Spaces

Spaces allow participants to screencast without the need for any proprietary dongles or software on their laptops. Moreover, multiple participants can cast at the same time with multi-participant views, further facilitating how any screen or a video wall in the Userful Visual Networking Platform can be used for collaboration.

While the display is not being used for collaboration, it can showcase signage content. It can be deployed in a fully air-gapped network environment to meet even the most stringent connectivity requirements.

For documentation about Spaces in Userful Infinity 12.9, navigate to the Spaces in Version 12.9 section in this page.

Key Features

• Wireless Connectivity: Wirelessly connect to meeting rooms using the browser. No cable, dongle, proprietary hardware, or software is required for the participant.

• Screen casting: Screencast your devices in under 10 seconds.

• Background Signage Player: While the displays are not being used for meetings, signage content can be configured to playback.

• Multi-Casting: Enable increased collaboration by allowing multiple people to cast and compare content.

• Administration and Security: Managed user roles and permissions allow for access to corporate resources available on the platform to the right people while also allowing guests to use the displays for collaboration.

• Efficient Playback: Control frame rate and resolution for best viewability.

The cards below depict the high-level steps in using Spaces.

Set up

Create a Meeting Room.

Navigate to the link

Copy and paste the meeting link in your browser.

Start your meeting

Pair your Destination screen and start the meeting.

Create a Meeting Room

1. In your Userful account, navigate to Spaces.

2. Click Create Meeting Room at the top right corner. A panel appears.

3. Add a name and description for your Meeting Room.

4. Enable the Air-Gapped option if your system and operating environment do not have Internet access.

5. Copy the meeting room link to your clipboard. This will be used to launch the meeting.

6. Add a Welcome Message for your audience. When participants join the meeting, this message appears on the meeting's background screen.

7. Enter the width and height of the meeting room. Ideally, it is the width and height of the Destination.

8. Select and add a meeting room background.

9. Click Save Changes. The meeting room will be created.

10. From the Destinations section in the bottom tray, drag and drop the Destination to your newly created Meeting Room Mapping Group.

Launch Meeting

1. Open a web browser and paste the meeting URL in the address bar.

2. Enter the pairing code that appears on your Destination.

3. Click Connect and select the Tab/ Window/ Entire Screen to share.

Spaces in Version 12.9

Known Limitation | Time-out in Google Chrome - Spaces 12.9 sessions

• If you use Google Chrome and your Spaces tab remains inactive for 3-5 minutes, Google Chrome will discard and close the tab.

• A fix for this limitation will be available in the upcoming versions of Userful Infinity.

The Spaces app in Userful Infinity 12.9 is revamped with the following changes and improvements.

Improvements

• You can connect your own TURN servers for more secure and reliable meeting spaces.

• Integrate with the Cisco Room bar device facilitating video conferencing using Webex, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet.

• A single meeting participant can now screencast up to six screens or Sources.

Security improvements

• TURN servers ensure that your data stays within your IT infrastructure.

• When a meeting ends, all HLS and WebRTC streams are deleted.

• Users are prevented from joining the meeting through the UI when HTTP is activated.

Retired

• The Cloud Player option that was previously available has been removed.

• Users will not be able to use meet.userful.com or similar URLs. Starting from 12.9, URLs are dynamically generated and shown on the pairing screen.

Connect your TURN server with Spaces

TURN servers enable fully air-gapped meetings, allowing you to secure your data within your own infrastructure. For users who do not have a TURN server, the Userful TURN Server is available. You can connect both cloud and on-premise TURN servers with your Spaces app.

1. In your Userful Infinity account, navigate to Spaces.

2. Click TURN servers in the left pane.

3. Click Connect TURN server. A panel opens on the right side.

4. Enter the name of the TURN server. This is a name for you to identify each TURN server if you wish to connect multiple servers.

5. Add a description.

6. Enter your username and password.

7. Enter the URL of the TURN server.

8. Click Save.

Integrate with Cisco Room OS

Before you integrate with Cisco Room OS, your IT department should set up the Room OS device and configure it with the available licenses like the Microsoft Teams corporate license.

