HID Conferencing
Use the HID Conferencing component to control a conferencing application, such as Skype for Business or Zoom, on a remote computer connected to a Q-SYS device that supports HID conference control.
Note: Skype for Business for Mac computers is currently incompatible with the HID Conferencing component.
HID Keyboard, HID Media, and HID Conferencing are inventory components included with these Q-SYS devices:
- You need a USB A/B cable to connect a computer to the Q-SYS device.
- In the Q-SYS device properties, enable USB Audio Bridging and drag the Speakerphone / Sound Card In and Out components into the schematic. The HID controller requires an audio connection to successfully control your conferencing application, and the USB Audio Bridge components must be in the schematic for this connection.
Note: Use either Speakerphone or Sound Card. If you use both, the HID Conferencing component defaults to working with the Sound Card.
- HID Conferencing is designed to control a remote computer – connected to a Q-SYS device supporting HID conferencing – from another Q-LAN-connected device, such as a computer or touch screen controller. Do not use the component directly from the computer connected to the Q-SYS device, as unexpected behavior can occur.
- To control a remote computer running Zoom, you must enable 'Zoom Compatibility' mode in the USB Bridging properties. For more information, see USB Audio Bridge.
- Connect the USB A/B cable's rectangular 'A' connector to a USB port on a computer.
- Connect the other end of the cable, the square 'B' connector, to the USB B port on the supported Q-SYS device.
- On another PC connected to the Q-LAN network, drag the HID Conferencing component into your schematic from the Q-SYS device's inventory tree.
- Double-click the component to open the control panel. Copy the controls into a User Control Interface (UCI) and configure the UCI to display on a TSC touch screen.
- In the Q-SYS device's properties, enable Audio Bridging, and configure it for Speakerphone or Sound Card. To see a wiring diagram, refer to the Example.
Note: Use either Speakerphone or Sound Card. If you use both, the HID controller defaults to working with the Sound Card.
- (Optional) If you will be controlling a remote computer running Zoom, enable 'Zoom Compatibility' mode in the USB Bridging properties. See USB Audio Bridge for more information.
- Press F5 to save your design to the Core and run it.
- On the Core-connected computer, open your conferencing application, such as Skype for Business or Zoom.
- In the touch screen UCI, use the buttons to remotely control the conferencing application on the Core-connected computer.
In this example, a design includes:
- A Core 110f with Audio Bridging enabled and configured for Speakerphone. See USB Audio Bridge for more information.
- A speakerphone device (or headset with microphone) connected to one of the Core 110f's front USB ports.
- External USB Audio enabled in the Core 110f properties, which is necessary to communicate with the speakerphone device. See External USB Audio Device for more information.
- A TSC touch screen configured to run a UCI that contains the HID Conferencing controls.
- An Acoustic Echo Canceler component, which is required when routing speakerphone audio.
In the schematic:
- The Ext USB Device In component passes incoming audio from the speakerphone device to the conferencing application (far-end) via the USB EC Speakerphone Out component, allowing conference callers to hear audio from the near-end. An AEC component is used to process speakerphone audio to avoid echo.
- The USB EC Speakerphone In component receives audio from the far-end and sends it to the speakerphone device's speaker via the Ext USB Audio Dev Out component, allowing the near-end to hear far-end conferencing audio.
- The HID Conferencing buttons are used to control the call from the touch screen controller.
This component has no configurable properties.
Core Properties
See the Properties for Core-specific Properties.
USB Bridging – Common Properties
These properties appear based on the USB bridging capabilities of the Q-SYS device. Refer to the USB Video Bridge and USB Audio Bridge topics to see what Q-SYS Core processors and peripherals support USB bridging.
USB Bridge Name
User-defined name given to the USB Bridge, from 1 to 24 characters. The Name may contain ASCII letters 'a' through 'z' (case-insensitive), the digits '0' through '9', and the hyphen. Names cannot begin or end with a hyphen. No other symbols, punctuation characters, or blank spaces are permitted.
Zoom Compatibility
If you are using the HID Conferencing component to control a remote computer running Zoom, set this property to 'Enabled.' Otherwise, when controlling another conferencing app such as Skype for Business, set to 'Disabled' (default). When this property is enabled, the USB Bridge Name property is disabled, and the USB Bridge automatically uses the name of the device for compatibility with Zoom's allowed device list – for example, "Q-SYS Core 110f" or "Q-SYS NV-32-H".
Tip: Enabling Zoom Compatibility may improve the user experience with macOS conferencing solutions.
