ZR: USB Whitelisting Switching to Friendly Names

[SSav]

Hello,
I was told Zoom Rooms USB whitelisting has been changed from VID/PID (usb unique identifiers) to USB friendly names. 
I can't find official document on how this works. For example, we have rooms that have BYOD functionality which involves switching cameras and USB audio away from the ZR PC, to user's laptop. So we typically re-name the USB devices (most vendors allow it) to something like Room Audio etc. It seems like that will not longer be possible, if we want Zoom to leave the DSPs to handle echo cancelation etc. 

Can someone clarify in detail? Thanks.

[bstrelko]

Can you clarify a few details from your post?

What device(s) are you whitelisting (specific mfg and models)?

What hardware are you using for your Zoom Rooms compute device and BYOD capability?

Are you unable to rename these USB devices in Zoom Rooms mode or just for BYOD passthrough?

[SSav]

I am not whitelisting any USB devices, Zoom is. Biamp EX-UBT for example. This is not a hardware specific question, as we use pretty much everything. Q-SYS eco system has a good USB switching solution that is commonly used for BYOD and allows USB friendly name customization.

One more time, I am looking for a document/guidance what the new practice should be. Whoever brought this to my attention, stated that changing the default USB friendly name forces Zoom to do AEC processing (instead of the local DSP).

[bstrelko]

Got it - thanks for clarifying. 

This has not been the case in our experience - can you try this out in your environment and report back?

When a Q-SYS Core is connected to a Zoom Room compute device/appliance, it can be configured as either a Line-In/Out, Echo-Cancelling Speakerphone, or Non-Echo-Cancelling Speakerphone - the friendly name should have no effect, but the device type should.

I have never seen a scenario in which Zoom is forced to perform AEC functionality when connected to an outboard DSP (Biamp, Q-SYS, BSS, Shure, etc), but if the USB connection from the DSP is designated as echo-cancelling, Zoom will not allow you to use Zoom's AEC. This is the opposite scenario of what your contact has described.

Again, friendly names have no effect on functionality, based on our tests.

More info on Q-SYS USB audio bridging here.

https://q-syshelp.qsc.com/#Schematic_Library/USB_Audio_Bridge.htm

Please test and report back, if possible!

[SSav]

I am new to the forum and not seeing a way to see who you work for/represent. When you say "we" and "our", who do you refer to? If you are not working for Zoom, you just likely haven't experience this as it is fairly new development. 

If you are working for Zoom, please check with your engineers, specifically on the subject of switching the whitelisting from USB IDs to friendly names. Someone should know about this.

[bstrelko]

I do not work for Zoom - this is a community forum. 'We' and 'our' refer to my internal team, which works with Zoom Rooms and integrated DSPs every day globally.

I have experienced your scenario and am telling you that what your friend/colleauge has explained to you is not accurate, unless you're not describing it clearly enough. Please replicate in your environment so that we (the community) can investigate further if there actually is an issue.