ClickShare and Polycom HDX Series
2 Integration
The ClickShare Base Unit offers a number of features that facilitate integrating
ClickShare with a Polycom HDX Series video conferencing system.
2.1 ClickShare wallpaper
When no one is sharing content with ClickShare, the ClickShare Base Unit shows
a wallpaper with instructions.
However, even though it’s of no interest to the remote participants, the VC codec
shows this content (the customizable wallpaper) at the remote location, because
it cannot distinguish between the wallpaper and actual content shared by the
meeting participants.
Therefore, the CSM and CSC Base Units allow you to disable the wallpaper. When
the wallpaper is disabled, it is no longer shown on the central display, and the
ClickShare Base Unit will activate its video output only when actual content is
shared.
1 Use case
Consider a ClickShare installation in a
meeting room that is equipped with a video
conferencing system. In this case, the video
output of the ClickShare Base Unit is typically
connected to the video input of the video
conferencing codec. When a user shares
content via ClickShare, the VC codec sends
the image of the ClickShare Base Unit to the
remote location and the remote VC codec
shows the image on one of the displays.
Integrating ClickShare with a Polycom HDX Series
video conferencing system
2.2 Clone mode
The VC codec of some video conferencing systems has a limited input resolution, which can be lower than the resolution of the display
in the meeting room. In this case, a splitter and scaler are required, so that the meeting room display can operate at its maximum
resolution – as shown in this figure:
The ClickShare CSC Base Unit offers functionality to eliminate the need for additional equipment. When both video outputs of the CSC
Base Unit are connected to video inputs, the dual display functionality is activated.
There are two modes available: “extended” and “clone”:
• In extended mode, the CSC Base Unit divides the shared content between the two screens.
• In clone mode, the content sent to the two video inputs is the same, but it can be set at different resolutions. In this case, a splitter
and scaler are no longer needed.
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2.3 Automatic kick-off
Depending on the design and configuration of the Polycom system, the last content that is shared on the Polycom system is considered
to be the current content and is shown on the display. However, the ClickShare Base Unit is not aware of what is being shown on the
display: when another source is displayed, the ClickShare Button is still red, indicating that the source is being shown on screen. The
ClickShare-Polycom integration resolves this inconsistency.
To perform this integration, the ClickShare Base Unit and the Polycom unit must be connected via the same IP network – the connection
is made via the Telnet port of the Polycom codec, as described in the “Integrator’s Reference Manual for Polycom”. When both units are
on the same network, and you want to enable the Polycom Integration, enter the web interface of the ClickShare Base Unit and select
the “Integration” tab, as shown in Figure 1:
Figure 1. Example integration page
After ticking the “Enable Polycom Integration” checkbox, fill in the IP address or the hostname of the Polycom unit together with the
Telnet port that allows API commands to be sent
1
. After applying the changes, the status indicator will turn green if the connection
between the ClickShare Base Unit and the Polycom unit is established, as shown in Figure 2
2
:
Figure 2. The connection between the ClickShare Base Unit and the Polycom unit is established
Note: The wallpaper of the ClickShare Base Unit will be disabled automatically, for the reasons described above.
As soon as the two systems are connected, the ClickShare Base Unit sends the API command “notify vidsourcechanges” to the Polycom
unit. Now, when content from the ClickShare Base Unit is removed from the display by the Polycom unit
3
, all ClickShare clients that were
sharing content on ClickShare will stop sharing, and the Buttons turn to “Ready to share” (solid white LEDs), triggering the ClickShare
Base Unit to mute its video output.
If an error occurs, the status indicator turns red and an error message appears.
Integration can be disabled by unticking the “Enable Polycom Integration” checkbox and applying the changes. In this case, the
ClickShare Base Unit sends the API command “nonotify vidsourcechanges” to the Polycom unit and the connection is terminated.
1
Telnet port is set to 24 by default.
2
Because establishing the connection may take some time, you might need to refresh the current page to see the latest status of the connection.
3
The detection is based on the notification message that the Polycom unit emits. If the message contains notification:vidsourcechange:near:none:none:*,
the ClickShare content has been removed from the display.
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