Introducing Microsoft Teams Rooms (Updated)

[Christian Schacht]

[Update Note May 2019]
Adding an nearby Microsoft Teams Room is now available for your desktop and mobile clients May update (see more details bellow).

Two years ago we introduced the next generation of Skype Room Systems, a center of room control with one-touch join, to add the best audio and video to your meetings.  We started with one hardware partner and now work with six leading device manufacturers, to deliver the best quality experiences for both Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams meetings. To date, customers have conducted more than 130 million minutes of meetings through Skype Room Systems. In light of this momentum, and to mark our commitment to making Teams a complete meetings and calling solution, we are rebranding Skype Room Systems as Microsoft Teams Rooms.

This rebranding signifies the continued delivery of features being built to enhance Teams meetings experiences. Our goal is to extend Teams meetings into every space from small huddle rooms to large conference rooms.

We’ve recently announced and delivered several capabilities that enhance the Teams Meetings experience in meeting rooms:

• Proximity detection (Update May Available NOW), makes it easy to discover and add nearby, available Microsoft Teams Rooms to any meeting.
• Companion experiences with mobile, to join your devices in content-only mode.
• Support for dual screen rooms.

And it’s important to note that Microsoft Teams Rooms still work with Skype for Business calls and meetings.

 

Meetings Simplified

Meetings are easy to schedule, simply use Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Teams to invite your conference rooms to a meeting just as easily as inviting your colleagues.

Schedule Teams in Outlook

One touch-join

Instantly start your meeting from the center of the room control with one touch.

Microsoft Teams Rooms Console

Add nearby meeting room

Proximity based meeting join, for an available Microsoft Teams Room, the Microsoft Teams client on your PC and mobile has a proximity sensor that detects the room and you can add the room easily to the meeting from your pre-join screen on your client.

On your PC the pre-join screen of your meeting will highlight that an Teams Room is nearby. 

Add nearby room from your desktop
On your Teams mobile client you can add the room to your meeting and find nearby rooms quickly.

Add Conference Room from your Mobile

Inside the meeting room, the front of the room display and console will show that you are trying to add the room, and simply accept the incoming invitation on the console to bring the room into the meeting.

Proximity join from Microsoft Teams Rooms

Microsoft Teams will automatically join the meeting in content-only mode from your desktop, allowing the room to provide audio and video into the meeting without echo and feedback generated by the other clients in the room.  Also your mobile client will switch to content-only mode after adding the room.

If the Microsoft Teams Room is already in the meeting and you like join from your devices as well, Teams now detects this and recommends to join the meeting with audio off as well.

Pre-join screen when the room is already in the meeting

Learn more about how Microsoft has deployed Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Teams Rooms internally to more than 2,400 meeting rooms around the globe and how Microsoft is using the integrated meeting solution to reshape the collaborative environment into a simple, consistent, and reliable experience for thousands of employees.

Additionally in our phones business, we recently added our first native Teams Phones from Yealink, the T56A, T58A, and CP 960.  These desk and conference room phones all have a touch screen and existing customers can now instantly upgrade to Teams as they migrate their platform.    

Look for more exciting announcements from our partners at Integrated Systems Europe in February, and please visit aka.ms/teamsdevices to learn more about our portfolio of Teams certified devices.

Let us know what you think!

Try the new features on your Microsoft Teams Rooms and provide feedback via User Voice or vote for existing ideas to help us prioritize the requests. We read every piece of feedback that we receive to make sure that the Microsoft Teams Rooms experience meets your needs.

- Christian Schacht, senior product marketing manager Microsoft Teams Rooms

[Ilya Bukshteyn]

@ScottH still on our roadmap but no update on timeframe just yet, sorry

[Ilya Bukshteyn]

@ScottH this is still on our roadmap but no specific timeframe we can discuss yet.

[amoller]

Hi All,

We have an issue with the content camera on our Logitech Smart Dock. We are using a Logitech BRIO camera so we can display whiteboard content, however the ability to share this during a meeting is not available as the button is greyed out. The firmware of the camera is up to date and supported as stated on the MS site. 

