Barco ClickShare CX-50 - wireless conferencing system for large rooms - Gen 1

The Barco ClickShare CX-50 - a wireless conference system for large meeting and conference rooms. Many readers will be asking themselves why they need the CX-50 if they already have a ClickShare CS system? We are regularly asked this question and there is a simple answer: The CX-50 includes all the functions of the CSE-800 and, in addition, the CX-50 has everything you need to realise a first-class BYOM solution within 7 seconds. BYOM stands for Bring Your Own Meetingand means that every user can bring their own laptop into a room, simply take the new conferencing button, connect it to their laptop and start their pre-installed or favourite video conferencing software. Within seconds, can then stream wirelessly to a display or projector in the room, while also gaining access to cameras, soundbars and microphones installed in the meeting room. The Barco ClickShare CX-50 is therefore not only a wireless presentation option, but a wireless presentation and video conferencing solution. 

The ClickShare CX-50 offers you the same functions as the CX-30, but also comes with two additional USB ports, an HDMI input, SPDIF and a jack output. Collaboration with remote participants, the Local View function and the moderation mode take place in Full HD resolution. The wireless connection with cameras, loudspeakers and microphones on the CX-50 is of the very highest quality. The Barco CX-50 also has two WiFi chips, allowing you to provide a company WLAN and a guest WLAN. Touchback support, moderation mode, annotation and blackboarding functions are of course also directly on board. Thanks to touchback support, you can also control your notebook via the touchscreen and therefore don't have to constantly walk back and forth between the display and notebook.

The CX-50 from Barco works with all devices, any UC technology - i.e. all providers of software and cloud-based video conferencing solutions and all brands of AV peripherals. With the new ClickShare CX-50, everyone in the company can simply work with what they like to use themselves and are no longer limited to a fixed application. At the same time, the issue of security is emphasised even more. The ClickShare CX-50 is ISO 27001 certified, making the first system with wireless technology to be awarded this certification.

As you would expect from Barco, you can integrate mobile devices into your conference at any time. For example, participants can simply pick up their iPad and actively publish content on the large screen. In video conferences, tablets and smartphones can of course use their integrated camera and so you can also take part in the conference live via mobile phone or iPad . For the wireless connection of notebooks without ClickShare Conferencing Button, tablets and smartphones with the CX-50, you can use ChromeCast, Airplay and Miracast in addition to the ClickShare app for Windows and MAC. This means that all common providers are covered and you have a wide range of connection options at your disposal.

While installation was previously always complex and never really possible wirelessly, this changes immediately with the Barco CX-50. Simply connect the display to the ClickShare conference system via HDMI and the video conference camera via USB. Peripheral devices such as loudspeakers can be easily connected to the CX-50 at via the jack or Toslink, another advantage over the smaller CX devices. Then take the button supplied and plug it into your notebook or use the free app. Open your pre-installed video conferencing software and you are ready to hold wireless video conferences. Once again, Barco proves that it is not only able to build high-quality and secure products, but is also a real problem solver and wants to improve everyday meeting life in the long term.

We would also like to show you another great function that can be very useful for many people: Let's assume you are connected to the CX-50 with your laptop and start a video conference via Microsoft Teams, for example. Now you want to include not only the video conference camera in the meeting, but also everything that you display on your screen. With the "Room Display" (also called Local View) , Barco provides you with a suitable solution for this. In MS Teams, the "ClickShare Client" window can simply be shared and all remote participants (also called remote participants) can then view the content of the screen. For example, if you are currently showing your current sales figures on the display, remote participants can also view this via the room display function in MS Teams.

On the subject of simplicity and unique selling points, we would like to point out another new feature. The improved presence detection with "Ultrasound" is a real relief in everyday meeting life. Simply walk into the conference room and establish a connection immediately. You no longer have to select a room. You no longer have to enter PIN codes at and there is no risk of connecting to the wrong ClickShare. Only those in the room can see and hear what you are doing. Ultrasound uses sound waves to check and thus ensures that you are actually present in the room. The sound signal is designed in such a way that it cannot leave the room. As soon as you leave the room after the end of the presentation, the connection to the ClickShare is automatically disconnected.

Let's now take a look at the individual components of the Barco ClickShare CX-50. 

CX-50 base station:
Although it is not always visible, the Base Unit is the centrepiece of the ClickShare CX-50 system. It receives wireless data from the buttons, mobile devices and the Button App and ensures high-quality and smooth playback. The base is best mounted near the display or projector and the connection from the display/projector to the base is made via HDMI. If you do not have an HDMI connection on the display/projector, you will need to work with adapters. To connect to a video conference camera, you can use   a classic USB port. The CX-50 base has a total of 3 x USB-A and one USB-C port. Unlike the other CX base stations, the CX-50 has two WiFi chips, allowing you to provide a WiFi network for company employees only and a stand-alone WiFi network for guests. With the CX-50 variant, you can also output the sound to a suitable audio output device at any time via a jack or Toslink. The base station is also the receiver unit that integrates wireless devices into the conference. The station understands the AirPlay, Google Cast and Miracast protocols and you are therefore able to include virtually all mobile operating systems in the presentation. A USB-C connection is available on the front for pairing the button. The CX-50 base can be mounted on the wall or placed on a sideboard.

