THIS IS A PROMOTED POST

By Jason Tirado
Lightware

Think about your computer. You have a display, a camera, an Ethernet port, a USB device, a microphone, speakers, power requirements, etc.

Now, think about a typical meeting room. The room has a display, a camera, an ethernet port, a USB device, microphone, speakers, power requirements. It is the same thing. The difference is that you are sitting in the “computer” instead of sitting in front of it. It is the same challenges and the same users.

People have been managing computers on networks for years, but only recently have people begun to manage rooms the same way. With Lightware Taurus UCX and other products, we are employing the same tools that IT departments do. Lightware offers a documented API that IT people are familiar with and require for higher level management.

The Taurus UCX is not just about connecting USB and HDMI. We are also extending the diagnostics and analytics as well. This is a portal into the actual signals that are flowing through the system. There is no guessing anymore. If you want to know what is going on in the room, you can see it.

Imagine you had a problem with the computer. Someone would remote in and open a Team Viewer session. They would examine the diagnostics and analytics on the computer. They would check properties and they would have a good idea of what was going on in your system.

Why aren’t we thinking about managing rooms in the same way? We should be able to examine the room remotely, examine diagnostics and analytics on the room. We should check the room properties just like we would on a computer.

Think about where HDBaseT came from. HDBaseT was a bridge technology to get us across from analog to digital. HCDP forced a format change on the industry. Once it became apparent that digital technology was going to live alongside analog, it became necessary for our industry to support both on a single platform. I believe that USB will force a similar change.

The Taurus UCX is the answer. We are solving the “last mile” problem where the room becomes a network device. The Taurus UCX is a connectivity solution, but we also connect to the information of the room. We provide an information-rich hardware platform that is open and extensible.

It is common knowledge that the IT industry has taken over the technology in the room. Lightware offers the most information rich hardware in the industry. Regardless of which management and monitoring solution you deploy; the tools are only as good as the underlying information. You cannot present what you cannot read. With Lightware, information is presented all the way down to the HDMI chipset. The operating temperature, the signal presence, the diagnostics, the firmware, the serial number, the MAC ID, etc. are all present and readable from our API. You do not need a custom programmer to give you this information. It is readily available in the Lightware platform.

Computers are the most common sources in our enterprise and commercial environments. When they all use a common audio/video format such as USB, we need a bridge for the technologies. At Lightware, we are working to bring USB into the Pro AV world.

Audio, video, and control are our business. USB peripherals have become common place in the integrated systems world. We have started our development of products with USB as a communications platform in the Cisco integration. We are furthering our development with the Taurus UCX to integrate USB into a professional environment. Lightware will lead the industry in making USB a professional connection in the world of AV.

Why has there never been an OS for the building? You can say Siemens/Honeywell, BMS systems but they were always in silos. They were dominant applications, but they never took hold as an OS. In the world of computers, you may say there are four major operating systems, Windows, iOS, Linux, Android. In the world of buildings and rooms, there is still a battle going on. It is not decided yet which platforms will be the OS of the building but with Lightware, you do not need an answer to that question.

Regardless of which company or technology you choose the best data wins. Lightware’s hardware and Open API provide that data.