Polycom Video Conference Kit for UK Meeting Rooms: A Poly Studio Guide
If you are specifying a Polycom video conference setup for a UK meeting room in 2026, you are really choosing from the Poly Studio range, which HP now sells under the Poly name. The decision comes down to three questions: how big the room is, which platform the room joins (Microsoft Teams, Zoom or whatever the visitor brings on a laptop), and whether you want an appliance that runs the meeting itself or a camera bar that a PC drives. Get those three right and the model choice is short. This guide walks through each one, then covers the certification dates and UK import points that catch buyers out.
From Polycom to Poly to HP: what the name on the box means now
Polycom was a separate company until Plantronics completed its acquisition on 2 July 2018. In March 2019 the combined business began marketing itself as Poly, although its legal name stayed Plantronics, Inc., according to the company's own filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. HP then bought Poly, and HP's press release confirms the deal closed on 29 August 2022, describing Poly as a leading global provider of workplace collaboration solutions.
That history matters when you search for kit. People still type "Polycom" because the name was on meeting room tables for years, and the legacy RealPresence Group and HDX systems carry it. Current products are badged Poly, are listed on HP's website, and are supported through HP's support channels. If a supplier quotes you a "new Polycom" codec with a RealPresence or HDX name, treat that as a legacy product and ask about its support position before you go further. Everything below is about the current Poly Studio family.
The current Poly Studio range in plain terms
HP's UK video conferencing page groups the range by how the system runs. When we checked it this month it listed the following room products. The room size labels are HP's own; the descriptions are summarised from the same page.
| Model | Type | HP's room label | Notes from HP's page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poly Studio X32 | All in one video bar | Small | 20 MP 4K camera, 120 degree view, built in apps |
| Poly Studio X52 | All in one video bar | Medium | 20 MP 4K camera, 95 degree view, built in apps |
| Poly Studio X72 | All in one video bar | Large | Dual 4K cameras with 120 and 70 degree views |
| Poly Studio V12, V52, V72 | USB video bars | Small, medium, large | Work with conferencing platforms over USB |
| Poly Studio R30 | USB video bar | Small | For small conference spaces, monitor clamp included |
| Poly Studio 5 and 7 Room Compute | Windows room system | Small to large | Microsoft Teams Rooms; a Studio 7 version is certified for Zoom Rooms |
| Poly Studio G62 | Android modular room | Not stated | Connects cameras, microphones and third party parts; powered by PoE+ |
| Poly G7500 | Modular system | Large | For large conference rooms, NoiseBlockAI and Acoustic Fence audio |
Older siblings such as the Studio X30, X50 and X70 are still in circulation and still appear in supplier catalogues, including ours. They are not on HP's current UK page, so if you are offered one, ask which software and Android version it ships with. The reason is explained in the certification section below.
Matching a Polycom video conference bar to room size
Room size is where most video bar purchases go wrong, and the error is nearly always buying for the table rather than the room. A camera has to frame the person at the far end of the table without turning the nearest person into a forehead, and the microphones have to pick up the quiet speaker in the corner as cleanly as the person sitting next to the bar.
Huddle and small rooms
For two to four people around a short table, a wide field of view matters more than zoom. The Studio X32 and V12 are HP's small room options, and the X32's 120 degree view is the reason it suits a room where people sit close to the screen. In a very narrow room, mount the bar below the display rather than above it so eye lines stay natural.
Medium meeting rooms
The Studio X52 and V52 are the medium options. Their narrower 95 degree lens trades width for detail, which suits the classic rectangular room where the table runs away from the screen. If the far end of the table is a long way back, plan an expansion microphone on the table; the bar's own microphones are built to cover the room but cannot beat physics in a long space with hard walls.
Boardrooms and large rooms
For large rooms HP lists the Studio X72, which carries two cameras with 120 and 70 degree views so it can frame both the whole room and a distant speaker, and the modular G7500. HP's 2023 product blog explains that the G7500 connects to the Studio E70 camera, the TC8 touch controller and third party audio processors from Biamp, Shure and QSC. That is the route when the room already has ceiling microphones or a sound reinforcement system an AV integrator needs to keep.
One practical test before you order: stand at the seat furthest from the screen and look at where the bar will sit. If you cannot read a slide at that distance, the room needs a bigger display or a second screen before it needs a better camera.
Appliance, USB bar or room PC: three ways to build the room
The second decision is how the meeting runs. Poly sells all three approaches, and each has a different owner on your team.
- All in one appliance (Studio X series, G62, G7500). The bar runs the Teams or Zoom room application itself on an Android based operating system. HP's 2023 blog describes the X70 as needing no PC or separate gateway, and the same is true of the family. You get one box per room, managed centrally, with a touch controller on the table. This is usually the simplest choice for a company that wants every room to behave the same.
- USB video bar (Studio V series, R30, the original Poly Studio). The bar is a camera, microphone and speaker that a computer uses. That computer can be a small room PC, or the laptop of whoever booked the room. This is the flexible option for rooms that host external platforms, because the visitor's own software drives the call.
