21:9 or 16:9? How big should the display be?
Front Row for Microsoft Teams Rooms is the hottest topic in hybrid workspaces.
Front Row is an exciting development. It’s a screen layout, but one we need to be aware of as it’s spearheading Microsoft’s design thinking and standards not just for the Enhanced Meeting Room (EMR) shown at The Hive R&D facility, but regular MTRs too.
Front Row has aspect ratio options for 21:9 and 16:9, but it’s the 21:9 that works most successfully to present both the inset main content window and the array of users below, as close to lifesize as possible. In The Hive, it’s used for smaller and lower cost spaces too.
In the diagrams below you’ll see how ceiling height impacts and limits display size. You’ll also see how 21:9 Front Row layout can work on 16:9 displays - but they must be large!
The Hive - a collaborative lab in their Redmond, Seattle campus - has the attention of all leading hybrid workspace practitioners as it’s vendor agnostic. There’s plenty to cookie-cutter copy as needed, but the real paydirt lies in deep study of the UX journey Microsoft took to reach these new design principles and standards.
On a practical note, The Hive’s feature spaces use projection. But this has to be projection at a significantly higher level than most people have witnessed. To deliver these displays that work under normal and daylit conditions, the Visual Displays team helps clients globally to achieve exceptional user experiences with advanced projection materials and designs.
If you’d like a copy of my White Paper on MTR design and execution on which these posts are based, click here.
Posted: 18th August 2022