Video conference rooms are equipped with a main camera monitor and speaker at the front, but also one or more video surrogates (camera/monitor/speaker ) at the back. The units at the back are for remote attendees to the meeting, whereas those at the front are for the presenter. If people change roles -sometimes presenting and sometimes in the audience - then, as with physically present participants, they move between the front and their place around the table.
Form:
In order to perform the Front-2-Back-2-Front conferencing the a/vinputs and outputs are controlled by the Desk Area Network(DAN). The a/v connections are done using the standard server protocol and the DAN routes the incoming and outgoing feed to the appropriate devices depending on what role the video surrogate is in (presenter or audience).
Strengths:
This means that conference rooms are far more flexible. No more will there be a remote attendee sitting at the front behind the back of the local presenter. Also, this layout provides a new management tool. That is, a manager, or other would-be-participant, who cannot attend a meeting, can virtually "sit at the back" of the meeting, while physically remaining in their office, thereby being able to audit the meeting without having to physically attend. In addition, the back of room camera provides an infrastructure for recording the meeting/presentation, so that those unable to attend can do so at a later time.
Caveats:
Few. Simply requires a way to reconfigure the room. This can be done easily with the Desk Area Network, discussed above.
Other:
Implemented and tested. Currently out of commission while the conference room
is being reconfigured.