QNAP, the leader when it comes to storage and network solutions, created a product for easily and conveniently holding conferences. Today in our QNAP KoiBox-100W Video Conferencing review, we’ll focus on this specific product designed for such purposes.
The KoiBox-100W is a product that’s specifically aimed at video conferencing. It functions using an operating system named the KoiMeeter – a unique alternative to the pricey SIR-based systems.
The product also lets you join calls via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Google Meet, and even Cisco Webex. This allows you to take advantage of excellent versatility to enhance communication for people using different platforms.
QNAP KoiBox-100W Video Conferencing Packaging
This product is an interesting offering from QNAP, but before we look deeper into it, let’s check out its packaging. Other than how its packaging looks, our QNAP KoiBox-100W Video Conferencing review will also discuss its contents and inclusions.
When it arrived in our office, the KoiBox-100W came packed in a sturdy and durable container. You’ll find a couple of details about it on the box. Inside, everything is packed securely to avoid any damages while in transit.
Together with the KoiBox-100W, a free RM-IR004 remote control from QNAP is bundled with the product.
QNAP KoiBox-100W Video Conferencing Review – Design and Functionality
After unboxing for our QNAP KoiBox-100W Video Conferencing review, we looked into its design and functions. The KoiBox-100W is a portable and easy-to-use product that needs to be linked to a screen via HDMI.
Doing so will allow you to see everything that’s happening during the video conference. Simultaneously, it also helps manage and organise the operating system and when joining different calls.
Here, you’ll need to link it to your local network either wired or wireless. This gives you an option since the KoiBox-100W incorporates both types of connections which is pretty convenient.
With the help of its operating system, the KoiBox-100W allows small meeting rooms to get adequate support for wireless presentations. Not only that, it also assists with cross-platform video communication solutions and storage for recording these.
Front and Rear Portions of the QNAP KoiBox-100W Video Conferencing
Let’s first talk about the front section of the KoiBox-100W. Here, you’ll find a power button and an LED indicator that turns blue when switched on. When it’s a blue breathing light, the product is on stand-by while it turns red when switched off.
It has an infrared sensor for using the RM-IR004 remote from QNAP.
When looking at the rear portion of the product, you’ll find different ports available. The one on the far left is the power connector port then to its right is the HDMI port.
Connectivity with your television is done by using an HDMI 1.4b port. This allows you to see everything in 4K @ 60Hz.
After the HDMI port, you’ll find four USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports at 10Gbps. Having these lets you link several external hard drives or even pen drives to utilise during video conferences.
Next to the USB ports is the Gigabit Ethernet port and the last is a Kensington security slot.
Key Features of the QNAP KoiBox-100W Video Conferencing
Here is a list of all the key features of the KoiBox-100W that make it a favourite product among many.
Connect, Click, and Start the Conference
QNAP designed the KoiBox-100W to make it a user-friendly product. Thus, allowing you to easily connect to an HDMI display and network in an instant. The best thing about it is that you won’t need any complex settings and setups.
Just call another KoiBox-100W, KoiMeeter mobile application, KoiMeeter system, or any compatible SIP system to begin high-resolution conferences. Or, you can simply join other cloud conferencing rooms. To note, the compatible SIP systems include Polycom or Avaya.
With its easy-to-use and convenient design, the KoiBox-100W is a great solution for budget-constrained organisations during meetings.
The KoiMeeter Operating System
This operating system provides optimal video conferencing, making it ideal for establishing private meeting systems with quality security. Additionally, it offers outstanding compatibility with the regular cloud video conferencing services to enjoy seamless communication.
And with 4K wireless projection, things will be easier for everyone in the same meeting room. They’ll be able to view the KoiBox-100W’s screen on an HDMI display even without a dedicated computer.
Up to Four-way Video Collaborations and Conferencing
While creating this QNAP KoiBox-100W Video Conferencing review, we also learned that it can form up to 4-way video conferencing. This is with the QNAP NAS running the KoiMeeter and smartphones with the KoiMeeter mobile application.
Additionally, the KoiBox-100W supports the SIP systems, as well as cloud meeting platforms for adequate cross-platform communications.
Auto Call Answers
Make sure to never miss any of your important meetings and calls by enabling the KoiBox-100W’s auto-answer feature. It’s a very useful element to have especially in certain scenarios. These include when disabled individuals, the elderly, or even assembly line workers can’t leave their spot.
Just remember that this feature is disabled by default mainly for privacy concerns. To be safe, always make sure that your environment is secure and private before enabling this feature.
Designed for Certain Scenarios
The KoiBox-100W is perfectly made for three specific scenarios:
Local Meetings
The KoiBox-100W is great to use when people are in the same meeting room and doing face-to-face discussions. What the KoiMeeter does for such situations is it acts like a wireless projector.
Because of this, you can easily utilise Firefox and Chrome for sharing your screen to everyone in the meeting. Plus, you can even record the meeting for reference if you ever need it in the future.
Private Meeting
This product is also great for private meetings or peer-to-peer meetings. For this, you can use a KoiCode – an 8-digit code that doesn’t require a VPN. It allows for a maximum of four peers.
With SIP and H323 protocols, the KoiBox-100W is compatible with Polycom or Avaya systems. Plus, it can be utilised with a maximum of two peers.
Since it’s going to be used for a private meeting, keep in mind that the meeting content will be secure. That means, it won’t pass through the public cloud. And just like when you’re using it for local meetings, you can also record the activity whenever necessary.
Cloud Meeting
This is where you can communicate with as many people in a conference or meeting. And in such situations, the KoiBox-100W works just as well.
To control the cloud UI, keep in mind that you’ll need a keyboard and mouse. The KoiBox-100W can also join cloud meeting services as long as the service offers pure Web UI for the guests.
4K Wireless Projection – No Cables Attached
The nice thing about KoiBox-100W is that there are no cables and no software installations either. It provides a continuous wireless projection experience that’s free from any tricky cabling. Plus, you also won’t need to purchase extra projection devices which will actually save you more money.
Project the Screen While Using Browser
Open Chrome, Firefox, or any other browser, then enter the display’s IP address to project your screen. With the KoiBox-100W, there’s no need for additional wireless projectors, dongles, or software to be ready for your next presentation.
Join Cloud Meetings
Unlike other dedicated meeting and conferencing solutions, the KoiBox-100W supports the most used cloud-based meeting platforms. That means, you can join different virtual meetings that use different cloud meeting software.
Share Mobile Phone Screens Seamlessly
To do this, simply scan the QR code located on the KoiBox-100W display to readily share your smartphone’s screen. You don’t need to connect it elsewhere which is pretty convenient and useful.
Local Storage
You can install a 2.5” SATA drive to store meeting videos, audio, and files. Just remember that SSD and hard drives aren’t included in the package and are sold separately.
4K UHD Playback
The KoiBox-100W supports up to 4K Ultra HD resolution so you can provide your audience with high-quality presentations.
Four-way Split Screens
With the KoiBox-100W, you can show up to four split screens from different devices in one presentation.
Projection Modes of the QNAP KoiBox-100W Video Conferencing
Three projection modes are available when you use the KoiBox-100W. These include entire screen mode, specific application window mode, and Chrome tab mode. Just set what meets your needs.
Remote Projection
Project one screen to multiple KoiBox-100W or KoiMeeter systems via the internet. This feature makes meetings and conferences more flexible and convenient.
Share Your Smartphone Screen Conveniently
To project your mobile phone screen and camera display on a monitor, just scan the KoiBox-100W’s QR code.
Remote View and Chat Room
With remote viewing, meeting participants don’t have to be physically present to see presentations on computers. The KoiBox-100W also features an integrated chat room for communication and file sharing.
Record and Store Meetings
The KoiBox-100W has a slot for your 2.5” SATA drive bay. That means, you can store meeting videos, files, and audios whenever you need to.
Affordable, Straightforward, and Convenient
Since it’s an all-in-one video conferencing and wireless presentation solution, the KoiBox-100W is great for various purposes. You can use it in small-to-medium meeting rooms, classrooms, lecture halls, director’s offices, and home environments.
Video Conferencing
For video conferencing, the KoiBox-100W allows sharing of a projection screen on an HDMI display without a dedicated computer. Offices with multiple sites can also launch private or cloud meetings, share presentations, and conduct training courses. And what makes this great is you can do all of these activities without travel expenditure.
Mobile Meetings
Remote workers can use the KoiMeeter mobile app to easily join video conferences. This promotes smart working and better engagement without affecting business and personal productivity
Wireless Presentations for Lectures
Schools, lecture halls, and conference centres can use the KoiBox-100W for wireless presentations and lecture recording. With the Insight View function, listeners can view the presentation on their computers.
Online Education and Home Entertainment
When studying, watching videos, and sharing family photos, you can enjoy a comfortable visual experience. By using the KoiBox-100W, you can wirelessly cast your computer or mobile phone screen to a large TV.
Specifications
Let’s focus on the specifications of the product in this part of our QNAP KoiBox-100W Video Conferencing review.
