Lightware’s innovative USB

By AV Magazine in Products, Sponsored story August 24, 2023 0

Lightware Visual Engineering is Europe’s largest manufacturer of AV management products. Our international team of 400+ engineers, system designers, integrators, and AV experts has been operating successfully for over 25 years. The company focuses on delivering intuitive technology for AV users and professionals through pioneering devices that seamlessly support their work styles.

With video conferencing being the new normal, meetings have to be efficient and productive. They have to provide equal meeting engagement of remote and on-premises employees and remove any challenges that both categories are likely to experience when collaborating, such as poor audio, insufficient video, or connectivity issues.

USB-C is becoming the standard for streamlining connectivity for BYOD, because of its ability to simultaneously transmit data and power to and from various computing devices. It eliminates the need for additional cables by combining the functionality of four cables, including AV, USB, Ethernet and power cables, into a single one.

Lightware has always been a pioneer when it comes to upcoming AV technologies. The company has realised the importance of USB – C connectivity and it has conducted extensive research of the various USB-C solutions available for professional AV applications. Lightware offers a wide range of full-featured USB-C cables, available in various lengths from one metre up to five metres. What is more, this year the company launched its unique eight and 10 metres long USB-C extender Active Optical Cables (AOC). These new products bring more flexibility and durability into AV projects, being compatible with all major operating systems and offering SuperSpeed data rates as well as Ultra HD video transmission.

Meeting room connectivityThe rich benefits of USB-C have the potential to change traditional meeting room connectivity. However, not every USB-C cable is created equally and provides the same range of functionality, and the same applies to USB-compatible devices.

In 2021, Lightware introduced a revolutionary unified communications (UC) connectivity solution that bridges the gap between BYOM applications and USB-C devices. Lightware’s Taurus UCX is a universal matrix switcher that enables users to easily share their content, switch hosts and control their meeting room easily and intuitively. Users simply connect their USB-C cable to Taurus UCX to share content and control the meeting room. Taurus UCX utilises USB-C connectivity for simplified video, audio, ethernet, control signals, and power transmission. Taurus UCX is ready for future devices with USB 3.1 Gen1 standard compliance. Lightware’s revolutionary device is designed to be a centerpiece of any collaboration space that requires USB and HDMI for inputs.

Taurus UCX can also automate room assets like lights and shades without the complexity of using another control platform. The Lightware Advanced Room Automation (LARA) firmware of Taurus UCX enables users to intuitively control and manage UCC room assets and facilities like lights, drapes, HVAC, etc. LARA helps instantaneously to start meetings, launch scenarios, configure and monitor meeting room systems easily, which contributes to the entire productivity of corporate teams.

The Taurus UCX was acknowledged by some of the industry’s most reputable organisations for its versatility, and reliability. This device received recognition as the Collaboration Technology of the Year by the

AV Awards in 2022, and it was distinguished with the Best of Show prize at the ISE 2022 exhibition.

Diverse target marketsLightware’s universal matrix switcher caters to a diverse array of target markets, including the esteemed fields of education and healthcare. With Taurus UCX supporting remote access, the IT team of the University of Sharjah (Sharjah, UAE) has dramatically increased its efficiency by monitoring and managing up to 170 units of Taurus UCX deployed in classrooms across the campus remotely. Identifying technical issues and troubleshooting takes minutes. The engineers can do bulk firmware upgrades and have access to various operation analytics.

The National Health Insurance Provider in the USA standardised this device as well. Lightware’s Taurus UCX is designed to tackle challenges in a meeting room and collaboration environment. Featuring an open environment protocol, where every bit of data is openly available for higher-level management, control and monitoring systems, Taurus UCX allows seamless connectivity across various video conferencing applications, including Microsoft Teams, Webex, Zoom and others. It simplifies switching between video conference sources depending on the needs of a particular meeting.

Future of USB-C connectivityAs USB-C technology becomes the primary standard for meeting room connectivity, USB-C extension is the next challenge on the horizon. Luckily, Lightware’s pioneering engineers recently developed a two-box, Taurus TPX (transmitter/receiver) variant of the widely popular Taurus UCX platform that was showcased at InfoComm USA 2023. The transmitter and receiver are seamlessly connected using a single CAT cable, utilising the SDVoE signal to establish a smooth transition between the two. These market-leading devices allow users to extend USB-C signals over longer distances (up to 100 m), empowering system architects with more flexibility for designing collaborative spaces. The Taurus TPX pair manufacturing is available to order from August 2023.

Beyond bridging longer distances, Lightware’s universal switcher transmitter, the Taurus TPN transcends traditional limitations in signal management and connectivity. By incorporating advanced technology, the Taurus TPN forms a transmitter-receiver configuration with the functionality of the UCX product range. It liberates users from the constraints of USB and HDMI cables, providing seamless integration of diverse multimedia signals over distances of up to 100 meters, while working in a point-multipoint arrangement. Taurus TPN extends one of the video outputs of the source in the direction of one or more receiver endpoints.

Set to debut in 2024, this revolutionary pro AV device offers bridging capabilities for longer distances, allowing for the extension of video, audio, and control signals in one direction, while simultaneously enabling the transmission of USB 2.0 data in the other direction.

To learn more about Lightware’s Taurus UCX, please visit: https://lightware.com

LightwareEmail: [email protected]Web: https://lightware.com/product-families/taurus-ucx