• Logitech Southern Africa has launched the Rally Bar Huddle and Logitech Sight locally, bringing South Africans the very latest virtual/hybrid meeting tech.
• Both devices offer 4K video capture and audio recording via beamforming microphones.
• The Huddle retails for R50 000 while the Sight can be bought for R35 000.

*UPDATE:

Logitech has contacted us to let us know that the retail prices for the two devices stipulated below are incorrect. These are the R50 000 for the Rally Bar Huddle and R35 000 for the Logitech Sight. We received these prices from Logitech Solutions Engineer Marnus Jacobs.

Logitech has also informed us that the prices vary depending on the products so it could not provide any specific RRPs.

Original article follows:

Even with the COVID-19 pandemic receding and employees returning to their offices after two years of either hybrid work or full-on lockdowns, the world of devices that make virtual meetings look and sound better and allow more individuals to take part is still, like its software counterpart, seeing innovation.

In South Africa, Logitech, known for its peripherals, continues to push the envelope in this department, and on Tuesday launched two of its latest devices in the local market – the Rally Bar Huddle and the Sight camera. Hypertext was in attendance at the launch of the two devices earlier this week at a rainy Midrand affair.

Both devices are meant to work in unison, but first up is the Rally Bar Huddle. Unlike its larger Rally Bar brethren, the Huddle isn’t meant for vast boardrooms and instead – like its namesake – is to allow companies to host smaller meetings with some participants at the office and some at home.

“Huddle rooms are popping up faster than companies can video-enable them,” explained Charis Nicholas, head of High Touch and End User Video Collaboration in Southern Africa.

“We designed the Rally Bar Huddle from the ground up to have the optimal AI functionality for modern equitable meetings while coming in at a price point that is affordable for any and every single huddle room out there.”

Like the Sight, the Rally Bar Huddle is as fancy as webcams get. It features 4K image capture and AI-based noise suppression for the best-quality picture. It is designed for meeting up to six people, taking in audio from six beamforming mics placed across its broadside – which can be outfitted with a customised company-branded windshield. AI noise suppression adds to the high-quality audio too.

While the Rally Bar Huddle showcased the absolute limits of webcam quality, the Logitech Sight – reaching South Africa six months after its release in the US due to local licensing processes – makes waves in terms of innovation.

The Sight is an AI-powered tabletop camera which connects to Logitech’s Rally Bars, including the Rally Bar Mini.

Imagine you are calling into a virtual meeting with your employer as the only online employee among a group of six others at the office. A normal webcam will only be able to pick up so much, and you would probably only hear the audio of some of the participants – the ones seated farthest from the camera.

The Sight removes this issue with its two 4K cameras capable of covering an area of around 300 degrees, and its AI programming is voice-activated, which means the cameras switch to which participant is talking. The person at home will see the camera cut from participant to participant making sure the meeting is shared with all involved.

It also has seven beamforming microphones which can pick up sound from all angles at 360 degrees.

Coming later after launch, Logitech says that the Sight will enable RightSight with Smart Switching, adaptive intelligence that selects the best view between the tabletop camera and front-of-room camera, automatically switching between views of in-person interactions and tracking conversations naturally.

Solutions engineer at Logitech South Africa, Marnus Jacobs confirmed pricing with Hypertext. The Rally Bar Huddle goes for R50 000, and the Sight retails for R35 000. The total package rounds out at R85 000.

Nicholas told us that Logitech is hoping to find customers in South Africa’s banking sector, its telecoms, and its major enterprises. Both devices are available now.

[Image – Logitech]