Windows is running on the recommended version and has all the latest updates. Content camera is configured as recommended by MS. 

Any ideas?

Many Thanks,
Alex.

[Ilya Bukshteyn]

@amoller the content camera feature is not yet enabled for the first generation of Surface Pro based MTR systems such as the Smart Dock; it is currently only available on newer non-SUrface Pro based MTRs. Support for content camera on Surface Pro based MTRs is coming in a future update.

[amoller]

@Ilya Bukshteyn, thanks for your response. Could you just confirm that, as the feature is available to configure on the console, it is just not functioning?

[Ilya Bukshteyn]

@amoller correct, Content Camera can not yet be enabled on MTR systems based on Surface Pro.

[Renaud SERIES]

Hi,

We are deploying MTR with hp and Logitech solutions. Seams great.

But we still need some adoption content for end users like Microsoft does for Surface Hub.

Could you provide a Microsoft Teams Rooms Adoption kit with :

- Microsoft Teams Rooms logo

- end user pdf trainings (based on user scenario (project, join, create a meeting))

- auto response email template with help for using MTR

- Powerpoint presentation as demo guide to explain capabilities of this product for users ?

Thanks !

[Ilya Bukshteyn]

@Renaud SERIES agreed this would be good. @Christian Schacht  thoughts / plans?

[cecile_gallien]

Hello Tech Community,

I come back to this Community as I had to reset a Crestron Flex B140 that was back from a Customer who Added to a domain!

After the reset, I re-installed the Crestron softwares for the touch, soundbar and share. I runned all the updates available and now the Uc-Engine runs on the latest version of Windows as well as MTR interface.

But, I noticed 3 changes that are really annoying :

- the virtual keyboard would not pop up even when I disconnect the physical one (for login in settings or search in Teams)

- accessing the Windows interface login page is blocked by a locked screen and I need a mouse to click to slide this page away and reach the login page with the 2 users on the Bottom right and the password field. A click on the touch screen would not make the locked screen slide away

- the 5 or 6 times Windows key sequence does not launch anymore the access to windows

Are there any configuration that  need to setup on the Windows itself to get back to normal behavvior ?

Thanks,

Cecile

[Graham Walsh]

As per our direct email Cecile, Crestron Support are investigating this and we'll get back to you.  Just out of interest, have you tried to factory reset the Windows image again?

[cecile_gallien]

@Graham Walsh,

Thanks for your reply. Due to lack of time I did not reset again the device. I will surely do it when it comes back from the current POC.

If in the meantime, you get a detailled process on the after-reset of Crestron Flex that would be great.

Thanks,

Cecile

[cecile_gallien]

Hello MTR Tech Community,

I deploy more and more MTR, which is a very good thing, but Customers keep asking the NO 'password never expires' for security reasons !

I can see this very interesting option named 'password rotation' on the settings page Under the User account password but it is disabled by default even when I had an AD account Adhoc created.

Is it a feature that would be available anytime ? This would be very useful to avoid security that I am afraid would soon forbid the installation of such devices or would force the password change anyway (as any user) and makes all the systems out of order until the password is changed! What a  maintenance this would require !

Thanks,

Cecile

[Dan Byne]

Hi Cecile,

Coming from an MSP, sometimes forcing users to change passwords often is more of a security risk than not at all. I mean that most people will add a number to the end of their password as a new password or even get so confused with passwords they will write them down on a post-it note and stick it on their screen.

Having a strong password from the beginning that is only used for that low privileged account would be much of a lower classed security risk than worrying about the password never expires.

I would then use Office 365 and use the risky sign-ins to monitor activity and react from there.

With the password never expiring it ensures the MTR will work first time everytime without the need for any mismatch in passwords or a any extra maintenance from the IT departments.

This is just my thoughts.

Thanks,

Dan

[Charles Tran]

I am a fan of security and prefer to have a "no password expiration" feature.  To make matter worse, some accesses requires user to pick password not of their choices.  Many sites requires a long password.  As a results, users have many different passwords and have to write them down to remember. It is terrible security practices.  