The KoiBox-100W makes use of the Intel Celeron dual-core 1.8GHz processor plus a 4GB DDR4 system memory. It has an M.2 2242 SSD 30GB flash memory, plus a drive bay slot for one 2.5” SATA.
This product comes with one 1GbE RJ45 Gigabit ethernet port and an Intel WiFi6 AX201, 802.11ax Bluetooth 5.2. Its HDMI output is one HDMI 1.4b output while there are four USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A USB ports. QNAP used a 36W 100 – 240V DC, 50|60Hz power supply unit, and a Kingston security slot too.
For its supported platforms, the KoiBox-100W works well with QNAP WebRTC and SIP H.323 (Polycom and Avaya-compatible). Then, it’s also good with Cloud meeting services which is pretty convenient for a lot of people.
Then lastly, the KoiBox-100W measures 232 x 152 x 45mm and weighs 1.09kg. Plus, QNAP included a two-year warranty for the product which is good.
Hands-on with the QNAP KoiBox-100W Video Conferencing
The company’s KoiMeeter solution lets you build and establish a top-notch, as well as a budget-friendly video conference system. With this, we were able to enjoy multi-site communication in a much smoother manner.
The KoiMeeter video conferencing software can work with any monitor or HDMI TV. So, we were able to utilise this product without needing any complex or challenging settings.
Also with this software, we made calls easily and communicated effectively with other KoiMeeter devices and other compatible SIP systems. We tried this and it worked efficiently with Polycom, Avaya, and other products.
What makes this a good software is that it’s perfect for those who are budget-constrained and have small meeting rooms. Plus, using the KoiBox-100W and the software relieves you of any inconveniences when it comes to overbooked meeting spots.
Additionally, it allowed us to easily connect with up to four other KoiMeeter-enabled devices. It even worked excellently with smartphones which surprised us. Our video conference was a success despite just using that, so that was pretty awesome.
Another aspect we liked about the software is the presence of an Android and iOS-based mobile app for it. So no matter what operating system you’re using for your smartphone, you can download it to join and view meetings.
Also, screen sharing during meetings was done by scanning the KoiBox-100W’s QR code.
Setting up the KoiBox-100W didn’t require professional levels of technical knowledge. Thanks to its simple design, the setup process was simple and it only took us a few minutes to complete.
First, we attached the power cord to the KoiBox-100W and pressed the power button. We instantly saw its steady blue light which indicated that the video conferencing solution was switched on.
Next, we connected the KoiBox-100W to our monitor with an HDMI cable. Finally, we attached it to our network with a Gigabit Ethernet port.
Setting up the KoiBox-100W for video conferences and presentations was a quick process too. All we had to do was connect the cameras and microphones, and we were good to go.
The best thing about this product is its compatibility with a wide range of devices. With that, using low-budget cameras and microphones wasn’t an issue since these worked with the KoiBox-100W.
After setting up the KoiBox-100W, we simply called another device to start a meeting. On the main page of KoiMeeter, we selected Private Meeting using the remote’s arrow keys and the OK button. Next, we entered the Address Book and chose a group and the target device to call.
We also tried calling others to attend the virtual meeting via KoiCode which was done through the Dial Pad.
To wrap up this QNAP KoiBox-100W Video Conferencing review, we can say that the KoiBox-100W performed excellently. We were able to make video conferences with ease, and we didn’t have trouble setting it up.
The conference and meetings were seamless, and we didn’t experience any problems or hiccups while testing it. So, we’re definitely happy with the results we got and we’d recommend it.
QNAP KoiBox-100W Video Conferencing Review Summary
After completing our QNAP KoiBox-100W Video Conferencing review, we realised that the KoiBox-100W is the best video conferencing solution today. It’s ideal for organisations with a limited budget, and it’s simple, user-friendly, and allows for conducting professional video conferences. Not only that, it keeps meetings private and secure.
One of the best points of this video conferencing solution is it can be connected to a TV. Unlike products of the same type, you won’t need a computer to make the KoiBox-100W work. And it also works with generic UVC USB peripherals and accessories, so you won’t have issues with compatibility.
Another strong point of the KoiBox-100W is its budget-friendly price. It costs around 25% of the price of most meeting devices and delivers excellent performance for professional conferences.
Since people prefer working remotely for convenience and safety nowadays, this video conferencing solution is an excellent choice. With its impressive features, ease of use, and seamless performance, we highly recommend it.
Want the KoiBox-100W to upgrade your experience in remote meetings and wireless presentations? Head on over to the official product page for more info.
