Poly offers an all-in-one professional office video conferencing package with its P5 webcam and Voyager 4220 Bluetooth headset.
The Poly P5 webcam offers up to 1080p at 30 frames-per-second, which is rather ordinary but will do the job for most video conferencing needs. If you are producing professional video content/presentations a higher-spec 60fps webcam would likely be a better investment.
The P5’s video is very crisp and when coupled with Nvidia’s superb broadcast software the result is a very professional look. Even using just the Poly Lens software the 80-degrees field-of-view and auto-focus do a very good job. The camera works well in low light. I usually have to turn on my studio lights for the best webcam video, but there was no need with the P5 the output still looked clean with no discernible grain.
The onboard microphone did a good job of picking up my voice during video calls. At first, I wasn’t aware that the camera had a mic. The device is quite small and discreet. In fact, it’s so discreet, that it was only towards the end of the review that I discovered the camera had a little door that revealed a USB Type-A socket for the Voyager headset dongle!
The camera’s connectivity is via an integrated 1.3m long USB 2.0 Type-A cable. The physical privacy shutter provides a very visible red cover over the lens when shut. The mount can be used to either place the camera over the top of a monitor or position the camera, free-standing on a desk. The body of the camera swivels on the mount, which is held in place magnetically. Removing the reveals a thread for screwing the camera onto a tripod.
The aesthetic design is interesting, but the speckled white colour isn’t really to my taste. The Poly P5 webcam does its job, though, and does it well.
Moving on to the Voyager 4220 UC headset, this is a nice looking-looking bit of kit. The lightweight headset can be worn with the integrated microphone on either side. The earpiece sits over just over your ears, giving them a refined, subtle look.
Over the last couple of years, like most of us, I’d been in a fair few video conferences. There’s nothing that makes me cringe harder than a participant gormlessly wearing a massive pair of gaming cans strapped to their head. There is a time and a place for an awesome gaming headset, and that’s Call of Duty Warzone, not a professional corporate environment.
The Voyager 4220 UC headset’s discreet look allows users to maintain a corporate look whilst being provided with crisp audio and clear voice pickup via the headset’s uni-directional noise-cancelling microphone.
Setup was easy. The Voyager comes with a Bluetooth dongle that is pre-paired to the headset. The dongle didn’t work very well connected to my USB hub but worked fine when plugged directly into my PC. It was also easy to pair the headset directly to the PC’s built-in Bluetooth and my Huawei phone.
Listening to music was great, the headset producing crisp audio from Spotify. Possibly not as loud as I’d have liked, but probably good for preserving my hearing.
The lightweight headset has soft on-ear cushions and fits comfortably. It doesn’t feel like your head is in a vice, so you can easily wear it all day.
The charging stand has an elegant design that makes it not look out of place on an executive’s desk. I love the unique way that the headset fits into the stand with one side held in place by the charging port and the other side resting on the base.
Both the Poly Studio P5 webcam and the Voyager 4220 UC headset use the Poly Lens app for additional options and firmware updates. Poly Lens is available free on the Poly website.
Poly Studio P5 kit is a great all-in-one video conferencing solution. It’s easy to set up and provides a great audio and video broadcasting experience for corporate customers.