QSC announced a technology demo that will run existing fourth-generation Q-SYS software on a standard Dell EMC PowerEdge R730 server. This is designed to provide a glimpse into the future of a market where larger installations use centralized data center processing, nearly hardware-free. QSC will demonstrate this for attendees at the Integrated Systems Conference (ISE) Show, February 7-10, 2017 on stand #7-Q-170.

The Q-SYS Platform is centered on audio, video and control (AVC) solutions that take advantage of existing IT hardware, protocols and standards. The Q-SYS Platform uses standard Intel processing, Linux operating system services and IEEE networking protocols. The technology demonstrated at ISE is the next evolution of this design, de-coupling existing Q-SYS software from proprietary hardware and creating an architecture where centralized AVC processing can live in the data center. Now processing intensive features such as AEC and feedback suppression can become a shared resource for any meeting room across the enterprise. This, combined with a portfolio of cost-effective meeting room I/O peripherals, allows users to reliably distribute content and control using existing IT network infrastructure.

Moving to standard mainstream server hardware reflects a typical enterprise IT environment and provides several benefits, particularly for corporate environments and global enterprises, including:

• Simplicity and familiarity: Follow established server deployment, maintenance and management best practices.
• Centralized resourcing: Offers easier room resource moves, adds and changes; automate on-demand deployment of DSP-intensive features such as AEC.
• Flexibility: More effectively support centralized, distributed or hybrid system configurations plus enable current and future software and service deployment models.
• Reliability: Offers redundant power supplies, networking, storage and processing as well as standard Dell BIOS level features including Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC).

QSC expects these kinds of systems to become the norm for corporate and larger scale enterprise installations in the future. I spoke to TJ Adams, QSC’s director of installed systems product marketing, last week via video (you can see that interview here) and he said by running the existing Q-SYS software on a standard Dell EMC server, users have full backwards compatibility and can expand capabilities of their system by merely adding flexible and inexpensive I/O meeting room end points, such as the recently announced I/O-8 Flex Channel Expander. If localized processing is required in the meeting room, they, obviously, still have their range of medium-sized to smaller systems including the new Q-SYS Core 510i processor. We also covered these products last week here.

The Q-SYS technology demonstration will be shown at scheduled times at the QSC Systems stand 7-Q170 at the Integrated Systems Conference (ISE) in Amsterdam. To sign up for a 15-minute presentation and for more information about QSC Systems at ISE, go here.

See rAVe blogger Leonard Suskin’s commentary on QSC’s announcement here.