Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything
Welcome to the landing page of the MTDAMA. Previously known as MTRAMA, meaning Microsoft Teams Room Ask Me Anything, we’ve decided to evolve the session name to include other Microsoft Teams Devices as we discussed them all the time anyway.
Below we will host the slides used during the session along the Q&A submitted during each session.
EMEA/NA Show Hosts
APAC Show Hosts
Feel free to ask any questions either directly to myself, or anyone else via the Twitter hashtag #MTDAMA
Episode 22 – Monday 24th January 2022 – 5pm UK/12pm EST
Registration now open
To register for the next session in EMEA/NA, simply click this link https://go.graham-walsh.com/mtdamaep22
Work out your time zone here for the EMEA/NA session.
Episode 22- Tuesday 25th January 2021 – 5:30pm AEDT
To register for the next session in APAC, simply click this link https://go.graham-walsh.com/mtdamaep22apac
Work out your time zone here for the APAC session.
Episode 21- Monday 13th December 2021 / Tuesday 14th December APAC
The first session where we are hosting the MTDAMA session in two time zones. Thanks for all the great feedback and contribtions.
Below are the slides from the session.
Q&A from Episode 21
Q. Is Graham using a Neat One now? 🙂
A. Nope, not yet released 😀
Q. Are Direct Guest Join calls still 720p?
A, Yes, they are
Q. I saw that dual screen gallery/dynamic view came on our MTR on Windows (Yealink MVC640) and the account is not in public preview. I thought that Ilya said last time that dual screen gallery view missed the release for this month and will come q1 with public preview. What has changed?
A. Just after the show, the release notes stated there was a December Web release, so now available. Here is a blog post showing all the views.
Q. Will there be a Front Row “Designer” for doing special layouts?
A. Not that I have heard of, but some of the fluid elements might make this something the product group can explore in the future
Q, Will it be the only layout to include chat?
A. Yes, for now.
Q. For Public Preview – Did I understand properly that I can assign policy to Resource account (used by MTR) and I will get “TAP program/Teams Preview” on MTR ?
A. That is correct, check out this video.
Q. When I see that camera embedded into where the screen is projector, there will need to be specific direction on where that camera can be? otherwise, the camera could end up over someone’s face?
A1. Solid doc on room guidance (does not include front room setup. Yet) https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-meeting-room-guidance
A2. Even if there would be no guidance on projector use you can always to people doing projectors for decades. These creatures exist and are called Audio/Video Integrators… 
Q. Do you need to provide feedback when in public preview?
A. Remember while in Public Preview, you are not under Microsoft mainstream support. No SLA, feedback is through the client or tech community. If you create a support ticket, you will need to reproduce the issue outside of preview. Don’t apply preview to all your users!
Q. Can u change Camera on the fly with new multi camera on MTRoW?
A. Yes this will be possible.
Q. I’d love to know what people are thinking for using for multi-camera setups. we have some large rooms where would like to have a second camera to cover someone presenting at the front. Do we just add another Logitech Rally (+ USB extender)?
A1. Yes, that’s it, just add another camera
A2. We have some rooms today with Multi-Camera. Some Vendors have the ability to switch cameras via the “Room Controls” pane, often with PTZ. It’s going to be interesting to see how this contrasts with multiple USB cameras, and how those vendors change their approach.
Q. Are there any guides on SIP Gateway?
A. Here is a guide from Martin at Microsoft – SIP Gateway is here! Lets take a look with my Poly VVX400, Yealink T48G and AudioCodes 440HD – Martin Boam’s Microsoft Blog
A2. Official site of SIP Gateway here
Q. Will SIP gateway work with any small meeting room phones?
A. No, it is not on the list of tested devices.
Q. What is the cost of MPP Firmware?
A1. MPP is not cheap.
A2. $100 approx.?
A3. I found pricing online here, $182.54. That must be MSRP, as I found it here in EMEA for 110.99 Euros here. Or £93.99 of our finest pounds. Insight then list if for $129.99 USD.
Q. Any ways to get a test MPP license?
A. It might be possible to sign up for a Webex trial you can get 250 licenses for MPP firmware. Not confirmed!!
Q. Can you use the Facebook Portal without a Facebook account?
A. No you can’t unfortunately.
Q. What does it look like when running?
A. See below for it running on the $79/£79 Facebook Portal.
Q. Can Microsoft Teams run on the Facebook Portal TV?
A. No it can’t, must have a touch screen.
Q. Does the Facebook Portal have Cortana for Teams?
A. No, just the built in Facebook assistant and also Alexa from Amazon.
Q. What’s the general opinion, is Teams Rooms on Android bug free by now?
A1. Patrick is very impressed with My Rally Bar, No bugs to report, just waiting for HDMI and Guest join
A2. Graham is very impressed with his Neat devices 🙂
A3. Phil is delighted with Yealink A30’s
Q. Do any of you out there have any prox-join experiences/stories with return to on-site, co-workers using conference rooms, utilizing Prox-Join from a laptop(s) in a conf room using joined MTR in a meeting?
A1. Yea, A lot of my users use it from Thomas with no issues.
A2. Yes, mixed results due to Bluetooth issues (needing to go very close to the MTR in order to “see” room)
A3. Ilya said on last month’s AMA, that they are going to focus more on improving Prox Join. Maybe adding ultrasound
A4. Correct. But there is also some other issue, as it did work much better before the last 1-2 updates. Noticed a significant difference.
A5. Our “test and learn”/poc rooms are all close together so users are often adding other rooms at the same time or picking the wrong room – great for listening in from another room 
. Mix of user education and hopefully the new features Illya talked about will fix it.
APAC Q&A
Q. Are there any special guests or vendors you’d like to have on the show?
A1. Lenovo about their new products, especially ThinkSmart Manager
A2. Phil would like to find someone to present on Teams Rooms from the perspective of how to get people to adopt them with success
Q. Where are the release notes for the latest MTR updates, relating to Web Client release?
A. Link here.
Q. How do we know what web services version our tenant is running?
A. Very good question, something we can try and find out.
Q. What is the link for Jimmy’s article on Front Row?
A. Here is the link
Q. Front Row would indicate support for dual-screen content sources?
A. Single source just for now. Content will be shown on one screen I think.
Q. Use case for front row and top left image is to replace a Cisco immersive TP room?
A. Spot on, exact use case Paul. Just can’t do 3 screens, still limited to 2 displays
Q. Will Microsoft release some more adoption material for enterprises rolling out MTR’s and Surface Hubs? Struggling to educate users especially coming from a WebEx/ Join by meeting ID scenarios?
A1. Here are some links that may help: End User help can be found at aka.ms/TeamsRoomHelp, An introductory video can be found at aka.ms/TeamsRoomVideo, Interactive end user training: aka.ms/MicrosoftTeamsRoomsDemo
A2 .Not MTRW specific, but materials you can customize – aka.ms/TeamsCustomerSuccessKit A fantastic download package that contains tons of great materials to help deploy Teams
A3. Also check out https://adoption.microsoft.com
Q. How do you know if your room is now in Public Preview?
A. Log in with the desktop client, usually with a InPrivate browser and you’ll see a P in the top right of your picture. Check out this video
Q. Can you name the cameras? To make easily identifiable.
A. No, but you will get a Live Preview of the image
Q. Any word on PTZ controls for USB cameras?
A. No update yet, we know there is an app in the App Store that you can add to your channel meeting.
Q. Do you think it will be possible to auto switch camera’s like the Hub V1?
A. No, that is where Intelligent cameras will come in such as Jabra Panacast P50, Neat Bar Symmetry, Poly E70 etc.
Q. Where can I find the MTR roadmap?
A. Link is here aka.ms/mtrroadmap
Q. Does anyone have hot features they need added to the roadmap that are currently not prioritised?
A1. A robust remote access solution to the MTR. Difficult to support certain MTR for Windows versions from most manufacturers
A2. Ability to join a meeting via Meeting ID, it was announced but then didn’t hear much else in the roadmap
A.
Q. Do we have Active Speaker tracking for MTRs at a software level as well, like capturing active speakers video and highlighting it in the frame.
A. No, that is done in the hardware level with the OEMs. Then the MTRs will split everyone out.
Q. Where is Michael Tressler’s YouTube channel?
A. Here is the link
Q. Do we see a place for these single purpose devices such as Facebook Portal? I thought the industry was trying to move away from these style devices, having a single device to do all …. the Teams desktop app on your PC
A1. In the user’s home where they could be expensed, or the user has one already. Saves having to balance your cell phone somewhere.
A2. I think the target user for Portal is the Hybrid worker. Join a meeting or whatever from where you happen to be in the house without having to necessarily drag your laptop around.
A3. Or use it as a second screen with your laptop. Dedicate your laptop to work/Line of business apps and use the Portal (or Teams display) for your Teams activities.
Q. How do we handle audio out on MTRs for hearing assistance?
A1. Used to use Stereo Mix but that has been removed from Windows.
A2. MS should look at implementing Dante/AES out of the box to help modernise the implementation of deployments
A3. Microsoft has corporate wide development initiatives for Accessibility across its product groups. What is the roadmap for accessibility (hearing loops as an example) across Teams Rooms?
A4. Logitech has enabled Audio out via USB on Rally Bar and Rally Bar mini, to address this concern. Better fix would be on the MTR
Q. What adapter do I need for the Logitech USB out?
A. USB to 3.5mm, Not limited to certain brands?
Q. Where can I find Graham’s content?
A. Merch Store – Blog Site – YouTube Channel