Choosing the Best Room for TelePresence

There are many considerations when choosing a room for Cisco TelePresence. These considerations will have a direct effect on the quality of the experience and should be examined carefully.

Many of these items can be assessed with a visual inspection of the space, but it is highly beneficial to have a layout of the room with physical dimensions for reference. However, you may need to consult the facilities department to answer some questions. Considerations fall into four groups:

• Environmental
• Acoustics
• Illumination
• Repeatability

Environmental

Environmental considerations relate to the size and spatial orientation of the room and include the location of doors, windows, and other structures such as built-in cabinetry and furniture.

The physical dimension of the system limits the minimum required room size; we have found that larger rooms do not provide optimum acoustic characteristics and may require additional modification. Recommendations include:

• Room size: Minimum size is 19 ft × 15 ft (5.79m × 4.57m). Maximum size is 31 ft × 24 ft (9.45m × 7.32m). You can use acoustic dividers (which also block lighting) for some rooms that exceed the maximum size.
• Ceiling height: 8 ft to 10 ft (2.44m to 3.05m). Ceilings lower than 8' are not permitted due to fire codes and the encroachment on sprinkler spray patterns. Ceilings higher than 10' introduce unwanted acoustical characteristics.
• Door location: Doors should be on the left or right side walls and should be out of camera range.
• Windows: Windows make it difficult to control reverberation and lighting. Ideally, rooms should have no windows. If they do, it is recommended that windows and glass do not consume more than 20% of total wall space. Rooms with greater than 20% window space will require modification.
• Other structures: Make sure other structures in the room, such as furniture or built-in cabinets are in suitable locations according to the camera range.
• Power: The TelePresence 3000 requires 6000 watts (50A@20V or 25A@240V). Five 20A circuits should be located on the wall behind the equipment.
• Network ports: Two gigabit RJ-45 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) uplink ports to the network are required.

Acoustics

The building materials, room construction, and HVAC systems all affect the room acoustics. Recommendations include:

• Walls: The audio subsystem is designed to deliver excellent performance for normal drywall room surfaces. Standard sheetrock (drywall) walls with a smooth finish are preferred; walls and wall coverings with a heavy texture are highly discouraged. Cinder block and brick can be highly reverberant and therefore will likely require acoustical wall treatment. Also, thin walls and doors may allow unwanted sound to leak into the room from adjoining rooms, reducing the quality of the experience.
• Ceiling: Standard business office acoustic ceiling tiles help absorb reverberation and unwanted sound.
• Flooring: Standard office carpeting is recommended. Sound-reflective surfaces such as Linoleum and hardwood will likely require carpeting to reduce reverberation.
• HVAC: The cooling and heating systems are required to compensate for heat dissipated by the system (22,000 BTU for the Cisco TelePresence System 3000). This will generally require much airflow, which can generate unwanted sound. Special sound-dampening registers and baffles can help to reduce this noise.

Illumination

Cisco TelePresence is designed to work in a normal conference room with evenly dispersed ambient light. It is highly desirable to have the dispersed light centered over the TelePresence table rather than directly over the monitors or behind the participants. Color temperature is also an important factor as it will help to unify the environment and provide a higher quality experience. Recommendations include:

• Fixtures: Use 100% indirect fluorescent fixtures that provide 250-300lux of vertical face lighting.
• Bulbs: Bulbs need to be high wattage, 4100 Kelvin, fluorescent bulbs. This lighting is best for true color comparison, facial detail and the overall experience.

Repeatability

The design goals for repeatability are to strengthen the feeling of a common, seamless environment, which enhances the overall experience. Creating a uniform feeling across all installations helps to create the illusion of participants being in the same room. Recommendations include:

• Color: Cisco will provide certified color recommendations that will complement most corporate standards, while creating an environment that is both warm and inviting. These color selections are specifically designed to provide the best video quality. It is highly recommended that the customer standardize on a single company color palette to maintain a repeatable experience.
• Artwork: Textures and adornments on the walls should be similar to those of the walls in the other rooms as to complete the feeling of a unified environment.

Please work closely with your TelePresence ATP partner and the Business Unit on more specific room requirements and recommendations.