Conferencing button:
Connect the USB-C Conferencing Button to your laptop. One click and in less than 7 seconds you are automatically connected to cameras, microphones, soundbars and other AV peripherals in the meeting room. There is now an additional small button on the conferencing button . This button is called Quick Button and with it you can , among other things, call up the content of the room display on your notebook, a function called local display. This means that if you don't have a perfect view of the room display, you can simply follow the meeting on your laptop or share the room display with remote participants. The Quick Button also activates advanced powerful functions such as brainstorming, moderation, snapshots, control of AV devices (camera and audio) etc. Another great news for you: The ClickShare Button is now recognised as a CD-ROM drive, instead of a mass storage device. This eliminates the annoying BitLocker pop-up message. The ClickShare Conferencing Button offers low latency and QoS for audio at all times. QoS stands for Quality of Service and means that the audio quality fulfils a defined standard.

ClickShare Collaboration App:
The Collaboration App is actually like a virtual conferencing button. Once installed on your PC, notebook or mobile device , you can share content via the ClickShare Collaboration App with similar innovative collaboration features: Pause, window selection, extended desktop, ideation and moderation. What's new is that the ClickShare app automatically recognises which ClickShare Base Units are nearby. The Base Units are listed according to signal strength. The ClickShare Collaboration App is available to download free of charge for both desktop and mobile devices. No admin rights are required to install the ClickShare App on a notebook.

Brief comparison Barco ClickShare CX-50 vs. CS-200 and CSE-200+:
The direct counterpart to the Barco ClickShare CX-50 would be the Barco ClickShare CS-800. However, the buttons of the CX-50 and CS-800 differ and so the button of the CS-800 is not compatible with the base of the CX-50 and vice versa. The connection speed of the buttons has been significantly improved on the CX-50 and the connection to the display is much faster. Like the CSE-800, the CX-50 can be used as a wireless presentation solution, but also offers the wireless BYOM function. This not only lowers the installation costs, but also reduces the installation effort. The Barco ClickShare CSE-800 is designed for wireless presentations, while the CX-50 offers both a wireless presentation option and a wireless connection of video conferencing systems.

Differences in the Barco CX systems:

Will the already known ClickShare systems CS-100 / CSE-200 / CSE-200+ and CSE-800 be discontinued?
No, the existing Barco ClickShare systems will remain on the market. The CS and CX systems each have a different target group. If you don't want to hold video conferences in your room, you don't need to buy a ClickShare from the CX series. The CS devices are wireless presentation devices, while the CX systems are wireless presentation and conferencing solutions.

About security and management:
The ClickShare CX-50 wireless conferencing system is suitable for all corporate environments and is equipped with great features for enhanced security and seamless integration. ClickShare Conference can be easily integrated into all IT networks, while the XMS (Cloud) management platform makes device management simple. The XMS Cloud not only allows you to manage and set up your existing ClickShare devices , but you can also view statistics to see how often and for how long the systems are used.

Our opinion of the Barco CX-50:
The Barco ClickShare CX-50 has exactly what your organisation needs for closer collaboration and an impressive conferencing experience of the highest quality . Connectivity and simplicity are core concepts in the modern business world. Time is money and IT already has enough work to do. This wireless conferencing solution is designed to work seamlessly with existing video conferencing tools and any AV peripherals such as microphones, soundbars and cameras without the need to physically connect these   devices with cables and adapters. This is currently unique on the market and a real relief. The connection with the Button has been noticeably improved and is now much faster and smoother. The Button app option is a good thing if you don't have enough buttons to hand or don't want to use the conference button. The HDMI input allows you to incorporate the image from document cameras directly into the video conference, for example. The audio signal can be transferred directly to an external audio system via the jack connection or Toslink and can therefore also include the pre-installed sound system. In our test, the connection with Microsoft Teams, a Huddly IQ video conferencing camera and a Jabra Speaker 810 worked excellently and we finally saved ourselves the tangle of cables at the table. For us, the Barco CX-50 is a real solution to real problems in large conference rooms and we therefore give the Barco ClickShare CX-50 a clear recommendation.

Let's move on to the warranty:
After registering the Barco ClickShare CX-50, you will receive a 5-year manufacturer's warranty. If you do not register the device within the first 6 months, the standard warranty of 1 year applies.

This product is not sold to private customers.

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