As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have become heavily reliant on video conferencing solutions for communication and collaboration. Consequently, video conferencing technologies are rapidly updating to keep up with the increasing demands of companies with remote, distributed teams.

With a wide variety of video conferencing technologies now available, customers are faced with the difficult decision of choosing the right video conferencing technology that fits their business needs as well as their budget. In this blog post, we try to make the task of choosing a video conferencing hardware easier by evaluating the Hardware For Meet Kit, a video conferencing solution offered by Google, and making recommendations based on the size of the conference rooms.

Google Meet Hardware Kit is a video-conferencing solution for Google Meet. It uses the simplicity of an ASUS Chromebox and is powered by an Intel processor to provide a seamless and effective video meeting experience.

The Google Meet Hardware bundle includes:

1. ASUS Compute System with 4GB Memory, 128G SSD, and Intel Core i7

2. Google Chrome OS

3. 10.1″ Touchscreen touchpad controller

4. Microphone and Speakerphone unit

5. 4K Camera

The Meet Hardware bundle is designed to bring a reliable, easy-to-join video meeting experience to your conference rooms. Its specially assembled set of components work together seamlessly to make engaging high-quality video meetings convenient and headache-free. The Meet Hardware bundle evolved from Chromebox For Meetings. If you aren’t familiar with it, here’s a quick background.

The Chromebox for Meetings was a video-conferencing solution that included a camera, microphones, speakers, remote, and a custom ChromeOS meant specifically for video conferencing. The components are similar to those included in the Meet hardware bundle, but it, understandably, came with an older version of Asus Chromebox.

Although you could purchase all of the individual hardware included in the Chromebox for Meeting kits separately and assemble your own kit, you would still be missing the Chrome Enterprise license included in the bundle. And that’s the key component that made the seamless and hassle-free video meeting experience possible.

What Is The Difference Between Google Hardware For Meet And Chromebox For Meetings?

The main difference between Chromebox For Meeting and Google Meet Hardware is in the licensing. The Chromebox For Meetings came with a one-year Chrome Enterprise license that lets you manage all your Chrome devices from a single place. However, the Google Meet Hardware requires a specific Room license to register your devices to your meeting platform. In addition, to use Google Meet Hardware, your organization must also be a Google Workspace customer.

The Google Meet Hardware license works along with the Google Meet Hardware Kit and your Google Workspace Account, specifically the Calendar application. The integration makes the set-up and running of video meetings quick and easy. The license is necessary both for Google Meet Hardware and for Chromebox For Meetings devices to work with Google Workspace.

Which Google Hardware For Meet Is Suitable For Your Conference Room?

If you have decided on the video conferencing technology and setup, then the next main criteria for choosing your video conferencing hardware is the size of your room. Google Hardware Kit comes in different packages and with different brands, namely

• Google Meet Hardware Kit (Asus),

• Series One Google Meet Hardware Kit (Lenovo), and

• Logitech Tap Google Meet Room Bundle (Logitech)

All of the above packages offer different options based on the size of the rooms, i.e. small, medium, and large.

To make things easy for you, we’ve chosen three of the kits, one for each room size:

1. Google Meet Starter Kit

2. Google Meet Medium-Sized Room Kit

3. Google Meet Large Conference Room Kit

In the following sections, we look at each of the Google Hardware Kit in greater detail. So let’s begin…

The ASUS Google Meet Hardware Starter Kit is perfect for businesses that require one or more small socially-distanced rooms in the office or even at home. The Starter kit is designed for small meeting rooms that hold up to 8 people.

The starter kit includes the following components:

1. ASUS - Google Meet Compute System (formerly known as Chromebox)

2. 4k Camera

3. Remote control

4. Automatic firmware updates and self-diagnosis / repair capability

5. First-year management license worth $250

At the heart of the kit is the ASUS - Google Meet Compute System (formerly known as Chromebox) with 4GB Memory, 128G SSD, and 8th generation Intel Core i7 Processor. It is designed for video conferencing and boots up fast. It includes Chrome services such as management, reporting, security, and encryption. Additionally, now it is also compatible with Google assistant.

