While we’ve been preaching that small businesses should invest in good communication equipment right here on [email protected], It’s worth knowing that the new Polycom RealPresence Trio 8800 Collaboration kit is a complete audio and video conferencing tool which allows businesses to communicate over the internet seamlessly.

The device which is a complete suit eliminates the needs for cables, cameras, speakers and even computers because all is centrally encompassed into the same device.

According to Polycom, the Trio’s audio system is said to be of legendary standard. The RealPresence Trio 8800 base unit has a black tripod with a 5inch colour touchsreen, also a tripod, studio-quality cardoid mics and a powerful central speaker.

The video component that comes with the pack has the Polycom’s Visual+ satellite hub and bundled Logitech c930e 1080p HD USB Webcam (No other USB camera is supported).

The Visual+ is then joined to a LAN via a cable and pairs with the Trio over the network. The essence of which is to increase deployment options and doing things the right way without affecting connectivity.

The Polycom Trio’s component requires a PoE source which is great while being powered through the lab’s HPE ProCurve 2626-PWR switch.

During our testing of the expensive tool, we were able to run the connection of an HD monitor to the HDMI port on the Visual+ hub and watched it show a progress screen that advised when it had paired with both Trio.

Bluetooth, Near Field Connection (NFC) are other features that are fantastic as far as the Trio is concerned. Using these features allowed us pair a mobile device to the system  which worked just fine. The Trio also has integral 11n/a wireless but if you use this to connect it to the network, you’ll only get audio services as the Visual+ won’t be paired alongside it.

The Kit has a sharp focus for Skype for Business (SFB) and supports Microsoft’s Lync and Office 365, Cisco’s CUCM and Polycom’s RealPresence services.

The Trio 8800 has a Touchscreen with which you can navigate through to adjust settings and confirmations. Viewing contacts and checking recent calls can all be done by pressing the screen without having to go through unnecessary stress.

When we paired the Trio with the Visual+, there was an extra Content Icon which provides instructions on how to remotely share the desktop using Polycom’s RealPresence Desktop or Mobile Applications.

The standard base unit has multi-coloured icons whereas the SFB model presents a different set in the standard Skype blue.

You can thus utilize this for account login or create an on-demand or scheduled meetings. You can also automatically selcet pre-loaded contacts and search through the archive directory.

During our testing of the device, we discovered that the kit produces a high quality audio sound. The Trio’s speaker delivers some crystal clear sound with rel-life bass and the efficiency was above 60% while we increase the volume to the max, it could be felt a long distance away while the conversation sounded like real life.

Also, the mics are good and impressive. The Polycom’s NoiseBlock features a cutting edge which distorts background noises. Video quality is good but the sharpness might not be all that amazing, we still saw every bit of ourselves while communicating.

Another thing is the Trio runs Polycom’s People + Content IP (PPCIP) server component. Using the free PPCIP application on a networked Windows 10 PC, we entered the Trio’s IP address right within the application’s interface and then provided the password we’d configured from the Trio’s web User Interface where we watched the desktop appear on the monitor where we can use the app’s zoom functionality to zero-in on an area we’d precise on.

The pricing of the device is high and Polycom’s products are known for this for long. While the Trio 8800 produces an outstanding quality conferencing presence, the Visual+ and the HD webcam components were great addons that can be counted upon to perform extraordinarily.

REALPRESENCE TRIO 8800 SPECIFICATIONS

DISPLAY

• Display Resolution
  1280 x 720 pixels
• Diagonal Size (metric)
  12.7 cm
• Color Support
  color
• Backlit
  Yes
• Display Location
  base
• Features
  multi-touch, touch screen

MISCELLANEOUS

• Connections
  USB / 4 pin USB Type A
  USB / 5 pin Micro-USB Type B

MANUFACTURER WARRANTY

• Service & Support
  Limited warranty – 1 year

PHONE FEATURES

• Speakerphone
  Yes

HEADER

• Brand
  Polycom
• Product Line
  Polycom RealPresence Trio
• Model
  8800
• Packaged Quantity
  1

TELEPHONE

• Type
  conference VoIP phone
• Integrated Components
  Bluetooth interface
• Cordless Phone Standard
  IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n (Wi-Fi)
• Dialer Location
  base
• Wireless Interface Provided
  Bluetooth / NFC
• Bluetooth Profiles
  Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP), Hands-Free Profile (HFP)
• Conference Call Capability
  5-way

FEATURES

• Speakerphone
  Yes
• Call Services
  Call Forwarding, Call Hold, Call Transfer, Call Waiting
• Additional Functions
  call timer

CONFERENCE PHONE

• Package Content
  conference phone console
• Console Microphone Reception Area
  20 ft
• Features
  Acoustic Clarity Technology, echo cancellation

SERVICE & SUPPORT

• Type
  1 year warranty

IP TELEPHONY

• Main Features
  integrated Ethernet switch, multiple VoIP protocol support
• VoIP
  Yes
• VoIP Services
  Skype
• VoIP Protocols
  SDP, SIP
• Voice Codecs
  G.711a, G.711u, G.719, G.722, G.722.1, G.722.1c, G.729ab, Opus, Siren, iLBC
• Quality of Service
  IEEE 802.1Q (VLAN), IEEE 802.1p, Type of Service (ToS)
• IP Address Assignment
  DHCP, static
• Security
  IEEE 802.1X, TLS, WEP, WPA, WPA2
• Network Protocols
  HTTP, HTTPS, Link Layer Discovery Protocol – Media Endpoint Discovery (LLDP-MED), SNTP, SRTP, TFTP
• Network Ports Qty
  2 x Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T
• Power Over Ethernet (PoE) Support
  Yes
• Compatible Software
  Microsoft Lync
• Voice Features
  HD Voice, adaptive jitter buffer (AJB), comfort noise generation (CNG), packet loss concealment (PLC), voice activity detection (VAD)
• Network Features
  Class 4 PoE, Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)

CE CABLES (DETAILS)

• Type
  USB cable, network cable
• Length
  25 ft, 6.6 ft

SERVICE & SUPPORT DETAILS

• Type
  limited warranty
• Full Contract Period
  1 year

PHONE CONNECTIONS

• Type
  USB
• Connector Type
  4 pin USB Type A, 5 pin Micro-USB Type B

DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT (BASE)

• Width
  3 in
• Depth
  15.1 in
• Height
  13.1 in
• Weight
  33.5 oz

GENERAL

• Manufacturer
  Polycom Inc