APOLLO APO-200-UC Series Conference Speakerphone and Switcher User Manual
- June 4, 2024
- APOLLO
Table of Contents
APOLLO APO-200-UC Series Conference Speakerphone and Switcher
Overview
This user manual provides a detailed overview of the Apollo APO-200-UC & APO-210-UC products. WyreStorm recommends reading through this document in its entirety before designing or installing a system.
Device Connectivity
When a user is ready to present, there are a number of connection methods that
are available. Apollo supports both wired and wireless video passthrough. If
using wireless screensharing, a user’s personal device will not have access to
Apollo’s built-in speakerphone or any USB peripherals. Connecting to Apollo
via Airplay (Apple devices) or Miracast (Windows & Android) is for
screensharing content only.
Wired connections add the ability for data communication on top of video
transmissions. A hardwired USB-C connection to a personal device allows both
A/V and USB data to transmit over a single cable. This will allow compatible
USB-C devices to share content to a conference display while at the same time
having access to Apollo’s built-in speakerphone and any USB peripherals
devices such as a webcam.
The supplied USB-C cable also includes a tethered USB-C to USB-A converter
which uses DisplayLink technology. DisplayLink allows devices without USB-C
connections to still utilize a single cable to send A/V and USB data with
active conversion, video output is limited to 1080p with DisplayLink.
In some situations, a DisplayLink driver may need to be installed on a
computer. If you are unable to get video to transmit when using the USB-A >
USB-C adapter install this DisplayLink driver.
A native HDMI connection is also available and can be used for simple video
passthrough to a display. If USB data communication is also needed to a device
which is using HDMI, a separate USB 2.0 Type A connection can be used in
tandem to connect the Apollo’s speakerphone and peripheral USB devices
.
| DC Power | Connects to the provided 24V DC PSU |
|---|---|
| LAN | Connect to a local network for access to the web interface, API and for |
wireless casting
HDBT Out| Output for connecting to compatible HDBaseT receiver such as the
RX- 500 (only available on APO-210-UC)
HDMI Out| HDMI Output (mirrored to the HDBT out)
HDMI In| HDMI input for connecting BYOD computer
USB-B Host| USB 2.0 Host connection for access to Apollo’s speakerphone and
any devices connected to the USB 3.0 Device port
USB 3.0 Device Port| Connect USB peripheral devices such as a conference
camera
USB-C In| Multi-purpose port for both A/V and access to Apollo’s
speakerphone and USB peripherals
Wireless Casting
In order to wirelessly cast from a phone, tablet or computer, a wired LAN
connection must be made to Apollo. Apollo does not emit it’s own SSID and
requires an existing network to have Wi-Fi. Apollo must exist in the same IP
address range as the wireless network in order for personal devices to cast
content. Apollo supports both Airplay for Apple devices such as a MacBook,
iPad or iPhone and Miracast for Android and Windows 10 computers.
Important! Miracast will not work if the client PC has Wi-Fi disabled.
Miracast does not operate over a wired LAN connection.
In the absence of video, Apollo generates a “Guide Screen” and is shown on the connected display with instruction on how to cast content using the various casting protocols.
USB Peripherals
Both the APO-200 and APO-210 feature a native USB 3.0 device port. Any
peripheral connected to this port becomes available to the personal device
connected via the USB-C or USB 2.0 connection. Most commonly this port will be
used for connecting conference cameras, such as WyreStorm’s CAM-200-PTZ. For
long distance runs of USB peripheral devices, consider using the CAB-UAOC-15,
which is WyreStorm’s 15m USB 3.2 active extension cable.
Specifically on the APO-210, peripheral USB devices can be connected over the
HDBaseT output. By using USB over HDBaseT, you can utilize a single cable for
A/V extension and data between the display location and Apollo. Using USB over
HDBaseT does limit connection to USB 2.0 devices only, due to bandwidth
limitations. We recommend the RX-500 as the best suited HDBaseT receiver to
use with Apollo.
By default, Apollo is set to auto switch the active USB host between the USB-C
or USB 2.0 Type A connection. USB auto switching uses LIFO (Last In First Out)
meaning, if a new device is connected, Apollo recognizes the new device and
can automatically send connection of the speakerphone and USB peripherals to
this newly connected source. This capability is great for applications that
will have many devices that are ‘hot-plugged’ during a meeting.
You can also manually adjust this to force a certain USB connection as a fixed
host so that newly connected devices do not trigger auto switch, which is
great for Zoom or Teams room applications. This is covered in more detail in
the Zoom/Teams section of this document.
Multiview
Up to two separate video sources can be transmitted through Apollo in a split screen view. This can be a combination of wireless & wired devices, for example two Airplay devices, or one Miracast & one USB-C. Multiview uses LIFO (Last In First Out), Apollo will automatically switch to multiview when a second device sync is detected.
Control
All Apollo models have capacitive touch buttons on the center control panel. A
number of options are available such as adjusting volume and muting the
microphone. On the APO-200 & APO-210 there are options for changing the
multiview mode between split screen or full screen and adjusting the USB host
switching mode. A video mute button is also available which will cut the video
transmissions to the display, useful if a user needs to access sensitive
content on their device such as logging into a website or confidential
emails/messages.
Apollo features CEC auto power on/off for connected displays. When a source
device is connected for the first time, this can trigger Apollo to send a CEC
command to automatically turn on the display, vice versa, after ‘x’ amount of
no sync detection Apollo can power of the display.
Specific to the APO-210, this same auto power function can be sent via RS232
over HDBaseT. Both RS232 and CEC commands can be customized using the
integrated web UI.
Apollo also features an API which can be connected to via 3rd-party control
systems. Details on this API can be found at wyrestorm.com.
Applications
BYOD Conference Room
A BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) conference room allows users to walk into a
conference room with their own computer to host a meeting. All meeting
software is hosted on the user’s personal device and is not specific to a
certain vendor (i.e., Zoom or Teams).
In this application Apollo acts as a unification ‘hub’ which allows connection
of personal devices to have access to Apollo’s speakerphone, transmit video to
a display and by extension have access to any USB cameras that may be
connected to Apollo’s USB peripheral device port.
Zoom Room
A Zoom Room differs from a BYOD room in that it will contain a ‘room PC’ that
is designed to host the conference software. In this application, personal
devices will not have access to Apollo’s speakerphone or peripheral USB
cameras as they will be fixed to the ‘room PC’.
BYOD devices are still supported in a Zoom Room however they are for content
sharing only and will require a specific topology in order to work properly.
Refer to the diagrams below for suggested topologies for a Zoom Room. For
additional details on Zoom Rooms visit this Getting Started with Zoom Rooms
page.
Zoom Room without BYOD Support
Zoom Room with BYOD Support
Web Interface
The web interface on Apollo features a number of customization and
configuration options. To access the web interface simply type the IP address
of Apollo into your web browser. The default password is ‘admin’.
Wireless Casting Settings
Wireless casting support can be enabled or disabled by toggling the switch in
the BYOD section. You can also set a casting pin which will require the user
to enter in 4-digit numeric code in order to share content. This pin can
either be a fixed number or automatically generated each time a new casting
session is established.
Display Power Control
Display on/off commands can be sent from Apollo to connected displays either
automatically based on sync-detection, or manually through an API command. The
sections shown below allow customization of the power command that is sent to
a display through RS232 (APO-210 only) or through CEC. Simply enter in the
command data required and click the save/apply button, respectively.
Application Modes
This section allows you to fix Apollo’s behavior based on the type of
application it is used in. BYOD scenario (as described above) is for
traditional non-Zoom Room meeting spaces. In this mode the USB host is
designed to connect to a BYOD computer that is hosting the meeting software.
In the Zoom Room scenario, the USB 2.0 host connection is fixed and is the
only active host that allows access to Apollo’s speakerphone and any
peripheral USB devices. This mode is designed to support a dedicated ‘room PC’
that is the only device that can access the speakerphone and camera.
Note: In ‘Zoom Room’ scenario mode DisplayLink is not supported, only USB-C or HDMI connections can be used.
Guide Screen
The Guide Screen section allows a custom image to be uploaded to Apollo and
shown on a display when the system is in a dormant state. By default, a
WyreStorm provided Guide Screen is loaded on Apollo which provides
instructions on how to wirelessly cast. This can be replaced with any image
based on application requirements.
Key Lock & Factory Reset
Apollo features two secret options that can be performed by pressing and
holding a combination of buttons on the top control panel.
Key lock will disable all the control panel buttons. This can be useful if a
3rd-party control panels will be responsible for controlling Apollo, or to
prevent accidental presses if moving the unit or cleaning the buttons.
To enable key lock, press and hold the volume – and volume + keys together for
at least 5 seconds until the LED ring flashes red. To disabled key lock,
perform the same action until the LED ring flashes blue.
If Apollo becomes inaccessible on the network and a factory reset cannot be
performed via the web interface, you can also press and hold the mic mute and
video mute buttons together for at least 5 seconds. This will perform a hard
reset and default all settings to factory.
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