The What: At ISE, Kramer Electronics showcased Maestro, a new software solution designed to create easy-to-configure, fully automated, and green-friendly meeting room environments with minimal end-user intervention.
The What Else: Offered separately as an enhancement to Kramer products, the solution creates a series of actions based on a predefined event, or trigger, like plugging in a laptop, scheduling a meeting, or motion detection. These events can trigger actions such as turning on computers (via Wake-on-LAN) and turning on and off lights, projectors, displays, video sources, and HVAC.
"Kramer Maestro's cost value is providing low-maintenance, remotely managed meeting spaces where end users don't have to fuss with remotes or touch pads; all they have to do is show up and connect or plug in," said David Margolin, corporate marketing director at Kramer. "This significantly reduces two of the most time-consuming responsibilities for AV and IT professionals: ongoing support and user training.”
The Bottom Line: By ensuring that lights and devices are automatically turned off, Kramer Maestro helps support a more environmentally friendly workplace, and over time, saves organizations significant energy costs. Maestro supports a variety of control formats, including RS-232, Ethernet, GPIO, relay, and IR. Maestro can also be managed using Kramer Network, the company’s forthcoming enterprise platform for remotely managing and monitoring AV installations.
