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HP Expands into Conference, Collaboration Solutions with New ‘Presence’ Portfolio

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HP Inc. is expanding into a new market, workplace conference, video, and collaboration solutions, with its introduction today of HP Presence. HP Presence is a portfolio of conferencing and collaboration solutions designed for more efficient meetings and collaboration in the office, including virtual online meetings with both onsite and remote workers. The portfolio also includes the first HP PCs with Presence technology for enhancing user participation in virtual, online meetings.

Changing Office Workspaces

HP Presence reflects the trend of offices increasingly being used as a place to collaborate and meet, with work increasingly done at home, with the company noting that 80 percent of executives are changing their office spaces to focus more on collaboration. At the same time, IT teams must keep people connected with productive and secure technology, making conferencing and collaboration solutions a top priority for 67 percent of IT departments, according to HP research.

HP’s collaboration solutions bring together its PC hardware, software, and security technology, and is said to usher in a new era of hybrid work with meeting-space solutions, PCs, and peripherals designed for better conferencing experiences.

HP Presence Meeting Space Solutions

HP Presence Meeting Space Solutions are a suite of scalable, bundled options with hardware and services for meeting spaces of any size, from small to large meeting spaces. The meeting space solutions interact with users to provide an enhanced meeting experience, and also provide real-time analytics back to IT. The new meeting space solutions also leverage HP’s PC security innovations such as cyber-threat protection and camera-privacy features.

HP Presence Meeting Space Solutions are available in small, mid-size, and large space kits. Every kit includes an HP Presence Mini PC, an HP Presence Control Center, color-coded cables, and mounting equipment. The HP Presence Solutions arrive packaged in the same box with a step-by-step setup application.

HP Presence Meeting Space Solutions components include:

  • HP Presence Mini Conferencing PC – A high-performance PC with HP Wolf Security for Business and integrated management.
  • HP Presence Control and HP Presence Control Plus – Intelligent room controls that put the meeting host in charge with adaptive AI-enhanced Audio by Bang & Olufsen. HP Presence Control is designed for small to mid-size meeting spaces, while HP Presence Control Plus can accommodate mid-size to large meeting spaces. Customers can connect up to three room controls to provide control to more people.
  • HP Presence See 4K AI Camera – This 4K AI camera combines intelligent cinematic audio and video experiences with privacy; the camera is off when it mechanically rotates to face the floor.
  • HP Presence Audio Video Bar – For larger meeting spaces that require more audio and video, this device combines intelligent cinematic video experiences with privacy, and  is audio custom-tuned by Bang & Olufsen, so people can be seen, heard, and hear clearly in the room, and when video isn’t being used, the privacy shutter closes and shuts the camera off.
  • HP Presence Hub and HP Presence Talk Satellite Microphones – Microphones make sure everyone can be heard in large-room deployments; customers can add up to two satellite microphones for additional voice pickup range.

HP Meeting Space solutions and components.

HP says Presence Meeting Room Solutions’ benefits include:

  • Start meetings quickly. Upon entering a meeting room, HP Meeting Ready automatically wakes up the room control and brings the camera to life so people can begin meetings on time, and there’s one tap to launch a Microsoft Teams or Zoom meeting. “Guest Mode” enables users to  launch meetings with any UC device.
  • Be seen clearly. HP Speaker Frame, a picture-in-picture mode, spotlights in-room speaker. HP Auto Frame puts meeting room attendees into perspective by framing out white space for a better conferencing experience for remote attendees.
  • Move around the room without disrupting the meeting flow. HP Speaker Tracking allows speakers to move around the room while keeping them in frame. Three tracking modes – slow, cinema, and fast – accommodate different presentation styles.
  • Be heard clearly. When the in-room crowd gets loud, HP Auto Volume adjusts the volume for remote attendee speakers so they don’t get drowned out and can still contribute to the discussion. If an in-room speaker talks quietly, loudly, or sits in the back of the room, HP Voice Leveling optimizes the volume of the in-room speaker so they can be heard clearly by remote attendees.
  • Request help. Users can report a room issue in two seconds with HP Presence Room Assistant, reporting room issues such as device issues, missing chairs or markers, clearing catering from a room, and more to IT, facilities,  etc.

HP Room Assist, a unique HP solution, can report missing chairs, dry markers, trash, temperature issues, and more with just a tap on the interface.

HP also noted that 42 percent of IT staff don’t expect management solutions will provide an easy and fast break-fix resolution, while at the same time, IT teams can’t overlook the growth of cyber threats which have increased 400 percent since the pandemic began, according to HP research.