Security Hygiene in education and friendly reminders  are great approach as part of our lives. Users can change as they wish and ready.  Thanks for sharing this security topic.

[cecile_gallien]

@Dan Byne& @Charles Tran,

Thanks for your feedback. It is Always good to have other adivces. As you mentionned, changing the password that easy for users and security is not met. From now, security for password is more and more strict as you can reuse previous passwords and sometimes you can not reuse letters at the same place. Ok that is for the users.

For the room systems, i definetly do not want to change password humanly speaking. I expect to use the automatic rotation password that is a discussion between the system and AD (on prem) to set-password automatically regurlaly before it expires in AD specification.

This means as a human I loose the password of the room but from the point of view of AD and Skype/Teams and Exchange, everything goes fine.

So i do expect such a feature to be enabled !

Regards,

Cecile

[Ilya Bukshteyn]

We are working on new capabilities for this scenario (password rotation / modern authentication / password-less auth) now, and hope to have more to say on this at our Ignite conference.

[Arthur_Bouwman]

I heard from one of your hardware partners that a Miracast functionality is to be added to the Teams Rooms solution in a near update. This to support wireless sharing of content to the local screen by people who are not using Teams for example. Is this something you can confirm?

[Ilya Bukshteyn]

No we are not at this point planning to add Miracast support to MTR. We are instead focused on enhancing the "casting" scenario from within Teams.

[Charles Tran]

Miracast is wirelessly mirrors what's on the screen of one device onto another screen for easy viewing and access. You can conveniently use this to share what you’re doing on your tablet, present a slide show, or even play your favorite game on a larger screen.  My kids and grandma love it.  Microsoft is already supported in Windows this useful feature, especially benefit for Microsoft Teams Room.  

If MTR decides to support Miracast in a future, please keep the name the same to make it easy and less confuse to users. Thanks for all the progress and development at MTR.

[weyersma]

Any idea when the content camera feature will be available on Surface pro based systems?

[Ilya Bukshteyn]

Yes we have an idea; we're working on it. It should be in our next app update.

[kzconsulant8110]

https://www.amzconsulant.bizz.com 

[johnwaldron]

@cecile_gallien How did you obtain the "Crestron softwares for the touch, soundbar and share."? Crestron declined to supply our enterprise with that.

[cecile_gallien]

@johnwaldron I did not obtain the sources from Crestron. When you reset the machine from the Settings > Updates and Security > Recovery page, (this will take around 120 minutes) there is a preloaded folder c:\programs\crestron that holds the source to reinstall the Crestron software for the soundbard, the touch, the USB-200 and so on. Several softwares will reinstall when you use this exe.

Give it a try. I hope this helps.

Regards,

Cecile

[Ryan_Janzen]

Any idea when the content camera feature will be available on Surface pro based systems?

[Ilya Bukshteyn]

@Sohail Tariq on status of Surface Pro based MTR content camera support.

[Jako Boonekamp]

See my blog for an overview of Video endpoints solutions you available today. Surface Hub 2S, Microsoft Team Rooms and USB devices. http://bit.ly/2VU9X4w

Best regards
Jako

[bcdudley]

We had purchased a Teams (Skype) room setup a couple years ago. Once installed, we discovered the functionality was lacking in comparison to the MS Hub. The room we setup was rarely used and IT received constant complaints that it did not work. The number one complaint we received was for wireless screen projection not working. This is the #1 feature used on our hub and the most missed in the Teams room. The equipment was pulled out of the room and replaced with a $50 Roku that will accomplish wireless presentation flawlessly. Afterwards, the room was booked and used frequently. 

I have fired it up a couple times since then to see if the functionality has been added, but so far, every time, it just goes back into a junk box in the IT storage closet.

[Graham Walsh]

@bcdudleyUsers can connect to the meeting with audio and video switched off on their laptop, tablet or phone  and present that way. 

Sounds like the room isn't needed for video and more for content sharing, so maybe the MTR is overkill for the room?