USB Video Bridge
Enable the USB Video Bridge to bridge Q-SYS Mediacast streams to USB, enabling you to view Mediacast video on a connected computer. This exposes the USB Video Bridge component in the I/O-USB Bridge Inventory tree. To see what Properties are available when the USB Video Bridge is enabled, see USB Video Bridge.
USB Audio Bridge
Provides the capability of passing audio via USB. When this is set to anything except 'Disabled', you can drag the Speakerphone and/or Sound Card components from the device's Inventory tree into your design. To see what Properties are available when the USB Audio Bridge is enabled, see USB Audio Bridge.
- Disabled: (Default)
- Speakerphone (1 x 1): Provides a speakerphone with an input and output component, each having 1 audio connection.
- Sound Card (2 x 2): Provides a sound card with an input and output component, each having two (stereo) audio connections.
- Speakerphone and Sound Card: Provides one speakerphone and one sound card with the same capabilities as described above.
- Advanced – If supported, allows up to any combination of four speakerphone / sound cards.
Speakerphone Mode
This selection is available only when Speakerphone or Speakerphone and Sound Card is selected in the USB Audio Bridge property. Indicates if the Q-SYS design has Echo Canceling (EC) or Non-Echo Canceling (NEC). This information is provided to the PC or Mac operating system so it can determine whether or not to use its own echo canceling.
Graphic Properties
Label
Use the Label property to change the name of the component in the schematic. The Label property defaults to the component name. To learn more about renaming schematic elements, see Organizing Your Design.
Position
The coordinates reference a specific place in the schematic - for example,"100,100" (horizontal, vertical). 0,0 is the upper left corner of the schematic.
Fill
Sets the fill color of the component in the schematic.
Script Access Properties
Code Name
Displays the currently assign name for control access. You can use the auto-assigned name or customize it. Q-SYS will automatically check all Code Names in the design to ensure name is unique.
Script Access
Defines whether the component will be accessible by script and/or externally, or not at all. Choices include All, External, None (default), and Script.
- None (default) - Not accessible by any script, plugin, or by Q-SYS Remote Control Protocol (QRC).
- Script - Can be accessed by scripts, such as Text Controller, Block Controllers, and plugins only.
- External - Can only be accessed by 3rd party controls systems using component commands from the Q-SYS Remote Control Protocol (QRC).
- All - No restrictions, can be accessed by 3rd party control systems via Q-SYS Remote Control Protocol (QRC), or script objects or plugin objects.
Tip: Use Script Programmer Mode to quickly view the Script Access setting directly on the component in the design schematic without the need to disconnect from the Q-SYS Core processor.
The HID Conferencing component includes standard conferencing control functions.
Indicators
Off Hook
Indicates that a call is actively in progress.
Mute
Indicates that the Phone Mute control is active, meaning that near-end audio cannot be heard.
Ring
Indicates an incoming call.
Connected
Indicates that the HID component detects a connection to the Core-connected computer.
Controls
Call Accept
Click to accept an incoming call.
Call Decline
Click to decline an incoming call. In some conferencing applications (such as Skype for Business), this button also ends an active call.
Phone Mute
Click to mute near-end microphone audio.
Pin Name |
Value |
String |
Position |
Pins Available |
---|---|---|---|---|
LED |
||||
Connected |
0 1 |
disabled enabled |
0 1 |
Output |
Mute |
0 1 |
disabled enabled |
0 1 |
Output |
Off Hook |
0 1 |
disabled enabled |
0 1 |
Output |
Ring |
0 1 |
disabled enabled |
0 1 |
Output |
Call Accept |
(trigger) |
Input / Output |
||
Call Decline |
(trigger) |
Input / Output |
||
Phone Mute |
0 1 |
false true |
0 1 |
Input / Output |
Accepting and Ending Calls with Zoom
Zoom Desktop and Zoom Rooms only support Call Accept and Call Decline functionality upon an incoming call. Once the call has started, the call cannot be ended with the Call Decline button provided by Q-SYS HID. It is possible, however, to end a call with Ctrl+Shift+E on the desktop client but not on Zoom Rooms.
No HID Conferencing Feedback
To ensure your HID Conferencing component works seamlessly with Teams or Zoom, make sure to select the Echo Canceling Speakerphone as both your input and output audio device in the conferencing software.
If you choose any other audio device (such as laptop speakers or soundcard), the HID Conferencing controls (like mute and volume) will not function, as the software can't communicate with the correct device.