TOSYS Corporation provides a wide range of IT services, including telecommunications, mobile, social infrastructure and cloud services in central Japan’s Koshinetsu region. When it needed to improve the audio for hybrid meetings and seminars, Yamaha ADECIA conferencing solutions provided the answer.
TOSYS was founded in 1960 as a telephone infrastructure company. Continually refining and upgrading its business, it now develops a wide range of ICT-based cloud services. The company is a Microsoft Solutions Partner and is aiming to be the number one business for information and communication services in the Koshinetsu region, which has a population of around five million.
In 2022, it opened a Microsoft Base at its Nakagosho showroom in the city of Nagano. Microsoft Base is an initiative to promote local digital uptake, providing up-to-date information about Microsoft products and their use. While these facilities are located throughout Japan, the TOSYS Corporation location is currently the only example in Nagano prefecture. The showroom also functions as a free co-working space, something in great demand in the area.
THE CHALLENGE:
The company needed a high quality, reliable audio system for its Microsoft Teams hands-on sessions, which take place in the showroom two days a week and at the request of customers. Previously there were problems with feedback and difficulty adjusting the sound in the open space, so it was important for the new system to ensure voices are picked up clearly, without interference from other nearby sounds.
The building also has a conference room, which is used for hybrid meetings with clients and remote working employees. Originally it had an audio system which used speakerphone type audio communication. However, with the walls of the room being highly reflective, it was not delivering the required audio quality. To make sure their voices were heard clearly, users had to face the speakerphones on the table while talking, which meant they had to look away from the web camera and monitor screen. And, as with the showroom system, it was similarly difficult to adjust the volume and other settings.
THE SOLUTION:
After consulting with Yamaha, TOSYS Corporation installed an ADECIA Ceiling solution in the conference room, comprising an RM-CG ceiling microphone, RM-CR remote conference processor, SWR2311P-10G L2 switch, MA2030a power amplifier and two VXL1W-8 slim line array speakers.
The system saw an immediate improvement in the quality of online meetings, as confirmed by Ms. Chihiro Morita of the Modern Work Team in the company’s Cloud Services department. “It has been a huge improvement. The remote party can now clearly hear what a person is saying, no matter where they are sitting in the conference room, without them needing to worry about their distance from the microphone. People can also speak while looking at the camera and monitor, which makes meetings more natural,” she says.
Mr. Takashi Izumiya, Assistant Manager of the Systems Department in the company’s Electrical Construction and IT Business Division adds, “With the RM-CG ceiling microphone’s multi-beam tracking, your voice can be heard as clearly as if the microphone was right in front of you, no matter where you are in the room. This is a great feature and a big advantage of the ADECIA Ceiling solution.”
For Microsoft seminars and remote meetings in the showroom, an ADECIA Wireless solution was installed, featuring RM-WOM tabletop, RM-WGL and RM-WGS gooseneck microphones (with RM-WCH-8 microphone charging station), an RM-WAP-8 eight channel wireless access point, RM-CR remote conference processor, SWR2311P-10G L2 switch and VXL1B-16P Dante/PoE-compatible slim line array speakers.
“We chose the RM-W series microphones, because they can be used straight out of the charging station and, being wireless, they can be moved to any place in the room,” says Mr. Masahiro Miyajima, head of the Modern Work Team.
“The RM-WGL and RM-WGS gooseneck microphones are used for individuals, while the omnidirectional RM-WOM tabletop microphones are used when several people are sitting around a table. As the room is used in a variety of situations, with people sitting in different places, this gives us the flexibility to use the microphones in different ways.
“We also use handheld microphones for delivering the sound in the room. Unlike the previous system, with ADECIA we can use handheld microphones without having to worry about adjusting the sound. Remote participants enjoy clear sound without any issues.”
Mr. Hideki Sugiura, Assistant Manager of the Systems Department, adds, “I have found that the noise suppression function of ADECIA conferencing solutions is excellent. With the previous system, remote meeting partners used to tell me they could hear noise in the room, but now there is no issue at all.”
Importantly, being certified by Microsoft Teams means that Yamaha ADECIA systems work seamlessly with Microsoft Teams Rooms. “In many cases, it takes a lot of time and effort to use Microsoft Teams with ordinary audio equipment, but ADECIA works perfectly simply by turning on the Teams Rooms system,” says Mr. Miyajima.
As a Yamaha supplier as well as customer, the ADECIA solutions installed at TOSYS Corporation also allow the company to showcase the technology to prospective customers.
“ADECIA is a very high performance system and, because it has various models of microphones and speakers for different applications, it allows us to make proposals specific to our customers’ needs,” says Ms. Morita.
“We believe that seeing and hearing the units allows customers to get a real feel for the operation and sound quality. They are surprised at how compact the microphones are and how the VXL1B-16P is so slim that it does not look like a speaker at first glance, yet it delivers such solid, high quality sound.
“There are few other systems which are as flexible as ADECIA. For us it is a recommended option for new and retro-fitted hybrid conference rooms.”