There are other ways to add on wireless content sharing to a MTR but that is a lot more than the Roku solution you've opted for .

[bcdudley]

I did see some of the solutions out there for adding wireless content sharing, but they all seemed very expensive and klugey. My goal was to have a MS Hub like experience, without the MS Hub price tag. That is what the Skype Room system was sold to me as, bit failed to deliver.

[Ilya Bukshteyn]

@bcdudley if all you want is wireless casting then yes a cheap miracast adapter would be all you need. MTR is a solution for joining online SfB and Teams meetings, as well as lots of other capability. You can "cast" via Teams meetings today. We are adding "casting" in Teams but without scheduled meetings / joining a meeting this quarter, and hope to have that in early rings by end of this CY.

[Ilya Bukshteyn]

@bcdudley, what is a "Hub like experience" exactly??

[johnwaldron]

@bcdudley One need not "add" wireless content sharing. Make every meeting a Skype or Teams meeting, then join with your BYOD device. Everyone in the room can do this then take turns "wirelessly" presenting. That is how it is done in our enterprise and we don't have to train people how to use a Roku (or any other wireless presentation device). 

[bcdudley]

I would really like to have the capability to have Teams meetings as well as miracast on the same device. As it is now, my users host the meeting from their laptop or surface pro, then project it to the Roku. It is not an elegant solution at all, but it is what my users are the most comfortable doing.  It also supports the in-house only meetings where they just need to project a spreadsheet or Powerpoint.

I would really like to be able to put this back into place and begin using it again, but not until it is as seamless as the MS Hub is.

[bcdudley]

The Hub like experience I am referring to is where the users can wirelessly project to the screen using Miracast. They can participate in Teams meetings, they can open MS Office documents from either One Drive, Sharepoint or a USB drive, they can use PowerBI, there is a whiteboard,  and they can run other Windows store apps. I realize that not all this can be done on the Teams Room system, especially the whiteboard aspect as it would require a touch screen monitor, but the Miracast is something that should be able to be done. This is supported on the Surface Pro so it is strictly a software limitation.

[David Phillips]

@johnwaldronJust playing devil's advocate here - How would a guest speaker in the room present from an iPad if they don't want to install the Skype or Teams apps?  Or what if you want to join a non-Teams meeting - Zoom, WebEx, etc?

[Ilya Bukshteyn]

We do not have any plans to add Miracast to MTR at this time. We are working on enabling casting via Teams outside of meetings. @bcdudley if what you need is Miracast + ability to open documents on the device, you need a Surface Hub. MTR can actually do digital whiteboarding in Teams meetings, using the Microsoft WB, if a touch display is connected. We are not going to enable Miracast anywhere in the near future however.

[ph_ly]

@David Phillips @johnwaldron In your scenario, you still would need the an app of some sort because the iPad does not support Miracast.  The only solution for true wireless only solutions that support cross device scenarios is a device similar to the Polycom Pano, Crestron, or similar, where it supports both AirPlay and Miracast.

The problem with hooking up a device such as a Miracast dongle, Pano, etc. is that the last I checked, the MTR insists on always displaying it, even when you don't want to "share" it into a meeting.  That means you will see it occupy a large part of the screen all the time as long as it's attached with no option to hide it like a traditional video system.    @Ilya Bukshteyn is this on the roadmap to fix?

[Arthur_Bouwman]

We are not going to enable Miracast anywhere in the near future however.

With all due respect; I think you are missing a great opportunity here. You could make your MTR systems the center of any meeting room. 

But in such meeting rooms, like previously stated here, you need to have the functionality to use the screen for simple presentations as well. And then -not- using a cable. Miracast would give Microsoft a huge benefit in creating a multifuntion device that is perfect to add in any meetingroom.

You don't want users having to switch source ports on a TV or screen. This will create lots of confusion. Believe me, this will cause many systems not being used in such rooms. If you really dive into the need of users to have a simple to use system in a meeting room, then you understand Microsoft has a great opportunity to deliver this if they add a simple Miracast feature. 

