Cisco Spark Board 70
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Compliance model number: AA70WW
About Spark and how to use the Spark Board
Table of Contents
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Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 2
Spark 2.0 ................................................................................................................................ 2
Wireless Screen Share....................................................................................................... 2
Calling using a Spark Board ............................................................................................ 3
Interactive whiteboarding .............................................................................................. 3
Interactive whiteboarding with a Spark Board ....................................................... 4
Caveats .................................................................................................................................... 5
Upcoming Features: ........................................................................................................... 7
Appendix: Cisco Spark Desktop Proximity ................................................................ 8
Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 8
What is the Feature ? .................................................................................................................. 8
Is Pairing Automatic ? ................................................................................................................ 8
Unpairing ........................................................................................................................................ 9
Manual Pairing option ............................................................................................................... 9
Making Calls ................................................................................................................................... 9
Sharing my screen ....................................................................................................................10
How does this feature differ from using the App with Cisco Deskphones? ..........10
Can I turn off Spark Desktop Proximity? ...........................................................................10
My Spark App is pairing with a Spark Room System I don’t want to use ...............10
Introduction
1
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We are delighted to release the first iteration of our Cisco Spark app to accompany
the Spark Board Early Field Trial.
Using the Spark App you can make calls and share your screen and whiteboard with
the Spark Board.
When Cisco Spark app is running, it uses your microphone to listen for inaudible
signals sent by Room Systems and Spark Boards. On receiving a signal, the app
automatically pairs to the Room System or Spark Board. The paired device is
automatically selected so you can share your screen and make calls.1
This document details what features to expect in this release and what is coming
later.
Spark 2.0
Spark 2.0 is the new Cisco Spark app UX for Mobile, Desktop and Web clients. In
order for us to make Spark Board and Whiteboard capabilities available to you, we
also need to make Spark 2.0 available. Existing Cisco Spark app users will notice a
new visual design language and interaction design paradigm for moving between
workloads within the application. Spark 2.0 is still under development and we have
some key areas of feedback that are being addressed.
We have heard from our internal Cisco Spark communities that it takes too many
clicks to view participants in a Cisco Spark Space. This feedback is being addressed
and you can expect UX improvements in coming releases. Secondly, when you
choose to Call from a Cisco Spark Space, you are taken to a device selection page
where you can choose what device you would like to place the call with. This page is
undergoing a visual design update and is missing a number of features that will
make this page more useful.
Wireless Screen Share
When you are paired to a Room System or a Spark Board you can now share your
screen to that device with a single click. No more dongles! A wireless share can be
initiated by clicking on the Share icon.
Once you start a share the Cisco Spark App minimizes and your screen appears on
your chosen device.
More details on Proximity Pairing in the Appendix
Calling using a Spark Board
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When you are proximity paired to a Spark Room System or a Spark Board you can
use your Spark App to call people or join meetings using your chosen device. You
can also end the call using your Spark app.
Interactive whiteboarding
Interactive whiteboarding is available when you are on a call in a Spark space
(formerly known as Spark room).
When you are on a call in a Spark space, click on the Whiteboard activity to see the
list of previously changed whiteboards or start a new whiteboard if none have been
created. You can share your whiteboard immediately so that others in the call can
see the whiteboard, or you can draw something first and then choose to share. To
share the whiteboard with others on the call, just click Share Live at any time.
Others will then see the whiteboard and can participate in an interactive
whiteboarding session.
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Interactive whiteboarding when there is no call ongoing is limited right now.
The whiteboard activity is available to you on your app when you are not on a call so
that you can play with the Whiteboard features such as – drawing, erasing or
changing colors. But bear in mind that this does create and save a whiteboard in the
Spark space, and if you are not on a call, other participants of the Spark space will
not get automatically notified that you have created a whiteboard in your room and
are working on it. While this flow is not completed, note that other participants in
the room can go to the All Boards view, select the whiteboard that is being worked
on and that will result in an interactive whiteboarding session.
Interactive whiteboarding with a Spark Board
In order to perform two-way whiteboarding with a Spark Board, you first need to
bind a Spark Board to the Spark space you want to work in by choosing ‘Open on
Spark Board’. Soon, the app will intelligently perform this function for you. You will
only see this option in open multi-party team rooms when you are proximity paired
to a Spark Board. Binding in 1-to-1 rooms, locked rooms, and moderated rooms is
coming later.
Once you have bound the Spark Board, as well as performing interactive
whiteboarding with the Spark Board, you will be able to view files in the Spark
space, make calls to the Spark space, and view all of the people in the Spark space.
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Caveats
In an upcoming release of the Spark apps and Spark Board we will be making
changes to whiteboard encryption mechanisms. Once this happens, you will not
have access to any whiteboards created previously.
We are seeing issues with the whiteboard loading on the following devices:
Nexus 7
Nexus 10
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2.
Devices with Android 4
Windows 7 machines without any graphics drivers
The previously changed Whiteboard list is very sparse. We don’t have PNGs,
thumbnails or timestamps, but we thought it was valuable to provide you with a
way to get back to your previously changed masterpieces!
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Currently, we render both incoming whiteboards and incoming shares on the app on
Mac and Windows desktop clients. This is not the final UX spec, and in upcoming
releases we will only support one share activity at a time.
You can’t switch back to the ‘All Boards’ view directly from the Whiteboard view.
