 | The Polycom RealPresence Trio8800 brings a new era of innovation for meeting rooms devices by being the first smart hub for group collaboration that transforms the iconic three-point conference phone into a voice, video and content sharing system for Microsoft Skype for Business 2015 and Lync 2013. More information regarding the product can be found in the Polycom website. This blog post focuses on the technical overview and configuration of the Trio8800 for Microsoft Skype for Business. For a full list of device specifications, customers may refer to the data sheet at the Polycom Trio Website and thus only the more important ones will be highlighted here. |
The base unit Trio8800 functions as a audio conference phone with 360-degree 20-foot microphone pickup range and advanced audio technologies such as enhanced Polycom HD Voice and the patented Polycom NoiseBlock to keep out unwanted background noise. The Trio8800 is also the industry’s first group audio conferencing solution that has a built-in bass reflex port for richer low frequency sounds and it comes with a large multi-touch capable 5" capacitive color LCD display (720 x 1280 pixel, 9:16 aspect ratio). The device is capable of joining Skype4B AVMCU Conferences but also supports local 5-way HD Voice conference. Standard audio codecs support include G.711 (A-law and μ-law), G.719, G.729AB, iLBC (13.33Kbps & 15.2Kbps), Opus (8Kbps – 24Kbps), G.722, G.722.1, G.722.1C and Siren 14.
For connectivity, the Trio800 supports IEEE 802.3AT PoE Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi with WEP/WPA/WPA2/802.1x, Bluetooth 4.0 device pairing for wideband speech and multimedia streaming (HFP/AD2P), and last but not least, NFC for automatic pairing. Note that the Wi-Fi and LAN interfaces cannot be both enabled at the same time. Standard and micro USB 3.0 inputs are available for USB pairing and upgrading of firmware via external USB drive. The Trio8800 also supports up to 2 extension mics (sold separately) each with a 20ft pickup range. The unit also supports external power kit (sold separately) if no PoE is available.
For connectivity, the Trio800 supports IEEE 802.3AT PoE Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi with WEP/WPA/WPA2/802.1x, Bluetooth 4.0 device pairing for wideband speech and multimedia streaming (HFP/AD2P), and last but not least, NFC for automatic pairing. Note that the Wi-Fi and LAN interfaces cannot be both enabled at the same time. Standard and micro USB 3.0 inputs are available for USB pairing and upgrading of firmware via external USB drive. The Trio8800 also supports up to 2 extension mics (sold separately) each with a 20ft pickup range. The unit also supports external power kit (sold separately) if no PoE is available.
| To leverage the video and content sharing capabilities of the Trio8800, two additional accessories must be added to the base unit: the Polycom Visual+ and Logitech c930e webcam. The Polycom Visual+ is a PoE powered media processing unit that has a HDMI output for connecting to any standard 1080p display (touch display is not supported at this time). The Visual+ has to pair with the base unit in order for video and content sharing to be enabled. Pairing is done via Ethernet by either connecting the Visual+ to the 2nd LAN port on the base unit (which also provides 802.3af PoE power) or to the same VLAN as the base unit. Currently, both the base unit and the Visual+ must be on the same subnet in order for pairing to work. To enable video in calls, the Logitech c930e camera must be attached to the Visual+ via USB, and this is the only webcam supported currently. The Logitech c930e is a UVC1.5 compliant 1080p HD webcam that has built-in H.264 video encoding. |  |
Lync/Skype for Business feature support
Under the covers, the Trio runs a hardened version of Android KitKat OS but none of the Android functionality is actually exposed to users, eg. no Googe Play etc... All known SSL vulnerabilities related to KitKat have already been patched. In fact all of the Trio's functionality is powered by the same UCS software that runs on the Polycom VVX family of IP Phones, with additional features catered for the Trio's unique capabilities. As of this writing the GA-released UCS version on the Trio is 5.4.0.12541 which supports Lync 2013 and a new maintenance release is expected later that provides support for Skype for Business server 2015 and Office365. Highlights of the supported Lync 2013 features include:
Under the covers, the Trio runs a hardened version of Android KitKat OS but none of the Android functionality is actually exposed to users, eg. no Googe Play etc... All known SSL vulnerabilities related to KitKat have already been patched. In fact all of the Trio's functionality is powered by the same UCS software that runs on the Polycom VVX family of IP Phones, with additional features catered for the Trio's unique capabilities. As of this writing the GA-released UCS version on the Trio is 5.4.0.12541 which supports Lync 2013 and a new maintenance release is expected later that provides support for Skype for Business server 2015 and Office365. Highlights of the supported Lync 2013 features include:
- Direct registration with on-premise Lync 2013 server
- View and update presence information
- Peer-to-Peer and Multi-Party AVMCU Audio and Video calls
- Exchange calendar support with one-click conference join
- Lync Directory Search and Add/Remove Lync contacts