[Arthur_Bouwman]

@ph_ly , I found that behaviour as well. That automatic display feature for everything that is connected to HDMI, makes it impossible to add a 3th party miracast device, such like the Polycom Pano. I tried to state that earlier here. Would be already a step if that behaviour could be changed.

[Ilya Bukshteyn]

@Arthur_Bowman Miracast is not a cross platform standard, in that it does not work with Apple devices. We have also heard a lot of customer feedback on Miracast quality / reliability. Therefore we are focused on delivering a simple, reliable, high performance experience for "casting" from our Teams app, which is cross platform.

[bcdudley]

How does Teams casting work for guest coming in to our conference room to present, but who are not on Office365. Correct me if I am wrong, but if they do not have a subscription, they are unable to present at that point?

[johnwaldron]

@David Phillips That stubborn person/guest who won't use the app specifically designed to solve that issue gets relegated to the HDMI cable ingress with the mutliple adapters on a ring. Or you install a wireless presentation device on the HDMI ingress if you are inclined to spend more money. (AirMedia, Solstice, Clickshare, etc.)

How does one do non-Teams meetings in any other type room? They have to use something regardless of what the default functionality of the room is, right? The point is making the experience the same in every room regardless of whether there are remote participants or not, multiple presenters or not, guests or not. It makes support and training much simpler and more economical. If one has to do a WebEx, Zoom, GoToMeeting, etc, they use they BYOD device hooked to the HDMI ingress then use the SIP extension assigned to the MTR device for audio. You get content sharing and the room mics and speakers that way. No camera.

If you cannot forego the camera, one can install a USB sharing switch like the Iogear GUS432. (I tested it, works fine swithching the room USB audio/video between a laptop and the MTR device without locking devices up)

Our users have accepted this arrangement and prefer it to having more choices in the room or having dissimilar rooms. We are moving to only having a few specialty rooms to accomodate specific workflows that require more than simple content sharing, audio calling and video calling that the MTR gives us rather than having everyone room cater to every workflow.

[johnwaldron]

@Arthur_Bouwman @ph_ly Our global offices that decided they wanted wireless on the HDMI ingress instead of an HDMI cable use Mersive Solstice. I believe that covers Miracast, AirPlay, web browser, etc. 

[bcdudley]

 The whole point is that I purchased a device so the stubborn person would not have to install an app. I paid thousands of dollars for this functionality. The capability is there. Microsoft is just refusing to allow it to function. On my normal Surface Pro or almost any other modern laptop, you can allow Miracast connections. Microsoft is specifically disabling this functionality on the Teams Room System Windows 10 build. 

My guess is they are doing this to drive more sales to the MS Hub which may very well succeed for people like me. I am on the cusp of purchasing either a Hub or a competitor product since what I have now has failed to meet expectations.

[David Phillips]

@johnwaldron100% agree with you about making the experience the same in every room.  

We're struggling through the same conversation about using the profesionally installed in-room a/v integration for BYOD / Bring Your Own Meeting.  Does the GUS432 have a default mode, so when a user forgets to switch it back to "everyday" mode, it goes back to MTR automatically?  Extra buttons typically = support calls.

[bcdudley]

The Mersive Solstice would have the same problem as other HDMI devices if plugged directly in to the MTR, where it would always be on the screen. The other option would be to plug it into a different input on the a tv and use a remote to change inputs. 

This just feels clumsy to me. 

[Arthur_Bouwman]

@johnwaldron ; Thanks. I will look into that!

[Ilya Bukshteyn]

@bcdudley your guess is not correct. If this was truly just a matter of "turning on" Miracast on MTR we would do so. Unfortunately software doesn't work that way; we have to build a UX for Miracast in MTR, write code to feed Miracast signal into meetings on MTR, test for edge cases, etc. For your needs, it does sound like Surface Hub is a great option.

[johnwaldron]

@bcdudley Why cant it always be on the screen? That is actually how all of the wireless presentation systems are designed, with splash pages with instructions on what to do that can be customized with enterprise branding.