You need to click on the Whiteboard activity in order to get access to All Boards
Whiteboards will only render on the Cisco Spark app and Spark Boards. Other
endpoints that have joined a call in the Cisco Spark space will not see the incoming
whiteboard.
We have had some feedback that the wireless share is taking longer than expected
to appear on the screen in some Room Systems. We are working on improving the
latency and will have updates to your Room System devices in coming weeks. This
latency issue does not impact Spark Boards.
Upcoming Features:
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Remote mute, DTMF & volume control
Implicit binding of Spark Board when a call is made using the app
Enhancements to previously changed whiteboards – thumbnails,
timestamps, select and manage boards
View/Edit modes of operation for Whiteboarding in the App
2 way Whiteboarding outside of the context of a Spark call
2-way whiteboarding currently only works if the Spark Board is bound to a
Spark room. If you set up a call directly from Spark Board (not through your
device), you will not be able to do two-way whiteboarding. This will come
later.
Implicit binding of Spark Board when a whiteboard is initiated in the app
Binding/unbinding 1:1 rooms, moderated rooms, locked rooms
Support for whiteboarding on an adhoc call
Annotation on a presentation
Coachmarks and first time experience
Appendix: Cisco Spark Desktop Proximity
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Summary
The Cisco Spark Desktop app now automatically pairs with Cisco Spark Room
Systems when you enter the conference room if the proximity feature is enabled in
the app. This allows you to start and end calls directly from your laptop. This feature
is Generally Available on the mobile apps.
TIP: Under the Settings, you can turn off the proximity feature in the app if you
don’t want to automatically pair with a room system. Just remember to turn it back
on when you want to use a room system.
What is the Feature ?
Cisco Spark for Windows and the Mac now support proximity pairing with Spark
Room Systems allowing you to control and interact with the Room System directly
from their laptop.
The Cisco Spark app will not currently pair with on-premise Cisco Telepresence
endpoints, but this is under consideration as part of our future Cisco Spark Hybrid
Services offering.
Is Pairing Automatic ?
For Macs and many PC models, the pairing will be automatic as the Cisco Spark App
is able to use available microphones to listen for the ultrasound proximity signals
from Room Systems. This doesn’t disrupt other apps using the microphone as the
microphone is shared.
However some PCs, including several of the Cisco Lenovo PC models, require Spark
app to use available microphones in an exclusive mode to listen. In order not to
always take exclusive hold of the laptop mics, these PCs will require you to use the
‘Search for nearby devices’ option in the device menu. Then, the mic is used
exclusively for a few seconds while nearby Room Systems are located and paired.
When paired, the user will see the device in the Cisco Spark App and their profile
picture will appear on the Cisco Spark Room System greeting screen.
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Unpairing
When a paired Spark Room System is no longer nearby the Spark App will revert to
the last active device selection, for example ‘Use my computer for Calls’ and their
avatar will no longer appear on the Spark Room System. This unpairing will typically
take place about 90 seconds after the Spark Room System proximity signal is no
longer detected.
Manual Pairing option
To provide for the few PC models which don’t support the proximity pairing above
using the mic, we have kept a manual pairing option. This allows the user to search
for any Spark Room Systems in their organization and select it as their active
device. To prevent users outside the Meeting Room from taking remote control of
the endpoint using manual pairing a confirmation prompt is displayed on the Spark
Room System screen. The user must remember to manually un-pair from the Spark
Room System when they have left the room
The user will be directed to manually pair when a ‘Search for Nearby Devices’ failed
to successfully use the microphone to detect a nearby Spark Room System
Manual Pairing can also be initiated from the Manage my Devices menu option
With the introduction of proximity pairing the utility of the manual pairing option is
under review.
Making Calls
When paired any Spark calls made or received by the Spark App user will use the
Spark Room System. To not use the paired device for calls select the ‘Don’t use this
Room System for calls when nearby’ option in the paired device screen. For
incoming calls while paired there is an option to ‘Answer on my computer’ on the
call alert popup.
Tick box – deselect always
Incoming calls – answer on my computer
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Sharing my screen
When paired and using the Spark Room System for a call you can share your screen
to the other participants of the call.
We’ll also shortly be adding the ability to pair and share your screen to the Spark
Room System when it is idle, eliminating the need for projector cables and dongles.
How does this feature differ from using the App with Cisco Deskphones?
This feature differs from using the App with Cisco Deskphones which is described
here. You can use these features to satisfy different workflows. The screenshot
below shows how you can switch between a deskphone and a proximity paired
device on the Spark Windows App.
Can I turn off Spark Desktop Proximity?
Yes, you can disable Cisco Spark Proximity in the Settings / Preferences of the Spark
App
Were also considering offering a Spark Admin option for user provisioning of
Proximity and would welcome Early Adopter feedback on this
My Spark App is pairing with a Spark Room System I don’t want to use
Sometimes your Spark App may detect a Cisco Spark Room System you don’t want
to pair with. To resolve this we’d suggest a few steps
- Ensure the Meeting Room door is closed to avoid ultrasound leak
- Use the option in the device panel to not use this device for calls
- Disable Spark App Proximity
- Cover your laptop mic, or plug in a headset to the 3.5” audio jack – the mic on
this is typically lower range and has a directional mic which is less likely to
pick up Proximity ultrasound.
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