The What: Atlona kicked off its AtlonaComm 20 trade show with the debut of Velocity 2.1, a new firmware update for its Velocity IP-enabled AV control, room scheduling, and device management platform. The company also announced the immediate availability of two new hardware components.
The What Else: Velocity 2.1 is designed to streamline navigation, enhance control capabilities, and improve configuration efficiency. Now shipping, the AT-VGW-HW-20, is Atlona’s highest capacity Velocity hardware gateway. Atlona is also shipping its new AT-VSP-800 8-inch scheduling and AV control touch panel with integrated bezel lighting.
Related: The Art of Standardization
Velocity 2.1 developments include:
- Simplified Menu Navigation: Optimizes access to primary functions of Velocity, including control, scheduling, and asset management. The new menu structure also adds direct connections to system settings and help resources.
- Two-Way Driver Creation: Allows users to build two-way drivers for control and device feedback, enhancing control system functionality where actions are based on status information returned from the device.
- Custom UI Enhancement: Adds support for new shortcut and multi-select functions related to selecting, arranging, copying, and pasting elements to accelerate custom user interface development.
- Bulk Add Rooms: Allows users to create multiple rooms with AV control, or scheduling with calendar integration, to reduce configuration time for large projects.
- Context-Based Training: Places helpful tool tips throughout Velocity’s configuration screens, offering brief tool descriptions and links to online training videos for the specific topic.
The AT-VGW-HW-20 is designed to take advantage of the second-generation Velocity architecture in multi-room AV control and scheduling from a single gateway, reducing cost of ownership compared to AV control platforms that require a separate processor per AV system or room. The VGW-HW-20 provides AV control for up to 20 rooms, and room scheduling for up to 40 rooms. Additional features include browser-based setup and management, BYOD control, centralized organization of Atlona AV devices, industry-standard secure data communications, failover protection (when a second redundant gateway is added), and Velocity Cloud Lite for remote configuration and management.
For scheduling applications, the AT-VSP-800 is well suited for lobbies, hallways, or meeting space entrances where the bright LED lighting on the edge of the bezel provides a visual representation of room status. The panel can also be used inside huddle spaces, conference rooms, classrooms, lecture halls, and other spaces where the outer frame lighting can add visual emphasis to AV control functions such as AV mute or divisible room state. Since the AT-VSP-800 can be configured for room scheduling or AV control within Velocity, system integrators and tech managers can eliminate the expense of purchasing and managing separate software platforms.
The Bottom Line: These new software features and hardware are designed to make it easier for integrators, tech managers, and end users to create and manage AV control and room scheduling environments.
The Velocity range is of several prominently featured Atlona product families and solutions on display during AtlonaComm 20, along with the company’s growing family of Omega collaboration products, an expanded HDVS Series of PTZ cameras, and the OmniStream family of AV over IP products. AtlonaComm 20 is accessible through Atlona’s website through June 30.
