After our review of the Nexvoo NexPod N109, we also experienced Nexvoo's Nexbar N110, a related design. The sequential numbering convention suggests it would be very similar, but this soundbar-style conference camera has more in common with the Nexvoo NexPod N149, as it comes equipped with a 4K camera. It's also more than three times the cost of the N109, making it a bigger investment for those who want a dedicated solution in every meeting room. Where the N109 competed with high-end webcams, the N110 embraces branded solutions for businesses and their permanent installations. Is the NexBar N110 ready to take on Logitech, Jabra, Trust and Owl?
Prices and availability
The Nexvoo NEXBAR™ N110 costs €799 direct from the manufacturers here. At the moment, Nexvoo only has this NexBar in this series, so it is the only NexBar option. As with other Nexvoo devices, it is only available directly from the manufacturers and therefore the listed price is fixed.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
Integrated
This N110 design differs markedly from the NexPod N109 conference camera in several important ways. First of all, it's shaped like a soundbar and therefore designed to sit at the end of a table but not hide a TV, if there's a screen positioned behind it. Although it's elegantly decorated in shades of black, it's essentially a 503 x 78 x 53mm plastic case with a camera mounted in the center and speakers and microphones placed on the side. It stands on a large metal foot connected by a hinge that allows a wide range of tilt angles. In the box with the N110 you will find the 5m long USB cable needed to connect to a PC, a dedicated power supply with a choice of plug adapters (not UK 90 pin), a remote control and a small paper user guide. Nexvoo also included a wall mount bracket that the stand can be attached to when folded about 109 degrees. Like the N110, the NXNUMX is an unmanned design to work with any conferencing application that can configure the video source, microphone audio, and speaker output. So getting it up and running is just a matter of plugging in the USB and making sure Zoom, or whatever app you like, is set up on the Nexvoo Camera and Nexvoo Audio devices.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance) The N109 would work when powered by USB alone, but the N110 requires power to be connected to work, possibly due to the increased demands on the 4K camera and speakers. On the back of the N100 are inputs for the USB-C cable and power, an on/off button, and a USB Type-A port. This last feature was unexpected and offers an easy way to replace the USB port used on the N110. computer to connect the N110. A feature of the mount is a security slot that allows the NXNUMX to be chained to a table or wall if deemed necessary to prevent theft.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
Use
It wasn't very helpful to determine that the N110 has a significantly better camera compared to the N109. The 4K sensor delivers much sharper, clearer images with fewer artifacts, and the fisheye lens that covers it provides a wider 120-degree perspective on events. Focus is always fixed, but the f/1.8 aperture camera is better suited to standard meeting rooms where lighting conditions are never optimal. There are no HDR options, but other than that, results using this camera were generally good. For best results we recommend that the camera be more than 110 meter away from the closest person, otherwise the wide field of view tends to appear distorted. According to Nexvoo, the N110 supports, among others, Microsoft Skype for Business, Microsoft Skype, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, GoToMeeting, BlueJeans Network, Google Hangouts, Amazon Chime, Cisco Webex, and VidyoDesktop. We've tested a number of these solutions with the N109, and overall they're all very easy to use. It uses the same AI technology we experimented with on the NXNUMX, where video and audio inputs are continuously monitored by hardware that can then focus on the speaker or frame those having a conversation. The technology to track and focus on those who speak works well enough to be useful, but it's not foolproof and you can turn it off with the remote. Once the AI is turned off, the remote can zoom and move the point of view, though this is just a software adjustment as the camera doesn't physically move. Zooming in and out is done in very large steps as these are standard resolution multipliers, and highlights the limits of digital zoom compared to optical mechanisms. To some extent, the awkwardness of zooming makes some sense, but why moving left and right is done in such big jumps doesn't. Surely it should be possible to scroll the image smoothly once it's zoomed in. This possibility apparently escaped the software engineer who wrote the verification routine.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance) For those who like to run the presentation, the remote also has some preset buttons that can be programmed to quickly switch to preset views. To set these specific zoom and angle levels, all you need to do is move the viewpoint to a required location, then hold down the preset button until the lights on the remote flash to let you know it's now stored in this button. We mentioned this feature in part because it's not referenced anywhere in the user guide, and we found out how it works only through experimentation. What is described in this document is how the LEDs above the camera lens reveal whether the camera is on or off while it is green or red. And, if the red LED flashes slowly, it also indicates that the sound of the unit is muted. These lights are also used in manual Bluetooth pairing, but if the remote has batteries, it will automatically pair when the unit is on. I'm not sure why they didn't have three LEDs, one for video, audio, and bluetooth, but they chose two and made reading the status more complicated than it needed to be. Overall, the N110 is easy to get started with and works pretty well most of the time. If the AI decides not to properly track participants, it can be disabled. What it doesn't offer, due to software-free installation, is a way for those watching the stream from a distance to take control of the camera.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
Law
At almost €800, the Nexvoo Nexbar N110 faces some serious competition, most notably the excellent Trust Iris (€799) in Europe that we recently reviewed. Iris is not available in the United States, but there are other alternatives. These include the Jabra PanaCast 4K panoramic video conferencing camera (€695 / €582.18), a design with a 180-degree field of view, and three 13MP cameras. The N110 is cheaper than the Logitech Meetup ($889.99 / €794.58), but this design has a motorized pan and tilt camera that expands the field of view from 120 to 170 degrees. And that undercut the $999 Meeting Owl Pro, too, and that design is only 1080p. Compared to the Jabra PanaCast and Logitech Meetup, the N110 seems more expensive than it should be for these features and specifications.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
Final verdict
We liked the NexBar N110 much better than the NexPod N109. The 4K sensor made digital zooming a much less jarring experience, and we suspect the SoC that drives the camera and AI is more powerful, making movements more responsive and dynamic. Along with the improved camera and better AI experience, being able to control the POV using the remote was a significant improvement over just disabling AI on the NexPod N109. In this other design with only a 1080p camera, zooming and panning would not have worked effectively. But with the N4's 110K resolution, digital zoom lock is much less noticeable. However, it could be improved in several subtle ways just with better internal software. Why it doesn't have fancier pan controls is a mystery. And, with this camera sensor, HDR mode could have been included with minimal effort. The biggest issue for the N110 is certainly the price, which is more than we'd expect from a lesser-known brand, and more than the better-specced Jabra PanaCast. Had it been €500, we might have been more impressed with this package. But at this price, you are competing with brands that will improve the functionality of the products throughout their lifespan through additional software and firmware updates. Perhaps the N110 will see this level of attention, but given the lack of support information for Nexvoo products in general, that seems unlikely.