News Release Details

Plug Power’s new executive boardroom features six BMA 360 microphones, two CONVERGE® Pro 2 DSPs and four pairs of speakers to provide seamless meetings with full room engagement.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, February X, 2024 — For Plug Power, a leader in the green hydrogen economy, conference calls and presentations are a daily fact of life. Recognizing how important reliable high-quality virtual meetings are to its continued success, company leadership recently outfitted a new executive boardroom at its Slingerlands, NY offices with a powerful ClearOne (NASDAQ: CLRO) audio and video solution that ensures every voice is heard, every face is seen and every meeting goes smoothly.

According to Mickey Valletta, owner of Towne TV, a custom electronics integration company, both he and Plug Power knew they could trust ClearOne’s quality and ease of use after previous successful installations across multiple locations. As the boardroom project got close to finishing, Valletta found out just how right they were about ClearOne’s in-ceiling BMA 360 beamforming microphone array.

 “We’ve relied on ClearOne for years, so I can talk about their products’ value, streamlined use or HD audio and video quality all day, but what really stood out in this project was the incredible ability of the BMA 360 microphones and ClearOne speakers to adapt to new situations and arrangements,” Valleta said. “We knew the large boardroom would be used by company leadership and be seen by their important clients, so meeting quality and clean aesthetics were both very important. What we didn’t know was Plug Power decided they would also use the room for trainings with a totally different seating arrangement.”

Many permanently installed conferencing solutions would need a major overhaul or redesign to serve this unexpected need, but for Towne TV and ClearOne it was just another day at the office. Valletta was delighted to find that the BMA 360s’ intelligent detection and directional capabilities delivered perfect audio pickup and playback regardless of the room setup or number of participants, so optimizing for the new multi-use needs required only minor adjustments in the room’s drop ceiling. The innovators at ClearOne say that’s their goal.

“It seems the expectations for offices are changing every day, with today’s businesses relying much more heavily on virtual communication and commonly repurposing rooms for infrequent events that don’t need their own full-time space,” said Jim Mergens, CTS Vice President of Sales the Americas at ClearOne. “The automatic directional capabilities of the BMA 360 beamforming microphone array make it ideal for multipurpose and convertible rooms, ensuring excellent pickup regardless of changing circumstances so companies are free to experiment and use their rooms as they please.”

The clutter-free aesthetic also factored into the room’s success, since there are no wires or in-room components to obstruct flexible use and furniture rearrangement. ClearOne’s innovative features shine again in this regard, as each BMA 360 microphone utilizes PoE (Power over Ethernet) and includes an onboard amplifier that can power four speakers, eliminating the need for high voltage wiring, speaker runs and rack equipment. Additionally, the ceiling-mounted UNITE® 200 Pro PTZ camera and the two out-of-sight CONVERGE® Pro 2 DSPs never need to move.

“We deal with a variety of rooms for clients that aren’t a hundred percent sure how they will be used.  With ClearOne’s wide selection of flexible microphone and camera solutions it’s never a problem if plans change,” Towne TV General Manager Mark Garbarini added.
 “If a client decides they want ceiling tile microphones, ceiling microphone arrays, wireless microphones or tabletop microphones we can accommodate them using all ClearOne equipment along with multiple camera options that can automatically track and zoom on the presenter, we can do that. While not every project requires or justifies a BMA 360 solution, ClearOne’s partner design assistance, customer service and good/better/best options and packages make it easy to design and install optimized systems for every need.”

The UNITE 200 Pro PTZ camera provides 1080p60 video, offers a 20x optical zoom and the ability to capture every person in the room. Like the BMA 360s, the UNITE 200 Pro also utilizes PoE for power. Towne TV also outfitted Plug Power’s new boardroom with a Crestron system and motorized shades, completing its transition to a fully tech-enabled space. Plug Power now utilizes ClearOne AV solutions in multiple conference rooms across multiple locations and has deployed dozens of Collaborate Versa Systems and hundreds of Chat 150 USB speakerphones throughout the company. 

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