slight facial expressions. The resolution can be
degraded for a variety of reasons, such as bandwidth limitations or video compression.

Auto-framing
The camera automatically frames the view by detecting where people are located and cropping the video. Each software or hardware manufacturer does this differently.

Auto-tracking
Typically, audio localization determines
where the sound is coming from and the
camera automatically crops the video to
follow the person actively speaking.

Auto-image correction
Natural or overhead light can cause brightness levels to vary. Auto image correction identifies individuals and adjusts parameters such as image
brightness to ensure everyone looks
their best.

Face cropping
This feature cuts out the space between individuals in a room view. It provides better views of faces, but also removes some spatial context for remote participants.

Participant count
Typically cameras with auto-framing can also detect the number of people in the space. This can be used to automatically determine if a room is over capacity.

Physical distancing
To determine if distancing requirements are not being followed, cameras can identify the distance between individuals.

Display
Consider how teams will be collaborating when selecting the right display. Creative, generative sessions will benefit from more interactive tools.

Size
Display size is important to give remote participants equitable presence. Participant tiling and sizing is dependent on the software used, but estimates can be made to display people at an equitable size. If people need to be highly engaged, a display large enough to spotlight them is ideal.
‍
Resolution
Most displays are considered high definition, which typically means at least 720 horizontal rows of pixels (full HD is 1080 px and 4K doubles that). Consider how far people will be sitting from the screen and the size of the screen to determine the right resolution.
‍
Viewing angle
Most displays are flat, limiting the view
from which they can be seen. In-person
participants should be somewhere in front of the display to see remote teammates without much distortion. If the display is curved, typically in a concave manner, individuals should sit directly in front of the display.
‍
Quantity
Depending on software and hardware,
either one or two displays is typical. With one display, each platform will tile people and content differently. Train individuals on how to spotlight people or content for the best experience. With two displays, people and content can be separated which allows for optimal placement.

Meeting interface and controls
Meetings can be started and controlled with personal devices or a shared room device. Some displays enable a touch interface, ranging from personal displays like a smartphone or tablet to large displays like an interactive touchscreen. Input includes one point of touch, multi-touch or a stylus. Voice controls are emerging and support a touchless experience.

Lighting
Task, ambient and accent lighting are different from lighting used to design a great video experience. The future
workplace needs to consider all of the ways lighting contributes to hybrid collaboration.

Video lighting angle
Facial lighting is best at a 45° angle from horizontal, positioning lights slightly in front of participants. Steeper angles cause strong facial shadows and shallow
angles cause glare and hotspots.

Ambient lighting sources
Indirect lighting disperses light over a
large area. This helps ensure each person
is well lit while trying to minimize
eye strain.

Color spectrum
Consider the warmth or coolness of
the lighting source. When combined
with ambient lighting sources such as
natural light from a window or ceiling
lights, people might look different on
video than they do in person. Lights with
an adjustable color spectrum will allow
people to select the light that makes
them look their best.
‍
Backlighting
Try to reduce strong backlighting, either
from windows or lamps. Most cameras
try to manage an average brightness level
from the entire scene, and so people’s
faces may be difficult to see clearly with
a bright background. Use shades, screens
or other dividers to block some or most
of the backlighting.
‍
Lighting the background
Wall wash lighting provides separation
between the wall and participants.
Avoid hotspots or shadows by lighting
the wall behind participants uniformly.
Some back lighting helps outline people
and enhance depth of field.

Hear and be heard. Pay attention to elements that impact how sound moves through technology and around a space.

Acoustics
Furniture and materials all impact acoustics. Based on where the space is and what’s happening inside of it, consider where acoustic-absorbing properties can be added.

Spatial layout
Consider adjacencies when planning
hybrid collaboration spaces. Research tells us that a steady hum of noise is not as disruptive as punctuated sounds. And teams tend not to be bothered by conversation from their team, but are disrupted by noise from other teams. Open collaboration spaces should be distanced from heads down, deep-focus areas.

Acoustic privacy
Consider how to keep sound inside a
space to protect those nearby and how
to avoid distractions from nearby spaces.
Prefabricated walls block sound from
passing from one area to another. In the
open plan, phone booths and pods offer acoustic privacy.