Userful Infinity 12.9 makes use of passports to integrate with this device.

Create a passport for Cisco Room OS

1. In your Userful Infinity account, navigate to Sources and Destinations > Integrations.

2. Click Cisco Room OS.

   
3. Click Create Passport.

4. Add a name and description for your passport.

5. Enter the IP address of the Cisco Room OS device.

6. Enter your username and password for the device.

7. Click Save. The status of the device should show “Connected”.

Create a Meeting space

1. In your Userful account, navigate to Spaces.

2. Click Create Meeting Room at the top right corner. A panel appears.

3. Add a name and description for your Meeting Room.

4. Add a welcome message, which will display on your meeting room screen.

5. Enter the resolution for your meeting room screen.

6. Select your TURN server and Room OS device if you have added them to your system.

7. Select a background for your meeting room screen.

8. Click Save Changes. The meeting room will be created.

9. From the Destinations section in the bottom tray, drag and drop the Destination to your newly created Meeting Room Mapping Group.

Join a meeting and share your screen

1. Enter the meeting URL shown on your Destination screen in the address bar of your web browser and press the Enter key.

2. Enter the pairing code on your Destination screen and click Next.

3. Enter your name and click Join space.

   
4. Click Share screen at the top right corner.

5. Click Chrome tab, Window or Entire screen and select what you want to share.

6. Click Share. To stop sharing, click Stop sharing at the top.

Share corporate resources

Corporate Resources are Decisions Canvases and Trends/Artistic Mapping Groups that you can share in a Spaces meeting. In version 12.9, up to six casts can be shared in any meeting by single or multiple users.

Pre-requisites

• A Spaces user should also have Decisions admin, Trends user or Artistic user permissions to share corporate resources to meeting screens.

• If there are no Destinations assigned to a Trends/Artistic Mapping Group, the Behaviour of the Mapping Group should be set to Always active.

Note: If you share your screen from the Webex, Microsoft teams or Google Meet platform, it will override the Spaces screencast.

Share a corporate resource in a meeting space

1. Enter the meeting URL shown on your Destination screen in the address bar of your web browser and press the Enter key.

2. Enter the pairing code on your Destination screen and click Next.

3. Enter your name and click Join space. Corporate resources will be visible at the bottom of the meeting space if you have sufficient permissions for the respective apps as mentioned in the Pre-requisites section above.

   
4. Drag and drop the resource to the main screen area. A confirmation dialog will appear.

5. Click Share content to proceed.

Video conferencing using the Cisco Room OS Device

You can conduct video conferencing sessions through Webex, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet using the Cisco Room OS integration.

Licenses required

The following licenses are required for a user who starts a video meeting.

Company	License
Webex	The Room OS license that comes with the device.
Zoom	Conference room connector
Microsoft Teams	Microsoft Teams Corporate license
Google Meet	No license required

Join a meeting and enable video conferencing

• Creating meetings If you use Webex for video conferencing, you will have the option to start meetings from the meeting space or use an existing meeting link. For all other apps - Zoom, MS Teams and Google Meet, you will need to enter an already existing meeting link in the Spaces app.

• Owning the conference If you use Webex, you can be the owner of the conference. In all other cases, the Cisco Room bar acts as the owner of the conference.

• Admission to meetings Participants can enter Webex and Google Meet meetings using the meeting links. However, the meeting ID and password are required for participants to enter Microsoft Teams and Zoom meetings.

Steps

1. Enter the meeting URL shown on your Destination screen in the address bar of your web browser and press the Enter key.

2. Enter the pairing code on your Destination screen and click Next.

3. Enter your name and select the application you want to use.

   
4. Click Join space. A panel appears on the right side.

5. Enter the meeting link and password. If you use Webex, you can start a new meeting by enabling the Create Meeting toggle.

6. Click Connect. Note for Microsoft Teams meetings: If you have enabled lobby settings in Microsoft Teams, you should go to the Participants tab in your MS Teams meeting and admit the Cisco Room bar into the meeting.