Yealink RoomCastPRODUCT REVIEW
Yealink RoomCast
Consumers have become accustomed to smart features and wireless sharing built into televisions, but most commercial displays lack that connectivity. What if there were one device that could cover all the most popular non-proprietary ways to wirelessly share a presentation? What if it could also double as a digital signage player? Yealink has attempted to pack all of these features into their RoomCast, a sleek, folding, do-it-all companion for commercial displays. Where did Yealink stick the landing, and which parts of the RoomCast are still up in the air? Continue on to see what our panelists had to say.
Key Specifications
- Standalone Zoom Rooms digital signage
- Wireless Sharing Miracast, Google Cast (PC only), Apple Airplay
- Optional Peripheral Yealink WPP30 Wireless Presentation Pod
- Video Output HDMI
- Display Resolution 4K
- Power PoE or Power Adapter
Use case for the Yealink RoomCast
Yealink has put together a surprisingly compelling package with the RoomCast. It is low-profile, conveniently operates on Power over Ethernet (POE), and supports multiple wireless sharing protocols, including Miracast wireless screen sharing from Windows, Apple Airplay, and Google Cast. It’s important to note that the RoomCast isn’t built for streaming copy-protected video, which “casting” often suggests. Local videos can be presented on the RoomCast (we tested a video shot on an iPhone via AirPlay), but the RoomCast won’t play video content from a streaming provider. Our team had no issues using Google Cast from PCs, but weren’t able to Cast from Google Pixel or other Android-based phones. We’ve reached out to Yealink about Google Cast compatibility with cell phones and will update this section accordingly. The RoomCast can also be configured as a Zoom Rooms digital sign, offering a way to wirelessly share through Zoom alongside dynamic signage features.
Price range
At $399 MSRP, the Yealink RoomCast is more cost-effective than an entry-level BrightSign player, although it’s more expensive than familiar residential streaming devices, such as an Apple TV or Chromecast Ultra. When you add up each of those devices, however, and the complexity of switching between them, the value of the RoomCast comes into focus. For users more comfortable with an attachment for their PC, the RoomCast can be paired with a Yealink WPP30 for less than the cost of a Barco Clickshare package. “We would have to compare the product to a more appropriately capable device, like the Barco Clickshare C-5,” Profound Technologies co-founder Brett Fisher said. “In this comparison, we see that the price point of the Barco Clickshare is a match only if you include the (wireless presentation dongle) with your Yealink Roomcast. If you prefer to use the sharing features without the Yealink WPP30, then the Yealink RoomCast capabilities are a much lower cost in that comparison.” “It’s the perfect mid-way price point, if you just want to share,” business development executive Naeem Johnson said. “I don’t know of any other products that do the exact same thing in that price range.” “I can’t think of anything comparable to RoomCast for that cost,” warehouse supervisor Cory Garritano said.
Build Quality
“The slim form factor of the Yealink RoomCast is nice,” Brett said, and “the product does not have a cheap feel to it, which is important if you are mounting the product at the top of the display, which its mounting options support.” “It’s solid. It’s not too big, and it is very flexible, manueverable,” Naeem said. “It seems great, besides Google Cast (from phones) not working,” Cory said.
Installation experience
There is minimal wiring and installation need to deploy a Yealink RoomCast. “From a physical installation standpoint, this product is as simple as it gets,” Brett said. “Power and Ethernet are both handled via the PoE network port and HDMI is the only other requirement.” While we power the RoomCast with PoE, it can also use a separate power adapter.
Industry standards
Support for PoE means the Yealink RoomCast supports two popular and common standards, with data and power provided through one Ethernet connection. For PoE, the RoomCast requires IEEE 802.3af, or it can be powered with a 12V adapter and connected via WiFi (802.11ac). The RoomCast only outputs in 4K resolution, which shouldn’t be an issue for newer displays, but may be a problem for those looking to enhance their use of an older display.
