When One Room Needs to Do Two Jobs: Microsoft Teams Room Meets Dolby Atmos

Most meeting rooms are built for one thing. A screen, a camera, a speakerphone, done. But what happens when your business needs that same space to pull double duty? One moment it needs to run a flawless Microsoft Teams call with a client in New York. The next, it needs to drop jaws with a cinema-quality product demonstration.

That was the exact challenge facing this Twycross-based tech company. And it's more common than you think.

The Problem: One Room, Two Very Different Jobs

The client had a clear vision. They wanted a boardroom that could function as a fully compliant Microsoft Teams Room (MTR) for day-to-day hybrid meetings, but also serve as a high-end demonstration environment for their gaming and tech products.

The difficulty is that these two use cases don't naturally live together. Enterprise AV is built for clarity and consistency. It needs to be reliable, easy to use, and IT-friendly. Demo environments are built for impact. They need to be immersive, theatrical, and memorable.

Getting both right in a single room is a design challenge that most AV companies would side-step by compromising on one or the other.

SPOR didn't compromise.

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What Was Installed - Microsoft Teams Room

The solution built for this tech company brought together enterprise-grade video conferencing with a home cinema-level audio system. Here's what went in:

•       Sony 98" 4K UHD 120Hz Display — a screen big enough to command attention in both a Teams call and a product demo

•       Microsoft Teams Rooms — certified hardware and software for seamless hybrid meeting performance

•       Yamaha AVENTAGE AV Receiver with Dolby Atmos — the engine driving a 7.1.4 surround sound configuration

•       Focal Aria Evo X Speaker System — high-end loudspeakers more commonly found in recording studios and premium home cinemas

The 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos configuration means sound comes from seven horizontal channels, one subwoofer, and four overhead channels. In plain terms: when this room is in demo mode, you don't just hear the content, you feel it.

Why This Combination Works

The instinct for most IT teams is to treat AV as a cost to minimise. Get the Teams-certified bar, mount a screen, call it done. That approach works fine until someone needs to use the room for something more than a weekly stand-up.

What SPOR designed here is a system where both modes — enterprise collaboration and immersive demonstration — share the same physical infrastructure without compromising either experience. The acoustics were optimised so that the Dolby Atmos system doesn't bleed into the Teams audio profile. The display is large enough for presentation in a group setting but sharp enough for detailed product visuals. The MTR setup follows all Microsoft certification requirements, so IT has nothing to worry about.

This is what the DITAM model looks like in practice. Design-led thinking at the front end means the integration is clean, the training is straightforward, and the asset is something the business can actually rely on for years.

ACTION STEP: If you're weighing up whether to go for a standard Teams Room setup or something more capable, your budget will shape the options. Get an estimated AV price in 60 seconds using the SPOR pricing estimator

Delivered in 6 Weeks

From initial brief to finished installation, the project was completed in six weeks. That matters more than people give it credit for. A boardroom out of commission is lost productivity. A delayed demo suite is lost pipeline. Six weeks for a project of this complexity — dual-use AV, multi-channel Dolby Atmos, full MTR certification, acoustic optimisation — is a strong result.

The programme was managed through SPOR's DITAM framework: Design, Integrate, Train, Asset Manage, Monitor. Each stage has defined outputs and handover criteria, so nothing falls through the gaps between one phase and the next.

What the Finished Space Actually Does

The completed room works in two distinct modes:

Microsoft Teams Room mode — the room behaves exactly as any IT director would want a certified MTR to behave. It joins calls reliably, the camera tracks the speaker, the audio is clean, and the interface is the familiar Teams one that nobody needs training on.

Demo and presentation mode — the same room transforms into an immersive AV environment. The Yamaha AVENTAGE drives the Focal Aria Evo X system across 7.1.4 channels. The Sony 98" display fills the eyeline. Whether the client is demonstrating a game, a product simulation, or an immersive brand experience, the room delivers the kind of impact that a standard boardroom simply cannot.

The client gets both. With no compromise on either. Want to see the full case study? Check it out here

What This Means for You

If you're responsible for AV, workplace technology, or facilities at a business that needs meeting rooms to do more than just Teams calls, this project is a useful reference point.

The questions worth asking are:

•       Do any of your rooms need to serve more than one function?

•       Are you planning a refurbishment or new office fit-out where AV is part of the brief?

•       Have you been told you need to choose between enterprise performance and demonstration quality?

You don't have to choose. But you do need to get the design right at the start, not try to bolt it on afterwards.

The Honest Bit: What This Kind of Project Costs

A dual-purpose room with a 98" Sony display, Yamaha Dolby Atmos receiver, Focal Aria Evo X speakers, and full Microsoft Teams Rooms certification is not a budget installation. Components like the Focal Aria Evo X speaker system sit at the premium end of the market for good reason — the audio quality difference is not subtle.

That said, the total cost of a project like this depends heavily on your room size, existing infrastructure, and how many rooms are in scope. A single boardroom will land very differently to a five-room programme.

The fastest way to get a realistic number for your situation is to use our pricing estimator. It takes 60 seconds and gives you a ballpark based on your actual room types and requirements.

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