The 4k Camera has a 120° wide field of view and 720p video streaming, making it suitable for rooms of almost any shape. The Speakermic audio input/output provides crystal clear 360° audio, active echo cancellation, and background noise management in rooms of up to 250 sq ft.

The most noticeable difference that sets the starter kit apart is that instead of a touchscreen, the starter kit has a remote controller to control the meeting. Using this Google Meet Remote, you can join and exit meetings by simply pressing a button. The remote also allows you to adjust the meeting volume and mute the microphone.

On the back of the controller, there’s an embedded keyboard, which allows you to enter meeting codes and phone numbers. Although we prefer the touchscreen controller, once you get used to it, the remote controller can be just as convenient.

For medium-sized conference rooms, we recommend the Series One Google Meet Hardware Kit Medium Room, which is a newer hardware kit announced by Google in September 2020.

The new Series One hardware is made by Google in partnership with Lenovo and includes the following components:

1. Series One Meet Compute System CPU

2. Smart camera, Smart Audio Bar, Mic Pod,

3. Touch Controller

4. Wall mount and table stand

The Series One kit is compatible with Google assistant and takes advantage of Google AI and onboard processing to provide multi-channel noise cancellation and voice amplification technology that minimizes distractions and ensures that every voice is heard. The video detects participants, automatically frames them, and intelligently zooms without loss of quality, making the video experience incredibly immersive.

The Meet Compute System (Chromebox) comes with Intel i7-8550U, 4 GB RAM, and 128 GB SSD storage. The Series One kit comes with power-over-ethernet (PoE) enabled components, color-coded cables, and magnetic mounts, making it as easy to install as it is to use. The sleek design and smart mounting make the Series One suitable for any type of conference room.

As the name suggests, the Logitech Tap - Google Meet Large Room Bundle is ideal for large meeting and conference rooms. It is designed for rooms that accommodate 12-20 people. It delivers studio-quality video and crisp audio to give you an unmatched video conferencing experience.

With a sleek design, modular audio system, quiet operation, and a motion sensor for always-on readiness, Logitech Tap delivers the ease and convenience of Google Meet in style, making it a perfect choice if you are looking to create a sophisticated look for your conference room.

The Logitech Tap - Google Meet Large Room Bundle includes the following components:

1. Logitech Tap Touch Controller

2. Google-approved compute system (Chromebox)

3. VESA mounting plate and metal stand

4. Logitech Rally Plus (1 camera, 2 mic pods, 2 speakers, plus cabling and connection hubs)

5. Rally Mounting Kit

6. Rally Mic Pod Hub

At the heart of the solution is the Chromebox Intel i7 with 128GB SSD, 8 GB RAM, Meet specific version of Chrome OS, and a built-in video accelerator. Logitech Tap Touch Controller is a 10” touchscreen controller that allows you to join and exit meetings, control the volume, and add participants with a single tap.

The camera offers ultra-high HD video quality that delivers sharp video and prioritizes faces over the environment for a natural face-to-face video experience. The audio system automatically aligns voices, focuses on active speakers, and suppresses background noise to enhance voice clarity.

The bundle comes with mounts that allow you to attach your Chromebox and cables under the desk or behind the screen for a neat and professional installation. However, you should note that the Google Meet Hardware license is not included in the bundle and needs to be purchased separately from an authorized reseller. Although worth the spend, all of this technology goodness does come at a steep price.

Conclusion

Google Meet Hardware kits are an ideal video conferencing solution for small and medium-sized businesses as they offer the versatility that today’s flexible work environments demand. They are as easy to install, configure, and keep up to date as they are to use. In addition, all the devices can be securely managed from one place.

Google Meet hardware comes deeply integrated with Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) making it a good choice for businesses that already use Google Workspace. The only thing left for you to do is to choose the right hardware kit for your conference or meeting rooms, and that should be easy now, thanks to the above recommendations.

Do you need to upgrade your conference room equipment? Are you looking for help implementing a conference room solution that fits your business needs? We have extensive experience in installing and supporting conference room equipment. Reach out to us to find out how we can help you with your conference rooms.

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