Sound absorption
Carpet squares, rugs and suspended
acoustic panels absorb sound and limit
the reflection of sound waves within
a space. Also, consider wrapping
interior walls in fabric or other plush
sound-absorbing material to reduce
the reflection of sound waves.
‍
Sound masking
Unlike white or pink noise, sound masking
uses precise filtering to deliver a quiet,
uniform and airflow-like background
sound based on its overlap with only
the frequencies of human speech. It can
enhance the ability to focus and provide
additional acoustic privacy.

Deployable boundaries
Screens, panels and boundary elements
can help contain sound in the open plan
and block sound coming from nearby
spaces. Pods can also support acoustics
in the open plan by giving people more
places to take video calls uninterrupted.

Microphone
Power, placement and pickup of sound are all key elements to consider when choosing the right microphone or microphone array for a space.

Noise suppression by sound type
Many software platforms offer noise
suppression based on noise type or
provide an auto setting. Preferences
may allow for filtering all sound except
voice or allow some background sound.
These settings can change as software
or hardware is updated. Be aware and
communicate changes to individuals
and teams.

Noise suppression by zone
Using an array of microphones to determine the location of a sound, some microphones allow users to create a zone of sounds to include and exclude. This can be done by picking up sound within a certain shape area in front of the microphone, or using a floor plan with drawing tools to design a more complex pickup location.

Sound conduction
If the software or hardware being
used doesn’t include adequate noise
suppression, adjust the microphone’s
mounting location. Larger work surfaces
can help by keeping microphones further
from vibrations when people are typing
or eating. Small tables can allow
microphones to be placed away
from doors or HVAC locations.
‍
Virtual microphones
Some higher-end microphones
use a processing technology that
simulates virtual microphones throughout a space. These microphones can pick up sounds, even very quiet ones at a great distance. Use care with this technology as someone in the space might think they are whispering, yet are able to be heard by remote participants.

Location
Common options are tabletop or ceiling-mounted microphones. While tabletop microphones are easy to set up, they typically require cabling. Some devices, such as collaboration bars, contain an integrated microphone, but don’t allow for optimal placement close to people speaking. Consider ceiling-mounted in a larger space. In the open, place microphones on tables as close to people as possible when using a fixed device.

Speaker
The right speakers can amplify and spotlight sound, and integrate with other
technology in the space to avoid echos and reverb.

Power
Speakers are rated in watts. Match speaker power to the conditions it needs to serve, including the size of the space and background noise it needs to overcome. For example, don’t rely on individual devices to serve an open group setting.

Spatial audio
Some speakers use built-in spatial
awareness to automatically adjust the
audio for the acoustics of the space and
the desired source location. This typically
happens using sounds not heard by humans, but picked up by the speaker which determines any sound adjustments needed.

Source location
Speakers can be placed on a tabletop or
mounted in the wall or ceiling. When there is one directional speaker, the source of the sound should be co-located with the image of the remote person who is speaking for a more personal experience.
‍
Reach
Sound travels throughout a space, reflecting off surfaces. Some speakers can limit the reach of the sound. Sometimes called audio spotlights, these speakers make it easy to hear within the zone of reach while people outside that zone hear very little.

Transcription and translation
Many platforms offer automatic meeting transcription and language translation. This can be valuable as another way to
interact with remote teammates, as well
as document the meeting. Accuracy is
dependent on many factors, including
audio pickup quality, accents, jargon, etc.

Engage more people in more places by using a variety of shared content creation tools. New cameras and a range of tools are already improving hybrid collaboration.

Variety
A range of digital and analog tools will
benefit in-person and remote participants by giving them choice and control. Personal and shared devices can work together or separately based on preference. Always consider how
people can co-create, and how to share and capture any content created using analog tools in the space.

Content cameras
These cameras are dedicated to capture
analog content on markerboards or sticky
notes. They are also designed to remove skew, reduce glare, and otherwise improve the image for better readability.