- RDP Content Receive from Lync
Audio Features of the Trio8800
As mentioned, the unit is powered by the same UCS software that runs on the VVX family of Lync certified phones, and thus inherits most if not all of the enterprise voice functionality of the latter when registered to a Lync2013 Server. Much of the UCS functionality related to Lync Enteprise Voice features have been covered in this blog post from Jeff Schertz and will not be repeated here. Below is a summary list of features for reference only:
As mentioned, the unit is powered by the same UCS software that runs on the VVX family of Lync certified phones, and thus inherits most if not all of the enterprise voice functionality of the latter when registered to a Lync2013 Server. Much of the UCS functionality related to Lync Enteprise Voice features have been covered in this blog post from Jeff Schertz and will not be repeated here. Below is a summary list of features for reference only:
| Feature Root certificate download DHCP Option 43 override Root Cert Download – LDAP PIN Authentication Remote Active Directory or PIN Auth Sign-in Narrowband audio Call transfer, hold, mute Full-duplex echo cancellation Wideband audio Media encryption Direct SIP registration to Lync Server Peer-to-peer audio calling Message Waiting Indicator (MWI) Voice mail retrieval Presence publication Presence state control Enhanced Presence Calls logs Log access Device updates VLAN assignment Device sign-in Remote worker scenarios Firewall traversal Federation In-band provisioning Lync monitoring Reporting Call Admission Control (CAC) Media bypass Dial plans Call forwarding to contacts or voicemail Response Groups Team-Call & Delegates Private Lines Branch Office Survivability E911 E911 Conferencing E911 dial plan priority Location Services Lync Autodiscovery Exchange Autodiscover Exchange Call Logs Address Book Service (ABS) Outlook Contact Search Contacts List Contact Groups Lync Status Screen Music on Hold Native Lync Conferencing (CCCP) Calendar Conference Join USB Headset Support LDAP Directory Custom+66 Option HTTP(S)/FTP(S)/TFTP Screen Customization Custom Ringtones Enhance Feature Key Mapping CDP & STATIC VLAN Discovery 802.1x | Function Available using DHCP Option 43 Deploy phones without DHCP Option 43 Root Certificate Chain download via LDAP Support for Lync PIN TLS-DSK authentication Sign in with Active Directory credentials or Pin Auth from the Web G.711 Flexible user phone functions Full-duplex echo cancellation G.722-1 SRTP, SSRTP Microsoft SIP, TLS for SIP Signaling, SRTP, SSRTP Initiate and receive two-party calls Illumination of MWI lamp indicates new messages One-touch call to voice mail attendant Indicates the status of your contacts Choose from a menu of presence states Presence displays in a call and in a meeting Local call history for missed, received, and outgoing calls Local phone access to diagnostic logging Centralized phone updates from an out-of-band server LLDP-MED VLAN assignment Out-of-the-box user sign-in and sign-out Edge Server registration for off-location users A/V Edge Server support using the ICE, STUN, and TURN protocols Connect people across organizations and domains Support for in-band provisioning from Lync Server QoE monitoring Device inventory reports Support for in-band bandwidth policy Bypass the Lync mediation server to send media directly to a PSTN GW Normalization patterns passed via an in-band provisioning to the endpoint; Forward calls to another contact or voicemail The phone can join a response group or IVR The phone supports team calling and can act as a delegate phone Alternate call-forwarding identity for a Lync user’s secondary DID Maintain SBA/SBS registration during WAN outage, automatic recovery Supports in-band provisioning information for Emergency 911 Conference security desk with the phone calling E911 E911 dial plan priority over regular dial plan Extended Link Layer Discovery (LLDP)-MED location-based information Lync Auto Discovery using DNS SRV records Autodiscover Exchange web services Use Exchange to store call logs Access and search contacts in the Lync address book Lync search will support ABS and outlook contacts Display Lync contacts and their current presence status Display and expand groups in the Lync user’s contact list Lync diagnostic screen in the Web Configuration Utility Play music when a caller is put on hold Complete Lync Centralized Conference Control Protocol Calendar reminder with one touch Lync meeting join Support for HID compliant Headsets LDAP v3 Support (sorting, unsorting, VLV) DHCP Options used for locating a provisioning server Provisioning server protocol Load background image Custom Ringtones Customize ring tones and alerts Use EFK to customize key functions Cisco VLAN discovery and Static VLAN assignment 802.1x Ethernet Port Security (multiple supplicants including EAP-TLS) |
Video calling with Lync 2013 with Content Share
As stated earlier, when paired with the Visual+ accessory device, the Trio8800 when registered to Lync server is capable of making and receving video calls with Lync 2013 clients. Both P2P and AVMCU video calls are supported using Microsoft's H.264 SVC protocol. At this time only a single SVC stream can be sent/received by the Trio8800 up to max resolution of 1080p 30fps. In addition, content sharing can also be done while in a audio call or conference with Lync 2013 clients via the RDP protocol, with or without video being enabled. In fact, just opening up a chat window with the Trio8800 from a Lync client will allow it to share content with the Trio8800. Below are some diagrams to illustrate these features:
Lync client on a ideo call with Trio8800, and initiates sharing a program:
As stated earlier, when paired with the Visual+ accessory device, the Trio8800 when registered to Lync server is capable of making and receving video calls with Lync 2013 clients. Both P2P and AVMCU video calls are supported using Microsoft's H.264 SVC protocol. At this time only a single SVC stream can be sent/received by the Trio8800 up to max resolution of 1080p 30fps. In addition, content sharing can also be done while in a audio call or conference with Lync 2013 clients via the RDP protocol, with or without video being enabled. In fact, just opening up a chat window with the Trio8800 from a Lync client will allow it to share content with the Trio8800. Below are some diagrams to illustrate these features:
Lync client on a ideo call with Trio8800, and initiates sharing a program:
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Content gets displayed on the Trio's monitor output, with video hidden:
Bluetooth, Wifi and NFC Features
When Bluetooth is enabled, users with Bluetooth enabled mobile phones can pair with the Trio8800 from a laptop or mobile device and place audio calls, video calls, play music using the Trio8800 as an external speaker/ic. With NFC-Assisted Bluetooth Connection it also supports NFC (near field communication)-assisted Bluetooth pairing by just tapping the NFC enabled mobile devie on the NFC chip located on the left of the display as shown:
When Bluetooth is enabled, users with Bluetooth enabled mobile phones can pair with the Trio8800 from a laptop or mobile device and place audio calls, video calls, play music using the Trio8800 as an external speaker/ic. With NFC-Assisted Bluetooth Connection it also supports NFC (near field communication)-assisted Bluetooth pairing by just tapping the NFC enabled mobile devie on the NFC chip located on the left of the display as shown:
In fact, one of the really cool features is the ability to transfer an ongoing call from your mobile phone to the Trio800 by just tapping the phone to the NFC chip. The RealPresence Trio 8800 conference phone can remember up to 10 previously paired devices. Note you cannot connect via Bluetooth during an active call and NFC can be enabled/disabled from the phone menu
system.
WIfi connectivity is straightforward but do note that the Trio8800 does not allow both WiFi and Ethernet LAN to be used simultaneously. This means that if the device is to be used in a WiFi only enviornment, then it will require power from the PoE injector accessory sold seperately. Below are screen shots of WiFi configurations via the phone menu:
system.
WIfi connectivity is straightforward but do note that the Trio8800 does not allow both WiFi and Ethernet LAN to be used simultaneously. This means that if the device is to be used in a WiFi only enviornment, then it will require power from the PoE injector accessory sold seperately. Below are screen shots of WiFi configurations via the phone menu:
Software Update and Factory Reset
Software updates and configuration provisioning can be done via the standard boot server provisioning server that VVX phones use, but the Trio8800 also allows this via it's USB port on the left side of the display. By placing the software files on a USB stick, simply plug it into the USB port and the Trio8800 will detect if a new software version is avaialble, and upgrade itself automatically. If the Visual+ is also paired with the Trio8800, then the firmware on the Visual+ will also be upgraded. Should there be a need to perform a factory reset, this can be done by first powering off the Trio and then waiting for the Polycom logo to appear on the display, then hold all 4 corners of the touch screen until mute lights start flashing different colors, then let release and let the Trio reboot.
Conclusion
This has been a brief article covering some of the technical highlights of the Polycom Trio8800 SmartHub. As always, more detailed information can be found in the release notes and deployment guides avaiable on Polycom's Trio8800 website.
Software updates and configuration provisioning can be done via the standard boot server provisioning server that VVX phones use, but the Trio8800 also allows this via it's USB port on the left side of the display. By placing the software files on a USB stick, simply plug it into the USB port and the Trio8800 will detect if a new software version is avaialble, and upgrade itself automatically. If the Visual+ is also paired with the Trio8800, then the firmware on the Visual+ will also be upgraded. Should there be a need to perform a factory reset, this can be done by first powering off the Trio and then waiting for the Polycom logo to appear on the display, then hold all 4 corners of the touch screen until mute lights start flashing different colors, then let release and let the Trio reboot.
Conclusion
This has been a brief article covering some of the technical highlights of the Polycom Trio8800 SmartHub. As always, more detailed information can be found in the release notes and deployment guides avaiable on Polycom's Trio8800 website.
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