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Market Context
One of the present trends in the video conferencing market is the creation of purpose-built devices that work with a particular video service, typically Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Cisco also builds dedicated devices for its Webex collaboration service. Crestron joins other companies including Poly, Neat, and Yealink, in creating video devices for Microsoft Teams and Zoom.
 
The motivation behind these devices is twofold:
1. They make it easier for people to use video in a conference room.
2. They help an organization implement a standard collaboration strategy across the organization.
 
With these devices, meeting attendees do not need to bring a laptop to host the meeting, nor do they need to deal with connecting any wires, figuring out how to use complex controllers, or worry about the room audio. All these typical video conferencing issues are handled by the purpose-built device. Furthermore, joining a meeting involves simply clicking on a “join” button on a tabletop controller.
 
Room management is also easier because IT can manage these devices remotely.
 
A Corporate Standard in a Multi-Vendor World
Many organizations have designated Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or some other cloud-based video service as the corporate standard for video meetings. The corporate standard works for a high percentage of the video conferences people hold when they are conferencing with internal colleagues. However, it is often necessary communicate and collaborate with people outside of the organization – suppliers, customers, partners – who may choose to use a different video communications tool.
 
One of the problems with the purpose-built devices is that they worked well for the corporate standard, usually Zoom Meetings or Microsoft Teams, but if you wanted to hold a video conference in the conference room using something else, like Webex, Pexip, BlueJeans, or Lifesize, then the purpose-build device wouldn’t work, and you were back to trying to kludge something together for the screen, camera, mic, and speakers. Alternatively, you might just choose to use a laptop in the conference room with its small screen, weak mic, and poor speakers, which makes it hard for multiple people in the room to hear and speak.

The Crestron Flex MX is a tabletop device that will support either Microsoft Teams or Zoom. But, it also comes with a dual-mode capability that allows an individual to plug a laptop into the device and use the camera, display, mic, and speakers in the room with a different service.
 
The Flex MX User Experience
Once logged into the Flex MX, the device read my calendar and displayed all the current items on the calendar. Those meetings using Microsoft Teams had a small “Join” button next to them as shown below.

Simply tapping on the “Join” button launches the Teams Meeting. This simultaneously enabled the Flex MXs speakers, microphone, as well as the Huddly camera connected to the Crestron UC Engine and the display.
 
From setup to being in a meeting took less than 40 minutes. My first experience with the Flex MX involved tapping on the join button to launch a meeting. The device worked exactly as I would have expected. Joining was quick and easy. I had the opportunity to meet the Crestron product manager by video as part of this first meeting using the Flex MX device.
 
I happen to have a Microsoft Calling Plan, so the dial pad shown in figure 3 is also enabled and allowed me to bring in a PSTN attendee into a meeting.
 
Overall, for Microsoft Teams meetings, the device worked perfectly.
 
A Couple of Anomalies
I did run into a couple of issues when using the Flex MX. When starting an ad hoc meeting from the display, a dialog displays asking you to invite people. If you put in the email address for someone outside of your company, it won’t let you invite them.
 
Another anomaly is that there is an “Enter a URI” button on the invite screen. Right now, this button is disabled. My understanding is that it is there to join a Skype for Business call and that later it will enable WebRTC-based calls with third-party solutions from Zoom and Cisco.
 
Finally, I did have a time when the join button wouldn’t work, but this occurred after I had been adjusting the settings. I simply rebooted the system, logged out and then logged back in, and the join button worked again and has worked every time since then.

Using the Flex MX Dual-Mode Functionality
One of the new features of the Flex MX is the ability to use the device to connect to third-party video solutions. I say use the device; however that is sort of a misnomer – you can connect your laptop into the device and this will in turn enable the laptop to use the camera, mics, speaker, and the display connected to the Crestron Flex MX/UC Engine. Thus, if you want to use a conference room where a Flex MX is located but with a different video solution, Dual-Mode allows you to do this.
 