Digital content creation
Software apps let people create sticky
notes, draw shapes, include images and
perform other actions typically done on a
markerboard, large screen, touch display or personal device. Digital whiteboards
allow for multiple, distributed users to
participate synchronously.

Digital + Analog
To keep people engaged on both sides of the camera you should provide a mix of analog and digital tools, as well as consider how you’ll display content while
collaborating in a hybrid model.

Smart whiteboard
These products combine analog markerboards with content capture mechanisms. Some products track the location of the physical marker to reproduce the same writing on a digital whiteboard.

Analog content creation
Surfaces such as markerboards are a common tool to capture ideas. Place them in easy-to-access areas.

Additional tools and artifacts
Sticky notes, pinnable surfaces and tangible artifacts can all benefit the creativity process. Consider where these are positioned within the space and if remote participants can see and contribute to what’s being discussed.

Kyle Mora

Sales Representative

Jason Jerez

Sales Executive

Eric Lockwood

Director, Technology

Meet The Team

Built around providing exceptional customer experiences. Our technology team consists of audiovisual engineers and technicians that understand the fast paced world of technology and work daily to translate it into practical applications for the everyday workplace.

Tangram and our partners help you create and maintain an engaging workplace that adapts as your company evolves.

Paul Smith, CMO

Overview

BRING REMOTE TEAMS TOGETHER

The Roam Collection, built to support the Microsoft Surface Hub 2S family of devices, enhances collaboration across distance and across devices. Bring remote teams together and enable large-scale teamwork where everyone can be seen, heard and actively participate in meetings – whether they’re together or apart.

Enable Active Collaboration

‍
Collaboration fuels innovation. The Roam Collection allows teams more room for ideas, content sharing and more opportunities to physically and emotionally engage in the creative process.

Inspiration

Overview

VIDEO COLLABORATION FOR THE HYBRID WORKFORCE
‍

The way we work has changed forever. It’s flexible, no longer defined by a specific location. And it may not take place in an office. Work happens wherever people happen to be.This new way of working has made video critical for collaboration, enabling face-to face connections between people regardless of location or timezone. But it’s also vital that everyone in this environment has an equal seat at the table.

SOLUTIONS FOR SMALL, MEDIUM, AND LARGE ROOMS
‍

Logitech video collaboration solutions are built for the hybrid workforce. They’re easy to set up and manage and simple to use. Our solutions encourage meeting equity and equal participation by allowing everyone to be seen and heard clearly.Our people-first approach to design is why we’re loved by end-users and the first choice of IT leaders.

INSPIRATION

Overview

Cultivating ingenuity and designing the future of technology.
‍

Crestron Electronics has carved the path for technological innovation since 1972. We create automation solutions that transform the way people live their lives, making their day-to-day tasks easier and improving efficiency and productivity. We strive to be at the forefront of cutting-edge technology, constantly offering faster, better solutions that address the needs of customers the world over.

Create a hybrid workplace that works. For everyone.
‍

With Crestron, you aren’t just buying top-of-the-line electronics, you are investing in scalable and customized solutions, gaining 24/7 global service and support, and sponsoring products that are designed and manufactured in America.

Inspiration

Business Units

Additional Resources

Audio Visual Technology

Integrated technology that empowers your brand and culture.

People, space and technology drive the way we work.

Experts in Technology + Space

Your Technology Design Goals

All spaces are now video spaces.

See and be seen. Design for the camera, consider how displays are used and think about the impact of well-placed lighting.

Hear and be heard. Pay attention to elements that impact how sound moves through technology and around a space.

Engage more people in more places by using a variety of shared content creation tools. New cameras and a range of tools are already improving hybrid collaboration.

See what we can do together.

Kyle Mora

Jason Jerez

Eric Lockwood

Meet The Team

Tangram and our partners help you create and maintain an engaging workplace that adapts as your company evolves.

Overview

Featured Products

Microsoft x Steelcase Hybrid Collaboration Table

Surface Hub 2

Steelcase Roam

Overview

Featured Products

Tap Scheduler

Rally Bar

Rally Plus

Overview

Featured Products

Flex UC-C160-T

R-Series Cart

Flex Series