Remote Capable Classrooms - FAQ

Learning Spaces Technology will respond as quickly as possible and attempt to resolve your issue remotely, due to COVID-19 safety concerns. If we are unable to resolve your issue remotely, a technician will be sent to the room when available and safe to do so. This will likely occur when a class is not being held in the classroom.

If your class session is interrupted by the issue, we recommend that you continue teaching your class and distribute the recorded content to students who may have missed the live course content. We recommend that you have a “plan b” in place before going into the classroom. For example, pre-record or re-record portions of a lecture and/or provide a virtual make-up Zoom meeting.

In the remote-capable classrooms, the Crestron Mercury systems have a built-in microphone array that provides omnidirectional pickup. The mic array will pick up the voice of the instructor and the students in the room for the remote participants and for the recorded content. The Mercury system does not amplify the voice of the instructor or students. Also, using an additional microphone in conjunction with the Mercury to boost the amplification of the instructor is not recommended.

No. The Mercury system allows your personal device to interface with a high-quality camera, microphone and speaker. These systems are Bring Your Own Laptop. The Mercury relies on your computer to facilitate the software of your choice, e.g., Zoom.

Use the Huddly app to control the camera.

• DDS managed machines: The Huddly app can be found in the Self Service Software application on your device.
• Non-DDS managed machines: Download the application directly from Huddly.

If you experience issues with your Huddly camera, please check if your operating system is supported. The Huddly cameras and the Huddly Desktop App are supported by the following operating systems:

• Microsoft: Windows 10
• macOS: Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra

The Huddly cameras are not officially supported on Microsoft Windows 8.1 and older and macOS Sierra (10.12) and older.

If you have issues and are using an unsupported operating system, try updating to a newer version to solve the problem. If you encounter further issues, contact us for support.

The cables needed are provided with the system. Your laptop will need an ethernet port, an HDMI port and a USB-A port. If you do not have these connections, you will need an adapter. Rooms with the Crestron Mercury systems will have a Dell DA300 adapter puck available for use.

Yes, please visit our Remote Capable Classroom video tutorials page.

Yes. These systems are software agnostic. For synchronous sessions, OIT recommends using Zoom. For asynchronous sessions, OIT recommends using Zoom or Personal Capture for recordings.

OIT recommends a recent model laptop with specifications that allow multiple applications to run at once, e.g. Zoom, a web browser with multiple tabs open, a powerpoint session, etc. A general recommendation to support this need is a laptop with an i7 processor, 16 GB of RAM and a 500 GB hard drive.

Facilities Management is providing specific wipes and/or spray bottles for the technology. Only use a commercially available non-ammonia glass or disinfectant cleaner solution with 70% isopropyl alcohol. Do not use anything containing bleach. Apply a small amount of cleaner directly to a microfiber or a similar disposable towel or cloth-be sure the cloth is damp and not wet. Then wipe the glass display clean. These systems are not waterproof so do not apply cleaner directly to any interface and do not wipe the plastic surrounding the display.

• For those that need to call into the system, we recommend using the dial-in numbers available in your Zoom invitation. This will let remote participants interact with the rest of the Zoom session.
• You may also use the bluetooth feature that is built-in to the Mercury to interface with a cell phone. At this time SIP calling has not been implemented. Please note: OIT does not recommend using bluetooth.

• Connect the USB cable and the ethernet cable of the Crestron Mercury X to your device
• When starting the screen sharing in Zoom, tick the “Share computer sound” box.
• If you are sharing video content (and not simply audio), also select the Optimize screen share for video clip box.

Please Note: this setting reduces the definition of the video but increases the frame rate. For better quality, please share audiovisual content asynchronously through Canvas, or put a link to it in the Zoom chat for the remote students.

Yes. Connect the USB cable of the Crestron Mercury X to your device, then select the correct output in your device's audio settings:

If needed, increase the volume of the speaker on the Crestron Mercury X touchscreen (see lower right corner)

Please note: If you don't connect the USB, Echo-cancelling speakerphone or Crestron Mercury will not be available options. It defaults to "Crestron" and no sound will come out.