Video Conferencing in Paul G. Allen School Facilities

The Allen School has several facilities that support full remote and hybrid meetings using Zoom and other similar virtual meeting applications. The following is a list of rooms and basic start up instructions for the equipment in the rooms.

Allen Center Large Conference Rooms (Suitable for meetings with 8-10 people)
Gates Center Small Conference Rooms (Suitable for meetings with 4-6 people)
Gates Center Large Seminar Rooms (Suitable for talks/presentations)
Other Allen School Spaces

CSE (Allen Center 110, 128, 203, 303, 503, 678)/CSE2 (Gates Center 172*, 245, 345)

Video conferencing
Equipment:
Owl-Labs Meeting Owl (Camera/microphone/speaker)
Laptop with 1 open USB port

The Meeting Owl can be used with any conferencing/recording software that recognizes the Meeting Owl as your camera and audio (both microphone and speakers) settings. This has been verified to work with Zoom. You must bring a laptop to use with the Meeting Owl.

To get started:

  • Turn on your laptop and plug the USB cable into your laptop
  • Start your conferencing application and verify that the Meeting Owl is chosen as the camera and speaker/microphone device
  • Start or join meeting
  • Wait for the Meeting Owl to boot/wake itself. You might hear a double “hoot”. This may take up to a minute
  • Plug conference table HDMI cable into laptop to display to projector
  • Tips:
    • In Zoom, turn off virtual backgrounds
    • Camera follow may take up to a second to focus on the active speaker
    • Microphone covers 360 degrees up to 18’ away from the Owl and can easily handle 8-10 people. It may be able to handle more people in the meeting but is optimal for 8-10
    • Audio controls are at the base of the Meeting Owl (volume and mute)

*Please note that CSE2 172 has a Meeting Owl as well as a more traditional video conference system. The two systems are mutually exclusive from each other and should not be used simultaneously.

CSE2 (Gates Center 172*, 274, 276, 374, 376)

Video conferencing
Equipment:
Touch control panel
PTZ camera
Microphone
Windows PC
Projector

Each room is configured for use with Zoom. Other conferencing and recording applications may work as long as they recognize a webcam as the primary video (it should be the only camera device listed). Audio is handled by the tabletop microphone and the room’s built-in speakers. Other applications will need to be installed during your reservations and will be uninstalled upon logoff/reboot. Zoom is the only permanent conferencing solution installed. You must use the built-in PC in order to use the room’s camera and microphone.

  • Login to your Zoom account using your UWNet ID. 
  • You can login in one of two ways.

  • Login through the web:

  • Once logged in:
    • You can start a New Meeting

    • Join a Meeting. Type in the meeting ID
    • You can also join a meeting by clicking on a link that was sent to you

  • Check your AV preferences (this can be changed later when you are in the meeting)
  • Camera control is through the Crestron touch panel on the table. Basic control is pan, tilt, and zoom.
  • Audio control 
    • Crestron touch panel (speakers only - volume and mute),
    • Windows audio control panel (microphone and speakers - volume and mute)
    • Zoom app (microphone and speakers - volume and mute)
  • At the end of your session, please remember to sign out of your account and/or restart the PC.

CSE2 (Gates Center G04, 271, 287, 371, 387)

Video conferencing
Equipment:
Touch control panel
PTZ camera
Microphone (wireless lavalier pack and/or podium microphone)
Laptop with 1 open USB port

You must use a separate laptop with a conferencing app installed. Plug the USB cable at the podium labeled ‘AV Bridge’ to your laptop. Verify in your OS settings that you see ‘AV Bridge’ in your camera and audio settings. Camera control is through the Crestron touch panel on the podium. Basic control is pan, tilt, and zoom. Audio can be controlled by the Crestron touch panel (microphone and speakers - volume and mute), laptop audio control panel (microphone and speakers - volume and mute) and the app (microphone and speakers - volume and mute)

  • Start your conferencing application
  • Check your AV preferences (this can be changed later when you are in the meeting). This should be AV Bridge for both camera and speakers
  • Camera control is through the Crestron touch panel on the table. Basic control is pan, tilt, and zoom.
  • Audio control 
    • Crestron touch panel (speakers only - volume and mute),
    • Windows audio control panel (microphone and speakers - volume and mute)
    • Conferencing app (microphone and speakers - volume and mute)

  • You can choose to use the microphone connected to the AV Bridge or use an external microphone. For group settings, we recommend using an external 360 degree microphone. These can be checked out from the Reservations page under Video and Audio Production Equipment and is labeled USB Speaker/Microphone.

Allen School Special Facilities

If you require a higher production look or more advanced capabilities than what the basic equipment offers or want to use other School facilities these are typically handled by the Allen School Production team and can be reached at HERE.
These spaces include but are not limited to:
  • Gates Commons
  • CSE 305
  • Zillow Commons
  • Allen and Gates Center Atrium