First it was assigned to a series of table-top-sized touch screen computers, then to Microsoft’s own iPad competitor — and now it’s back on the big screen, with the Microsoft Surface Hub.
See also: Windows 10 hands-on: Cortana leads a feature-packed update
We’ve seen this hub, in one form or another, for years. It first showed up in Barcelona at the 2012 Mobile World congress as an 82-inch touch screen LCD running Windows 8. Months later Microsoft bought Perceptive Pixel, the company making these giant displays.
In 2013, the renamed Microsoft Perceptive Pixel displays made a big splash on Fox News, as part of Shep Smith’s big screen-filled news room.
While it’s always been clear what the Windows 8 touchscreen machines can do, many people considered them impractical — dare I say ridiculous — for everyday use. But with Surface Hub, which was unveiled during Microsoft’s Windows 10 consumer event on Wednesday, those humongous screens may finally have found a purpose: transforming group meetings.
But to turn these touch screens into what Microsoft hopes will be the ultimate meeting device, the company had to significantly upgrade the hardware. The company outlined the key changes following Microsoft’s big Windows event.
First of all, the 84-inch screen now boasts a 4K resolution — and, according to Microsoft, it is the world’s fastest and largest capacitive touch screen display. It also has pen recognition; a pair of special styluses attach magnetically to each side of the screen.
At nearly roughly seven feet wide (Microsoft isn’t offering the actual specs), the Surface hub can accommodate at least two people working on it simultaneously. The capacitive screen can handle multiple people touching it simultaneously, as well as multiple people using the pens at the same time. I saw some of this in action during a few demos.
Like its Surface Pro 3 tablet counterpart, the Surface Hub features a laminated screen. This LCD panel production technology puts the glass, capacitive film and LCD panel all in one sheet. The effect is a less reflective surface where the image is virtually right under your fingertips. The digital ink that appears when you use one of the Surface Hub pens looks as if it is actually flowing out of the pen and onto the screen.
I spent a little time doodling with the pressure-sensitive pens on the built-in whiteboard app, and was impressed by how closely the digital line followed my fast moving nib.
Microsoft Senior Director, Security Business Hayete Gallot demonstrates writing in the custom OneNote Surface Hub interface.
Company representatives reiterated the same point over and over during the initial Microsoft Surface Hub demonstration and in subsequent meetings: regular conference rooms are not easy to use.
The intention with Surface Hub is to do away with extra cameras, microphones and even special group meeting dial-in info. “We’re trying to solve some of the pervasive problems we have in meetings today,” said one Microsoft executive.
The high-resolution Surface Hub, built on Windows 10, aims to clear a path to fruitful meetings. So despite its Windows 10 heart, there is no log-in screen. Instead, the company created a new shell for the device. Microsoft envisions the Surface Hub will be sitting on the wall of a meeting room, ready to go.
It gives you instant access to the built-in Skype for Business and the OneNote-based whiteboard app. To handle webcam and audio duties, Microsoft attached two vertical audio and video bars. They sit on either side of the giant screen, bent in at a roughly 50 degree angle.
Inside those bars are four element phased array microphones, the same ones you’ll find in the Xbox Kinect. With them, Microsoft says, the Surface Hub can automatically focus in on the active speaker, which could help in situations where remote participants can’t hear who’s talking.
Also inside those bars are a pair of 1080p wide-angle cameras, which sit roughly at eye-level with a standing presenter. Because they’re angled in, they not only capture the meeting room, but whomever is standing at the screen. According to Microsoft, the Surface Hub is smart enough to switch to the best camera to show the presenter’s face.
Microsoft Senior Director, Security Business Hayete Gallot shows how the Surface Hub does not have a traditional Windows lock screen.
Up close, Surface Hub is best described as huge. It fills a wall and dominates a small conference room — which makes sense, considering it’s supposed to be the focal point for group meetings. The demos I saw and the interactions I had with the screens were impressive, even if Microsoft did not let me touch the 84-inch version and instead paired me up with a 55-inch model.
Because Surface Hub is a full-blown Windows 10 PC, it can multitask with ease. In one live demonstration, I watched two Microsoft team members collaborate on the same 84-inch screen. One was writing notes on the whiteboard, while the other was manipulating a 3D CAD drawing of a motor. As the person on the left wrote notes, the one on the right was tapping the screen to highlight, move and remove elements from the CAD illustration. Finally, the Microsoft rep on the CAD side snapped an image of the drawing and dropped it into the white board.
On my smaller board, I drew pictures with the pen and then used my fingers to select, move and resize a portion of my drawing. The OneNote screen has a small set of color choices at the bottom; Microsoft told me color choices are very important to presenters.
Erasing was just as intuitive as I’d hoped. I simply flipped the pen around and used the other side to erase lines from the screen. I also used gestures to manipulate a giant Bing Map. I noticed that the screen stuttered a bit through this exercise, but the overall effect was pretty cool.
A Microsoft representative shows how Surface Hub is designed for multi-touch.
The Surface Hub is also designed to work with wired and wireless (Miracast) connections for presenters. I saw a brief demo where the laptop with a presentation and presenter notes was on the table, while the full presentation appeared on the 84-inch screen. As the presenter marked up the screen presentation, all of his marks instantly appeared on the laptop version of the presentation.
There’s even an End Session button on Surface Hub that captures everything from the meeting (no video and audio, though it may get enabled later), emails it to all participants (Surface Hub integrates Microsoft Exchange) and then resets the device so it’s ready for the next presentation.
We don’t yet know how much a 4K, 84-inch Surface Hub will cost when it ships later this year. But for reference, you might want to look at a similarly sized Sony 4K UHD. It costs almost $25,000.
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mashable.com – 2015-01-24 04:23:57