HP Presence Meeting Space Solutions enables IT and facilities teams to:

  • Easily set up and deploy for meeting spaces of any size. The tool-free, color-coded setup with a dedicated setup app allows IT to configure and test the solution and share custom settings remotely. During setup, Bang & Olufsen room-calibration creates a custom audio profile dedicated to that space based on size, shape, device placement, and additional room characteristics such as pillars or furniture. In two taps, users can launch HP Screen Clean to safely wipe HP Presence Control or HP Presence Control Plus without meeting disruption or interference.
  • Collaborate securely. Virtual meetings are protected from cyber-threats with HP Wolf Security for Business and HP Auto Privacy Camera ensures cameras are off when required.
  • Room management.  HP Presence Manager indicates when a new update is available and gives IT control over what updates are applied to which devices and when. The devices also support Microsoft Windows Update and Teams Admin Center.
  • Proactively resolve potential issues with intelligent insights. IT and facilities teams can improve the employee experience with visibility into device health, room issues, and experience metrics. With intelligent analytics, they can also consider modifications such as revising room configurations or changing device settings. Customizable dashboards and reporting from HP Presence Insights helps predict when equipment will fail, allowing IT to proactively resolve potential issues.

New HP PCs Feature HP Presence Features for Virtual Meetings

During the COVID-19 pandemic, with many workers at home, there were many more online virtual meetings – and new concerns with participants’ audio and visual quality. According to HP research, 73 percent of people judge others based on video quality and 75 percent judge people based on audio quality.

The HP Elite Dragonfly Max and HP EliteOne 800 G8 All-in-One are the first HP PCs to be enhanced by HP Presence with new audio and video features that include:

  • Virtual meeting participants look their best no matter the lighting condition. Upgraded camera hardware with integrated lighting enhancements automatically adapts to the lighting conditions of various workspaces. Backlight adjustment detects if there is too much light coming into the camera lens and adjusts to balance out the light. Lowlight adjustment detects if the room is too dark and brightens faces so people can be seen.
  • Improved framing. HP Auto Frame focuses the camera on the user and keeps them in frame even if they get up to stretch their legs. Three modes – head only, head and shoulders, and upper body – let people choose how they want to be seen and whether they want to use their hands. Dynamic voice leveling automatically adjusts voice volume so it’s consistent whether the user sits in front of their PC or moves around the room.
  • Improved audio quality. Integrated AI-based noise reduction filters unwanted background noises such as doorbells, dogs barking, and sirens from the street, so people don’t have to worry about going off mute. To minimize distractions from background noises by other meeting attendees, the noise reduction technology also filters out their unwanted incoming background noises.
  • Be heard clearly even when wearing a mask. HP AI-based Clear Voice uses technology to identify muffled voices and applies microphone gain to compensate and ensure your original voice is what is heard in a meeting.

Pricing and Availability

  • HP Presence Small Space Solution includes the HP Presence Control with Audio and HP Presence Mini Conferencing PC. It’s expected to be available in February 2022. Pricing will be shared closer to availability.
  • HP Presence Small Space Solution plus AI Camera includes the HP Presence Control with Audio, HP Presence Mini Conferencing PC, and HP Presence See 4K AI Camera. It’s expected to be available in February 2022. Pricing will be shared closer to availability.
  • HP Presence Small Space Solution plus AI Video Bar includes the HP Presence Control without Audio, HP Presence Mini Conferencing PC, and HP Presence Audio Video Bar. It’s expected to be available in spring 2022. Pricing will be shared closer to availability.
  • HP Presence Medium Space Solution includes the HP Presence Control Plus with Audio and HP Presence Mini Conferencing PC. It’s expected to be available in spring 2022. Pricing will be shared closer to availability.
  • HP Presence Medium Space Solution plus AI Camera includes the HP Presence Control Plus with Audio, HP Presence Mini Conferencing PC, and HP Presence See 4K AI Camera. It’s expected to be available in spring 2022. Pricing will be shared closer to availability.
  • HP Presence Medium Space Solution plus AI Video Bar includes the HP Presence Control Plus without Audio, HP Presence Mini Conferencing PC, and HP Presence Audio Video Bar. It’s expected to be available in spring 2022. Pricing will be shared closer to availability.
  • HP Presence Large Space Solution includes the HP Presence Control without Audio, HP Presence Mini Conferencing PC, and 30-meter USB-C to USB-C cable. It’s expected to be available in spring 2022. Pricing will be shared closer to availability.
  • HP Presence Hub and HP Presence Talk Satellite Microphones are expected to be available in spring 2022. Pricing will be shared closer to availability.
  • HP Elite Dragonfly Max and HP EliteOne 800 G8 AiO with HP Presence enhancements are expected to be available in November 2021.

For more information about HP Presence, visit www.hp.com/presence.

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