USB is not just a reality today in pro AV systems. It’s absolutely vital to enabling the video conferencing applications working professionals have come to depend on every day.
The Omega™ Series was designed for modern meeting and collaboration spaces with USB video conferencing as a prime focus. Omega AV switching products include a USB hub for peripherals, plus USB host switching so that two or more PCs can access them.
The case for USB host switching
In many meeting rooms and collaboration areas, it’s commonplace to provision a PC dedicated to running a video conferencing platform such as Microsoft® Teams® or Zoom. The PC is connected to a hub that is then interfaced with a speakerphone and camera, or a soundbar with built-in camera.
But what if the PC is set up only for Zoom conferencing, but someone decides they want the meeting conducted over Teams?
A solution is to provide a device that serves as a USB hub but also provide host switching. It allows someone to bring in their laptop, so they can host the video conferencing session instead of using the resident PC.
What about video switching?
USB host switching offers the convenience of bringing user laptops to access a room’s camera and audio equipment. However, you’ll also want to be able to switch video together with the PC host.
This is where the Omega Series switchers come in. They include both AV and USB host switching so you won’t have to worry about provisioning separate boxes for each.
See below for AV and USB ports on the Omega AT-OME-MS42.
And here is the AT-OME-SW21-TX-WPC wallplate switcher.
Here’s what you can do with USB switching in the Omega product line:
- You can manually select USB hosts, or use auto-switching, which works in much the same way as video.
- Alternatively, you can assign USB hosts to video inputs, so that USB follows video switching (whether auto or manual).
- Omega switchers have a USB-C input which works for video and USB host. This input is part of the USB switching functionality.
The ability to use your device to host video conferencing sessions is the popular trend in workplaces known as BYOM, or Bring Your Own Meeting.
Below is a list of Omega Series products featuring AV and USB host switching.
If you would like to learn more about the Omega Series of product solutions for collaboration and BYOM, please do not hesitate to contact your Atlona representative.
| Product | Description |
|---|---|
| AT-OME-MH21 | Two-Input Switcher for HDMI and USB-C with USB Hub |
| AT-OME-MH21-CP | Two-Input Switcher for HDMI and USB-C with USB Hub and Device Charging |
| AT-OME-MS42 | 4x2 Matrix Switcher for HDMI, USB-C, DisplayPort, and HDBaseT with USB |
| AT-OME-MS52W | 5x2 Matrix Switcher for HDMI, USB-C, DisplayPort, and HDBaseT with USB and Wireless Link |
| AT-OME-PS62 | 6x2 Matrix Switcher for HDMI, USB-C, and HDBaseT with USB |
| AT-OME-SR21 | 2×1 AV Switcher and Receiver with Scaler and USB – HDBaseT and HDMI Inputs |
| AT-OME-SW21-TX-WPC | Wallplate HDBaseT Transmitter for HDMI and USB-C with USB Hub |
About the Author
Perry Sun is a Product Marketing Manager for Atlona, focusing on AV over IP, wireless BYOD, and commercial HDBaseT products. In his free time, he enjoys blogging, creating videos for his YouTube channel, learning web development, cooking, and basically anything related to Japanese culture (especially food).