These are instructions for the Crestron Flex carts in the band and choir rooms
The whole unit is designed to stay on perpetually--there are settings to put it into standby mode if the room is empty, but there is no power switch. I unplugged it this evening because I wasn't sure where you want it. Be aware that it takes about 5 minutes to boot.
There is a network cable at the back--at this point, plugging it in does nothing. (eventually it can be configured to be a zoom room, but that's an IT thing, and not something we can do). Ignore it for now.
Once booted, the speakerphone screen will either display the time or four icons. If it displays the time, press the arrow at the bottom to get to the four icons.
As far as I can tell, the four icons do the following:
Home: Go back to the Time screen
Present: Show options for presenting
Call: Show options for calling
Collaborate: Show instructions for...something. It seems to duplicate the Present and Call options.
These Crestron units are essentially two devices in one: There's the HDMI/Video system for displaying content on the screen, and there's the USB/Speakerphone/Camera system for managing audio.
Despite the options on-screen, if you plug the USB in to a computer it should set your computer's camera options to the Crestron's camera and the Audio options to the Crestron itself. If you plug in the HDMI cable, it will immediately start mirroring your screen on the TV.
At this point, if you start a Zoom call it basically behaves as a souped-up version of the computer you have plugged in--The webcam is of substantially higher quality, and the Crestron/Speakerphone handles the audio. It's a little boomy, but that seems to be a feature of the room rather than the technology.
The camera, once someone starts talking, will automatically zoom to them once they've been talking for approximately 3-4 seconds.
This system works fine with one device. But if we're using two...
The Call function of the unit can be connected via Bluetooth, so we hooked up an iPad to make calls. This uses the iPad as the camera and the screen, but uses the Crestron/Speakerphone for audio. This frees up the TV to use for display purposes. It's...okay.
This setup is pretty computer-heavy, so if we wanted to add a document camera or other peripheral, we would need to add one via USB. Alternatively, if we viewed the device as a "Student in the class" and we presented as usual with the existing projector and sound system, this may be workable.