User Experience
Our team had some difficulties with the firmware and initial setup of the RoomCast, but had a positive experience with the wireless connectivity once the device was set up. Brett described some of the initial hiccups: “We had issues with the web interface not loading for admin settings due to https certificate missing. Once we accessed the admin interface, we had issues with the firmware update button not detecting the latest version that was posted on the Yealink support website – requiring a manual download/update instead.” With the initial setup completed, though, most wireless sharing options worked seamlessly. Miracast, Google casting (from a PC), and Airplay (from a Mac and iPhone) were “instantaneous,” according to Brett. “Our pairing of the Yealink Roomcast to our Yealink WPP20 USB dongle was a super smooth process and worked extremely well. The latency was very low on all of these interfaces.” (Note: The WPP20 is now discontinued and has been replaced with the WPP30) “From my end, connecting to it was simple,” Cory said. “Just being able to connect from my phone, laptop … I think anyone could hop on and do it.” “The user experience was pretty streamlined,” Naeem added. “There were functions that needed to be worked out, but everything that did work was super easy and it didn’t take long to get an output.”
Image and Motion Quality
Our team was impressed with the picture quality overall, while sharing wirelessly. “The photos from my phone looked great,” Cory said. “The image quality was very easy to see and it was easy to read content, with no noticeable drop in quality. The latency of motion was all within very acceptable experiences,” Brett said, calling the delay “slightly perceptible” but completely usable. “Picture quality was great. Very responsive, very quick actions that mirrored the computer or phone,” Naeem said.
Standout Features
“I like that the product supports so many options for wireless presentation,” Brett said. “With these options there is a solution for everyone’s needs. I also really like that the product supports up to four streams at the same time that it tiles on the screen, via any of the streaming methods.” Brett also noted that we didn’t have a chance to fully explore the Zoom Rooms capabilities of the Yealink RoomCast during our review. “I really like the (Yealink wireless presentation pod),” Naeem said, noting that it simplifies the process of sharing. “You hit the button and you’re there. It makes it simple,” he said, “but I also like that there’s multiple ways (to share).” Cory appreciated the small form factor of the RoomCast. “It could easily be hidden behind the TV, or placed somewhere else,” he said.
Reasons to buy
End users would be motivated to purchase the Yealink RoomCast based on an attractive price point for its features, according to our team. “You have four different ways someone can hop on and share a presentation,” Cory said. “I think it’s all around a great product to use, for the price and how small the item is.” “They would buy this product if they wanted a direct way to share presentations or any type of content without worrying about various cables, adapters, etc to do so. This is definitely a screen sharing solution for the typical end user,” Naeem said. “Due to its very competitive price point, it is a great wireless presentation device,” Brett said, “however, a less technical person would struggle with the one-time software setup stage of this device initially. That is a concern for deployment teams.”
Reasons to reconsider
Aside from ease of setup, our panelists cited limitations with copyright protected video, as well as competition from other screen sharing options. “If the end user has a need to stream content protected video, or video content in general more often than not, they would be a better candidate for a hardwired (HDMI) connection,” Brett said. “Yealink is not based in the U.S., so if anything does go wrong, and you need to get customer support, it takes a little bit,” Cory said, adding that customers might not be familiar with the Yealink brand. “There are other higher priced products that do this that have more capabilities,” Naeem said. “If you want to share your screen, in my mind it makes more sense to get a Logitech Rally Bar … to get a little more functionality out of it.”
Conclusion
Our Profound Technologies team had some difficulties with initial setup for the Yealink RoomCast, and ultimately we didn’t get a resolution from Yealink on Google Cast functionality from Android phones. In spite of this, the team agreed that the wireless sharing capabilities of the RoomCast were impressive, offering 4K resolution for legible text, support for several major wireless sharing methods, and an optional USB presentation dongle. The RoomCast handled each use case with minimal latency, leaving our panel with a positive impression overall. Although individual features of the Yealink RoomCast aren’t unique, it packs an impressive number of features into a small piece of equipment at an attractive price. See the table below for a full breakdown of our scoring: