Williams AV adds Bluetooth connectivity
Williams AV adds Bluetooth connectivity
BluePOD gets its name from the small pod-shaped enclosure housing a patent-pending B-WAP transceiver
The Williams AV BluePOD is designed to simplify the process of making conference calls via computers, laptops or mobile phones. The system allows users to initiate a conference call by tapping the Bluetooth connect button on their device, with no special software needed. Adjusting the volume, muting and connecting is all done on the standard volume control on the user’s device, while using the system set up screens on the embedded web server provides complete set up control and the ability to adjust input gain on each audio source.
BluePOD gets its name from the small pod-shaped enclosure housing a patent-pending B-WAP (Bluetooth wireless access point) transceiver. The B-WAP is equipped with a Bluetooth 4.2 aptX HD long-range transceiver and provides up to a 35m of Bluetooth broadcast coverage in a typical office or educational environment.
The system also allows users to select the speakers and microphones they want to use. It features an integrated mixer with DSP functions, including Acoustic Echo Cancellation. The mixer includes four inputs (two mic/two line), two line outputs and two 25W amplifiers.
The system will ship in three configurations. BluePOD Solo gives integrators the ability to add the B-WAP into any existing audio system for expanded Bluetooth functionality. BluePOD Solo D adds a Dante network port to this feature set. BluePOD Conference Mate is a complete audio solution that pairs the B-WAP with the BluePOD Conference Mate Controller.
Additionally, the manufacturer has introduced the WaveCAST Wi-Fi-delivered assistive listening system. WaveCAST is built on a hardware-based audio DSP audio architecture, allowing system optimisation to achieve the highest-quality audio experience for the particular audio stream being delivered. As a result, hearing assistance can be optimised for hearing loss, music can be optimised for high-fidelity playback and voice can be set for maximum speech intelligibility. Custom presets can also be established where tweaking is necessary for specific performance applications.
Professional audio inputs on the WaveCAST include ¼-inch XLR connectors, phantom power and a line level output jack. In addition to multi-stage gain control inputs, the DSP features include AGC, limiters, high- and low-pass filters and an adjustable range compressor control. The 16-bit DAC provides a 48kHz sample.
The new WaveCAST app is available in iOS or Android and allows users to perform multichannel discovery, allowing the app to automatically discover all WaveCAST units in the room and then select the desired channel. WaveCAST supports both unicast and multicast network configurations and can support up to 1,500 clients, depending on proper network support.