Poly Content App - Sharing During Call or Not

[Adam in DC]

I've been researching the Content App - and its earlier versions under the Pano name - as well as various videos - and I'm looking for a more definitive statement on whether it is designed to share during a RealConnect / Teams Call - or even during a Group Series point to point call.  

In some release notes - it says "Local Sharing Only" meaning that only the people in the room looking at the screen will see the content.  And yet in other notes, I see something to the effect of "during or not during a video call."  I guess it's me - but I find this confusing and need a clarification.  

If the Content App is not an ideal solution for sharing content during a video call - is the preferred version to just join the Teams call from your laptop, muted, and share from your laptop?  That's fine - but it would be cool if the Content App allowed you to share your desktop without having to join the call.  

Thanks for the clarification in advance.  

[jschertz · Accepted solution]

The Content app is used to share content to the video system regardless of its "in-call" state.  So, you can use it to simply show content up on the display for those in the room to view, or if the endpoint is in a call or meeting then the far-end participants will also see the content.

It effectively functions no differently than connecting a PC to the HDMI ingest cable on an endpoint; it's just transmitting from the source to endpoint over each device's network connection instead.

I believe the 'local' statement is confusingly referring to the fact that the app is only really applicable when you are in physical proximity to the system as you need to be able to see the pairing code that is displayed up on the endpoint's monitor when connecting via the app.  This prevents users from connecting to the wrong room as they must enter the correct code to connect and can only view the code from the target endpoint.

[Adam in DC]

Thanks Jeff!  I should have just tested it myself - but it's helpful for the clarification.  If you don't mind - some follow up questions:

• The pairing code no longer seems to display.  I just connect regardless.  Is that an option that's toggled on/off - or has that feature gone away?
• I accidentally noticed that there is a login feature in the app that lets the user authenticate using their Office 365 credentials.  But it doesn't really seem to do anything.  Is there a purpose to this?  Maybe in the future?
• If a user doesn't have the Content App loaded on their PC - and they plug into the Trio via USB - which offers its own built-in sharing app - is that app different from the Content App?  And does it share during a call to other attendees on the call - or is that only for in-room presentations?  

Thanks for this information.  I think it's helpful to me and the community.  

[SteffenBaierUK]

Hello @Adam in DC ,

Welcome back to the Poly Community.

In regards to the Trio, the software included within the Trio via USB just has not been updated. It has the same/similar functionality. The latest product is the Poly Content App. I explain the usage of this with an Asterisk openSource SIP server >here<

Please ensure to provide some feedback if this reply has helped you so other users can profit from your experience.

Best Regards

Steffen Baier

[Adam in DC]

Hi Stephen:

I'll test it all and report back with any odd findings.  Thanks.