External Audio Systems with the Rally Bar and Rally Bar Mini
Starting from Collab OS firmware version 1.11, Logitech has introduced integration capabilities for audio Digital Signal Processing (DSP) with the Logitech Rally Bar and Rally Bar Mini. This update allows external DSP units to interface with third-party microphones and speakers.
Although the Logitech RoomMate was initially designed to work in this way as one of its options, this feature was officially available on the Rally Bar in the release of version 1.11.
This integration is supported for DSP hardware from partners such as Shure, Extron, Q-SYS, Biamp, and Nureva. It facilitates direct connectivity via the USB interface on devices like the Rally Bar camera or the Logitech RoomMate computing module. This feature allows for enhanced audio processing and customization in setups requiring advanced audio configurations.
RoomMate
On the RoomMate, the standard integration looks something like the following:
As the RoomMate is compatible only with the Logitech Rally camera or MeetUp, it is quite a simple setup from the Logitech side. To do this, one can use a third-party DSP audio solution for all the audio requirements. This involves shifting the responsibility of mics and speakers to the third-party DSP.
Note: The Rally System is incompatible with 3rd party audio systems. The above solutions utilize a stand-alone Rally Camera. For more info view this article.
For information on the supported 3rd party hardware for the Roommate, please view our ProSupport article.
Rally Bar and Rally Bar Mini
As stated above, before the 1.11 firmware release, the only Logitech device that could integrate with third-party DSPs was the Roommate. However, after the firmware update, the Rally Bar and Rally Bar Mini also gained this capability.
One of the reasons why the Rally Bar and Rally Bar Mini had a limitation was due to the bar's integrated onboard audio systems. Integrating a third-party DSP would have caused audio conflicts between microphones and speakers. This would have led to feedback and acoustic echo cancellation conflicts, which could have made the solution unstable from an audio perspective. Even if the system worked, there would likely be inconsistencies in sound quality and, at worst, significant conflicts that would render the overall audio useless.
With 1.11, the Collab OS firmware was updated to allow an installer to integrate with a third-party system via one of the USB A ports on the Rally Bar or Rally Bar Mini.
However, when they do, they would need to select a new setting within the Rally Bar settings, as follows.
Enabling External Audio on Device
To enable external audio on your device, follow these steps:
Go to Logitech CollabOS settings.
Select Display and Audio.
Click on Audio.
Turn on External Audio and confirm the activation prompt.
Note: Your device will reboot, and the settings will be applied.
You can also enable this feature through the Local Network Access option, for full details about enabling this feature, view this article.
The onboard audio becomes unavailable when you connect an external audio system to the Rally Bar or Rally Bar Mini. This means that features that rely on internal audio, such as Speaker View, will no longer work. Speaker View is a feature of RightSight2 that allows the camera to focus on the active speaker. Speaker View uses visible cues and onboard audio to locate a speaker.
Speaker View is just one of the framing technologies available on the Rally Bar and Rally Bar Mini. The other two framing technologies, namely Group View and Grid View, are not affected by the lack of onboard audio, as they do not rely on it.
For more information on Logitech framing technologies, view this article.
Note: The Logitech Sight camera requires the internal audio of the Rally Bar to function. Consequently, it does not support and is incompatible with external third-party audio systems.
As of the writing of this article, a specific list of supported 3rd party systems has not been created for the Rally Bar and Rally Bar Mini. But since the Rally Bars firmware is Logitech CollabOS, the same 3rd party audio systems available for the Roommate will work with the Rally Bars. For more information view this article.