Lenovo’s extensive ThinkSmart portfolio grows
MSolutions and Lenovo have partnered up to advance networked collaboration solutions for Microsoft Teams Room and Zoom Room clients. MSolutions contributes its USB-C extenders to Lenovo’s ThinkSmart USB portfolio to extend USB-C data channels over one CatX cable infrastructure for up to a whopping 333 feet.
Lenovo’s ThinkSmart USB portfolio includes cameras, audio equipment, and control equipment. The portfolio contains many different options of products and systems depending on the environment they will be housed in, from all-in-one video/soundbars to room kit solutions.
The most common component across Lenovo’s Teams Room and Zoom Room portfolio is the ThinkSmart Controller. This controller acts as a hub for all system configurations and allows users to create hybrid events and control AV equipment inside the room including managing video feeds and increasing and decreasing sound volume.
A dilemma MSolutions was able to solve with its MS-6U1C
However, there was one issue that Lenovo wanted to resolve with the ThinkSmart Controller, that MSolutions provided a resolution for with its MS-6U1C set. Mark Whittaker, Smart Collaboration Technical Consultant for Lenovo, stated, “The challenge we faced was about establishing a stable, long-distance USB-C connection with no perceivable delay, and without the need to swap different cable types. MSolutions proved to have the rare solution to address all these needs.”
By using the MS-6U1C to ThinkSmart installations separate cables are no longer needed to connect the infrastructure. The extender’s reliability gets rid of much of that bulky cabling infrastructure and makes sure that signal integrity is maintained even when peripheral devices are not in sight. The MS-6U1C also supports RS-232 serial pass-through and bi-directional 12V PoC (Power over Cable) over the same CatX connection.
MSolutions CEO Eliran Toren said, “This is real-time USB-C extension without compression, and we are talking microseconds of delay which is practically zero. That opens the door for use in very latency-sensitive environments, including use within large enterprise and government facilities. And when it comes down to it, our common customers no longer need to run visible cables across the floor.”