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Polycom RealPresence Group Series

Score6 out of 10

54 Reviews and Ratings

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What is Polycom RealPresence Group Series?

The Polycom RealPresence Group Series is a video conferencing codec that connects to a standards-based video conferencing infrastructure to allow users to make video conference calls. There are three products in the series – RealPresence Group 300, RealPresence Group 500, and RealPresence Group 700. It is certified to use with Office 365 and Skype for Business.

Categories & Use Cases

Reviews

What users are saying about Polycom RealPresence Group Series.
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Worth the extra cost if you use it correctly

Incentivized
Curt SminkeyView profile
Network Engineer in Information Technology at Southco (201-500 employees employees)

Pros

  • The audio and video quality can not be matched.
  • For the most part, they are rather simplistic in their use and just work. People don't usually have a hard time operating them
  • They are rather versatile in that we have been able to integrate them with other applications

Cons

  • They are certainly not cheap.
  • I've struggled to come across any unified solution to manage all of our Polycom RealPresence devices instead of using the web interface of each one. It makes company-wide changes rather cumbersome
  • This might be an old issue but we had a really hard time pairing the RealPresence device with a Polycom conference phone and have them work together

Return on Investment

  • I don't have any firm stats but I can promise there was a decrease in travel costs
  • It gives such a better experience connecting with people at a different site that it's easier to form a relationship. It's not some person on the other end of a phone call - you can see them and hear them.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Teams and Lifesize Video Conferencing

Usability

Polycom RealPresence Group Series Provides High Quality Experience and Decreases Travel Cost

Incentivized
Brian CoyneView profile
Unified Collaboration Engineer in Information Technology at Signet (10,001+ employees employees)

Pros

  • Ease of Use
  • High quality video

Cons

  • Remote control of the Polycom RealPresence Group series panel is very buggy.
  • Additional license cost for integration with Teams.

Return on Investment

  • Less travel costs
  • More productivity during meetings

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Teams

Other Software Used

Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business (formerly Lync), Zoom

Polycom Group Series - Good for it's time.

Incentivized
Verified User
Manager in Information Technology (10,001+ employees employees)

Pros

  • Solid codecs, well built and robust
  • Video and audio quality is very good including the microphones
  • Codecs are reliable, as long as users don't interfere with the cabling.

Cons

  • The UI is fairly dated compared to what's available on the market
  • Codecs require a fair bit of config before they are able to be used
  • Remote control is fiddly

Return on Investment

  • The codecs whilst refreshed from older HDX ones have not really evolved in a significant fashion over the years. Everything feels like an add-on which requires multiple devices to be purchased for a fuller experience.
  • Reliablity has been good so long term the HW pays for itself however the maintenance and support costs continue to be a less attractive ongoing ROI.
  • Increasing server capacity is expensive and eventually you are forced to upgrade to a newer model. Turns into a balance of the here and now versus future proofing to a specific point.

Alternatives Considered

Cisco Webex Board Series, DTEN ON Series and Polycom Trio

Other Software Used

Jabra Evolve2 Series, Jabra PanaCast, Sennheiser EXPAND series, Sennheiser ADAPT series

Usability

A 'sure thing' for quality conferencing.

Incentivized
John-James WorrallView profile
Cloud Communications Specialist in Customer Service at ScanSource Imago UK (201-500 employees employees)

Pros

  • Polycom are still a high-end videoconferencing manufacturer and it shows. The build quality is very high, with quality components provided. In the current environment where 'huddle-room' systems are taking over and are a mix of solutions from multiple manufacturers, you can tell the difference when you open the box and get dedicated hardware that is designed to work as a single package.
  • The audio quality is very good. May sound like an odd thing to consider audio quality before video quality, but if the sound is poor, it doesn't matter how good the video is - you wont stay in the meeting.
  • Great video from the dedicated cameras. The image quality is high and the camera is silent when it moves to presets.

Cons

  • Interface is good, but not always intuitive. For regular users, everything they need is instantly available.
  • Not 1080 out of the box, though the hardware supports it. Need a license to activate.

Return on Investment

  • Placing more systems will always increase the use. Make system freely available, simple to use and provide training and support.

Other Software Used

BlueJeans, Lifesize Video Conferencing, Skype for Business

Poly Group Series: A good choice.

Incentivized
Verified User
Manager in Information Technology (201-500 employees employees)

Pros

  • Dedicated appliances for video.
  • Quality video.
  • Sound and content integration.

Cons

  • Cost
  • Non-proprietary camera options on the GS 500 and 310 units.
  • External audio integration on the GS 310.

Return on Investment

  • Ongoing maintenance is costly but worth it for risk mitigation.
  • Better quality of video and integration.
  • GS 700 intergration is very flexible with integrated room solutions.

Alternatives Considered

Lifesize Video Conferencing

Other Software Used

BlueJeans Events (formerly Primetime), BlueJeans Meetings, Zoom

Usability