Discovery Transforms Meeting Rooms with Lightware and Cisco Integration
One cable. One control interface. Complete meeting room flexibility.
Project Brief
Creating Connected Meeting Environments
Discovery Limited set out to enhance its meeting room facilities at its Sandton headquarters, introducing greater flexibility for modern collaboration while maintaining the familiarity of its existing Cisco video conferencing infrastructure.
Delivered by AV integration partner Gaproc Media, the project incorporates Lightware Taurus TPX connectivity and control technology to support Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) functionality, professional conferencing and integrated room automation.
The solution also connects with Discovery's existing BACnet building automation infrastructure, allowing employees to manage audiovisual equipment and environmental controls through the Cisco touch panel.
The objective was straightforward: create flexible, intuitive meeting environments that make technology easier to use.
Challenge
Multiple Technologies. One Seamless Experience.
Modern meeting rooms need to accommodate different working styles, conferencing platforms and presentation requirements without becoming complicated to operate.
Discovery required meeting environments that could support its existing Cisco video conferencing infrastructure while giving employees the flexibility to connect their own laptops and use preferred collaboration applications.
The rooms also incorporated additional technologies, including lighting, motorised window shades, projectors, displays and projection screens.
Managing these systems through separate interfaces would introduce unnecessary complexity.
The challenge was to bring everything together into a consistent, intuitive meeting room experience, allowing employees to focus on collaboration rather than the technology around them.
Solution
One Connection. Complete Control.
Gaproc Media integrated Lightware's Taurus TPX-2x1-TX20-RX107 transmitter and receiver bundle into Discovery's upgraded meeting rooms.
The solution combines USB-C and HDMI connectivity, high-resolution AV signal distribution, USB peripheral management and intelligent room control.
Flexible Collaboration Through USB-C
Lightware's BYOD functionality allows employees to connect their laptops using a single USB-C cable.
This provides access to audiovisual and USB data connectivity, supporting laptop-based conferencing and presentations through the room's configured AV peripherals.
The connection also delivers up to 100W of charging power to compatible laptops, reducing the need for additional power adaptors and cables.
Native Cisco Integration
Lightware's native Cisco integration capabilities extend the functionality of the existing Cisco touch panel.
Gaproc Media implemented an additional control page, allowing employees to manage audiovisual equipment and room automation functions through the same familiar interface used for conferencing.
Intelligent Building Automation
Through integration with Discovery's existing BACnet infrastructure, the Cisco touch panel provides access to meeting room lighting controls.
In applicable rooms, employees can also operate motorised window shades, projection screens, projectors and displays.
This allows the meeting environment to be adjusted for presentations, video conferences or face-to-face discussions without moving between multiple control systems.
Benefit
Less Complexity. More Collaboration.
The integration provides Discovery with meeting environments designed around flexibility, convenience and ease of use.
Flexible BYOD Collaboration
Employees can use their own laptops for presentations and supported conferencing workflows alongside the installed Cisco system.
Single-Cable Connectivity
USB-C simplifies laptop connectivity by combining audiovisual signals, USB data and up to 100W charging for compatible devices.
Centralised Room Control
An additional Cisco touch-panel page provides access to Lightware-enabled AV and environmental functions.
Integrated Building Automation
Lighting, motorised shades and display equipment can be managed through a familiar control interface, where configured.
A Consistent User Experience
By bringing multiple technologies together, the solution reduces the need for separate controls and simplifies everyday meeting room operation.
Story
Making Every Meeting Easier
In today's workplace, collaboration needs to be flexible.
Employees move between face-to-face discussions, video conferences, presentations and meetings hosted from their own devices. The technology supporting these interactions needs to adapt just as easily.
At Discovery's headquarters in Sandton, this need for flexibility formed the foundation of a meeting room upgrade delivered by Gaproc Media.
The goal was to enhance the existing Cisco video conferencing environment while introducing more versatile connectivity and intelligent room control.
Lightware's Taurus TPX technology provided the connection between these requirements.
By incorporating the Taurus TPX-2x1-TX20-RX107 bundle, the upgraded meeting rooms gained USB-C and HDMI connectivity, AV signal distribution and USB peripheral management capabilities.
For employees, this means greater freedom in how they collaborate.
A laptop can be connected through a single USB-C cable, providing access to the configured room peripherals for supported conferencing workflows while delivering up to 100W of charging power to compatible devices.
But the integration extends beyond laptop connectivity.
Through Lightware's native Cisco integration, Gaproc Media introduced an additional control page on the existing Cisco touch panel.
This allows employees to manage more than just their video conference.
Lighting can be adjusted through Discovery's BACnet building automation infrastructure. Motorised window shades can be operated in road-facing meeting rooms, while projectors, displays and projection screens can also be controlled through the interface.
Imagine entering a meeting room for an important presentation.
Instead of locating multiple remote controls or adjusting each system separately, the user can prepare the environment from the Cisco touch panel.
Lighting can be adjusted, window shades lowered to reduce glare and the display activated.
When it's time to present from a laptop, a single USB-C connection provides the required connectivity.
The technology works together, allowing the meeting to take centre stage.
For Discovery, the result is a more adaptable meeting environment that supports different collaboration requirements while maintaining a familiar, straightforward user experience.
One cable. One control interface. Complete meeting room flexibility.
Discovery's meeting room upgrade demonstrates how intelligent audiovisual integration can improve the flexibility and usability of modern corporate collaboration spaces.
Through Gaproc Media's implementation of Lightware Taurus TPX technology alongside Cisco video conferencing, the project combines BYOD connectivity, up to 100W USB-C laptop charging and centralised room automation.
By extending the Cisco touch-panel interface to include environmental and audiovisual controls, Lightware enables Discovery to manage both the technology and the meeting room environment from a single location.
The result is an integrated meeting room experience that gives employees the flexibility to collaborate using their preferred devices while maintaining intuitive control over the surrounding environment.
The installation demonstrates how Lightware technology can add value to existing Cisco collaboration systems, bringing connectivity, control and building automation together in one solution.
Customer Profile
Project Partner
Discovery Limited | Financial Services
Discovery Limited is a South African financial services group headquartered in Sandton, Johannesburg.
The meeting room upgrade supports the organisation's corporate collaboration requirements, combining established video conferencing infrastructure with flexible connectivity and integrated environmental control.
Gaproc Media | Audiovisual Integration
Gaproc Media served as the audiovisual integration partner for the Discovery meeting room upgrade, implementing the Lightware connectivity and control solution alongside Cisco conferencing technology and the existing building automation infrastructure.
