Not every AV technology earns integrator confidence at the same pace. Some prove themselves fast. Others struggle for years despite solid engineering. Blue Touch Paper’s Channel Pulse Q2 2026 report asked channel partners to sort four room technologies into two blunt categories. A “Prince” is valuable and worth pursuing. A “Frog” underperforms with little future value.
The exercise skipped numerical scoring on purpose. Researchers wanted gut-level, experience-based judgment instead of polished survey answers. The result is a useful gut check for anyone planning a room refresh this year. Here’s how center-of-table cameras, multi-camera systems, interactive all-in-one boards, and Auracast fared, and what that means for your next purchase.
Multi-camera systems: the clear Prince
Multi-camera installations earned the strongest positive response in the report. Integrators broadly agree on their value and commercial relevance. The category is increasingly seen as the benchmark for premium meeting rooms, particularly in larger rooms and enterprise spaces.
That finding lines up with a broader theme in the report. High-impact spaces are the strongest-performing workflow category among the partners surveyed. Multi-camera systems are a core part of what makes those rooms work. If you’re upgrading a boardroom or executive space this year, expect multi-camera to be the default recommendation, not an upsell.
Pro Tip: If your integrator proposes a single fixed camera for a room seating more than eight people, ask why. The market has largely moved past that approach for higher-profile spaces.
Center-of-table cameras: mixed to negative
Center-of-table cameras didn’t fare as well. Many respondents described them as a poor fit or still not convincing enough in practice. A smaller group saw real improvement, particularly in lower-cost or specific room scenarios. Still, the overall tone landed mixed to negative rather than positive.
This doesn’t mean center-of-table cameras have no place. Smaller huddle rooms and budget-constrained spaces may still be reasonable fits. It does mean you shouldn’t treat this category as the safe, default choice it once was. Ask your integrator directly why they’re recommending it for your specific room, and what alternative they considered first.
Interactive all-in-one boards: stuck in the middle
Interactive boards occupy an uncomfortable position. The technology works, and integrators aren’t reporting it as broken or unreliable. The real problem is adoption. More than 70% of respondents still classified interactive boards as a Frog. The report points to end-user behavior as the actual blocker, not the hardware itself.
That’s worth sitting with if your organization already owns interactive boards that aren’t getting used. The issue may not be your equipment. It may be training, workflow fit, or habits that haven’t caught up to the tool yet. Before you replace an underused board, consider whether a training push might solve the problem more cheaply than new hardware.
Auracast: not a Frog, just invisible
Auracast, the Bluetooth-based broadcast audio standard, landed somewhere the Prince-or-Frog framework wasn’t built for. The report calls it the most misunderstood and least commercially embedded technology in the entire study. A significant share of the channel doesn’t know what Auracast is. Even among those who do, deployment experience remains rare.
For end users, that’s less a warning and more a heads-up. Auracast has real potential for accessible audio and assisted listening in meeting and event spaces. However, the channel isn’t ready to sell or support it at scale yet. If you’re interested in Auracast, expect to do more of your own homework than usual. Don’t expect your integrator to raise it unprompted.
What the rest of the workflow data says
The report’s broader workflow performance data backs up these findings. Meeting rooms, the report notes, remain stable but are “no longer standout,” performing at expectation rather than exceeding it. Corporate broadcast environments and monitoring and control systems, by contrast, are outperforming, alongside high-impact spaces. That pattern tracks closely with the camera and display verdicts above. Where integrators see room to differentiate and protect margin, their confidence and expertise run deeper.
What this means for your next room project
Taken together, the report’s technology assessments point to a theme running through the entire Channel Pulse study. There’s a gap between what’s technically available and what the channel can confidently sell and support. Multi-camera systems have crossed that gap. Auracast hasn’t come close yet. Interactive boards and center-of-table cameras sit somewhere in between, technically sound but not always matched to how people actually work.
Before your next room refresh, ask your integrator to explain their reasoning for each major technology choice. Don’t just ask about price. A partner who can explain why a technology fits your specific space is worth more than the lowest quote. That’s especially true if the alternative is a default pitch built around what’s easiest to sell.
Blue Touch Paper drew these findings from interviews with Channel Advisory Board members. Those members are based across North America, South America, APAC, Europe, and the UK.
Tim Albright is the founder of AVNation and is the driving force behind the AVNation network. He carries the InfoComm CTS, a B.S. from Greenville College and is pursuing an M.S. in Mass Communications from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. When not steering the AVNation ship, Tim has spent his career designing systems for churches both large and small, Fortune 500 companies, and education facilities.
- Tim Albright
- Tim Albright
- Tim Albright
- Tim Albright