To connect the laptop to the Flex MX, simply plug an HDMI cable between the laptop and the Flex MX. Also plug a USB cable from the Flex MX into the laptop. My laptop recognized both connections immediately and enabled me to use any service I wanted. I tested the Flex MX Dual-Mode with Zoom and with a business meeting streaming service called ON24. Both solutions worked as expected. All I had to do was to tell the application to use the Crestron Flex MX speakers for output and Flex MX mic and the Huddly camera as inputs. The USB connection between the Flex MX and the laptop allows these devices to be used in any needed by the laptop applications.


 

Setting Up the Flex MX
 
Crestron sent KelCor a Flex MX150-T, which is the version that runs Microsoft Teams. The Flex MX is the tabletop unit containing speakers and the microphone; it does not work alone and requires the Crestron UC wall mounted codec. In addition, Crestron sent a Huddly HD USB camera and a monitor. These items are all shown in figure 2.
 
There were no instructions for setting up the devices and for connecting all the cabling, but after studying the devices and cables sent for approximately 15 minutes, I was able to figure out where most of the cables connected.
 
The Crestron UC engine had the following connections as shown in the figure:
1. Two power cords. One powers the embedded CPU in the engine while the other powers a unit that converts between USB video and audio signals and HDMI.
2. Network cable.
3. An HDMI cable to the Dell display.
4. USB cable to the Huddly camera (the Huddly camera is shown on top of the display).
5. A Cat 5 Ethernet cable that connects the UC Engine to the Flex MX.
 
The Flex MX also had three connections:
1. Power.
2. Network.
3. The Cat 5 Ethernet cable connecting the Flex MX to the UC Engine.


I was able to connect almost everything up correctly, but since the directions were missing, I didn’t know to run the Cat 5 cable between the UC Engine and the Flex MX. A quick call to a Crestron product manager helped fix this last cabling issue.
 
Equipment setup took about 30 minutes total: this included studying the devices and the cables and the tech support call. KelCor did not install the UC Engine on the wall; in a permanent installation this would have taken a bit more time.
 
Once all the cables were installed, power was turned on, and the entire system booted. The Flex MX automatically paired with the UC Engine.
 
Once the system was booted, I used my Microsoft Teams credentials to log into the Flex MX unit using the device’s touch display. There is one anomaly, which is Microsoft’s doing. The Flex MX gives you three configurations:
1. Skype for Business (default) and Microsoft Teams
2. Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams (default)
3. Skype for Business only.
 
KelCor no longer uses Skype for Business, so this was confusing. I chose the second option since Microsoft Teams is my default collaboration tool in the Microsoft world. Crestron is a Microsoft partner and explained that Microsoft is still updating the Microsoft Teams Room software and that a “Microsoft Teams only” option will be shipping soon.
 
Conclusion
MX allows the mic, speakers, display, and camera connected to a Flex MX configured for Microsoft Teams to be used with any application on the laptop.
 
Deploying the Crestron UC Engine may be a bit more complicated than just deploying a video bar. There is more wiring and more power required. However, once it and the accompanying Flex MX are connected, they worked well in my testing.
 
I like the simplicity of deploying devices dedicated to a particular service. It makes using video easier for people and supports an organization’s collaboration strategy. However, the pragmatist in me tells me that organizations need the flexibility of using the devices in the room with any video service, easily and with no hassle. A device, like the Crestron Flex MX150 with dual mode, provides this flexibility
 
About the Author
Dr. E. Brent Kelly is President and Principal Analyst at KelCor, Inc. where he provides strategy and counsel to CxOs, investment analysts, VCs, technology policy executives, sell side firms and technology buyers. He has made measurable real-world contributions in telecommunications, manufacturing, electronics, oil field services, chemicals, and mining. Brent has written hundreds of articles and reports in the unified communications and collaboration industry and regularly delivers webinars and thought leadership addresses at public and private events. Dr. Kelly has a Ph.D. in engineering from Texas A&M University specializing in thermodynamics and artificial intelligence and a B.S. in engineering from Brigham Young University.