Comparing the Lenovo Series One Meet Hardware for Medium Sized Rooms with the Logitech Tap Large Room Kit

It's difficult to find reliably information for this business hardware. So here are my thoughts from first hand experience.

To be fair, I am comparing setups for slightly different room sizes. The Logitech System comes with two speakers and microphone pods instead of just one of each in the Lenovo System. Lenovo also has a solution for larger rooms with an improved camera and multiple microphones. But I don't have any experience with that one. I still think that the general comparison is valid.

TLDR ​

The expandability and quality of the Logitech System makes it the winner for me. However, the Lenovo System is easier to wire and seems to be more thought through with less wires and power plugs to set-up.

Setup ​

Call Quality ​

We only have the Logitech System for a few weeks now, so my experience is a bit limited.

Video Quality ​

At first glance, the Logitech Video Image is way better. It not only makes perfect use of the optical zoom for lossless framing of participants. It also seems to have a higher dynamic range which helps illuminate participants correctly. Even if it's a sunny, bright day outside that is visible through a window.

Microphone Quality ​

My colleagues immediately noticed the improved clarity when we switched out the Lenovo System with the Logitech one. This could be, due to the second microphone. But there was also less echo, so I think the processing is also better.

Sound Quality ​

Even though the Logitech System has two speakers, they are a bit smaller than the one speaker of the Lenovo System. And this shows. The Voice is less full on the Logitech System. But the sound is still good enough for a meeting room. Everyone is easy to understand.

Expandability & Flexibility ​

With the Lenovo System, you are coupled to whatever the OS on the connected Chromebox provides. You can not switch it out, because of all the LAN connections. So you can't connect your Laptop to use the system as a regular webcam if you have a meeting with an unsupported meeting software. The Logitech System is more flexible in that regard, because it's just a regular Logitech Rally Plus Camera that connects via USB. Just unplug it from the Chromebox and you are good to go. Truth be told, we rarely do that. But it is nice to have.

Conclusion ​

The expandability and quality of the Logitech System makes it the winner for me. However, the Lenovo System is easier to wire and seems to be more thought through with less wires and power plugs to set-up. You only set it up ever so often, so it's annoying but worth the quality improvements. Especially because the Logitech System was 20% cheaper than the Large Room Kit of Lenovo which I wouldn't expect to perform much better.