- Windows room system (Studio 5 and 7 Room Compute). A dedicated small computer runs Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows, or Zoom Rooms on the Zoom version of the Studio 7, with separate USB bars and cameras. Teams Rooms on Windows is the richer Teams experience, at the cost of a Windows device per room for IT to patch.
If you are unsure, start from your licences. A business that standardised on Microsoft 365 with Teams Rooms licences will usually want a Teams certified appliance or a Teams Rooms on Windows system. A business that lives on Zoom will look at the Zoom Rooms path. Rooms that must also take Google Meet or client platforms tend to end up with a USB bar.
Teams and Zoom certification, and why the Android version matters
Certification is the part of a Polycom video conference purchase that changed most in the last year. Microsoft publishes the Android versions it supports on Teams devices, and its Learn page on Android versioning is direct about the dates:
| Android version on the device | Teams certification end | Microsoft support end |
|---|---|---|
| Android 10 and 11 | 3 September 2026 | 3 September 2027 |
| Android 12 and 13 | 15 August 2028 | 15 August 2030 |
| Android 14 | 4 October 2028 | 4 October 2030 |
| Android 15 | 15 October 2029 | 15 October 2031 |
The same page says the decision to recertify a device, or to end its sale or life, belongs to the manufacturer, and tells customers to contact the manufacturer about a specific device. So the dates above tell you what Microsoft will do; they do not tell you what HP will do for a particular bar.
In practice that means one question belongs on every quotation: which Android version does this unit run, and is it currently on Microsoft's certified list? Owners of earlier Studio X bars raised exactly this concern on HP's support community in 2025, and an HP Poly employee replying there pointed out that a Microsoft certification date is not the same as HP ending support for the device. Both statements can be true at once, which is why you should ask rather than assume.
Two smaller points from HP's 2023 blog are still useful. It described the X70 as the first video bar for large rooms certified for Microsoft Teams on Android, and it noted that the X70 and G7500 needed Poly Video OS 4.0 to run Teams, updated through Poly Lens or the system's web interface. Software level matters as much as the hardware model. For Zoom, check Zoom's own hardware listing for the exact model before ordering, because we could not confirm Zoom certification for every bar from HP's pages.
Network, power and management on a UK site
A video bar is a network device, and the room will only be as good as the cable behind it. Plan these before the kit arrives:
- A wired port per room. Run the appliance on wired Ethernet rather than Wi-Fi. Put meeting room devices on their own VLAN so you can apply quality of service and keep them apart from user laptops; our guide to segmenting a small office network with VLANs covers the basics.
- Power over Ethernet where it applies. HP lists the Studio G62 as powered by PoE+, so the switch port feeding it must deliver 802.3at power and the switch needs enough total PoE budget for everything else on it.
- Central management. Poly Lens is HP's tool for updating and monitoring Poly devices. Decide who owns it before installation, or firmware updates will slide.
- Default passwords. If your business holds Cyber Essentials, its requirements document tells you to change default or guessable account passwords on computers and network devices. A room bar left on its factory admin password is an easy finding for an assessor.
For the human side of the room, such as where people sit and what makes them actually use the kit, read our earlier piece on meeting room video kit people use.
Buying from Dubai for a UK room: VAT, duty, WEEE and marking
Codeeo Tech supplies from Dubai. We do not have a UK office or UK stock, so a UK order ships internationally and someone imports it. Four points to settle before you place the order:
- Import VAT and duty. GOV.UK states that VAT is charged on most goods sent to Great Britain from abroad and is calculated on the total value including postage, packaging, insurance and any duty. Duty depends on the commodity code. When we checked the UK Trade Tariff in October 2026, code 8517 62 00 00 (data transmission apparatus) and code 8525 89 00 (other cameras) both showed a third country duty of 0% and VAT at 20%. Your customs agent decides the correct code for each item, so confirm it with them.
- Who is the importer. Agree on the quotation whether you or your forwarder will act as importer of record, and who pays the VAT at the border.
- WEEE. The GOV.UK guidance on electrical and electronic equipment producer responsibility says that a business which imports EEE into the UK on a commercial basis is a producer, with registration and record keeping duties. If you import kit for your own use you are not a producer; if you import it to resell, read that guidance.
- Product marking. The GOV.UK guidance on the UKCA marking says the UK continues to recognise the CE marking, alongside or in place of UKCA, under the Product Safety and Metrology (Amendment) Regulations 2024. Check the marking on the unit and ask for UK power leads.
Where Codeeo Tech fits in a Poly order
We are a Dubai IT hardware reseller, not an HP or Poly authorised partner, and we do not install rooms in the UK. What we can do is quote the hardware with delivery to a UK address and tell you plainly what you are getting. Our catalogue currently includes the Poly Studio X52 with TC10, the Studio X70 with TC8 kit, the Poly G7500 and the USB Poly Studio bar. If a model on HP's current list is not in our catalogue, ask anyway, and we will tell you honestly whether we can source it.
FAQ: Polycom video conference kit in the UK
Is Polycom still a brand?
Not for new products. Polycom became part of Plantronics in 2018, the company traded as Poly from 2019, and HP completed its purchase of Poly in August 2022. Current room systems are sold as Poly Studio under HP.
Which Poly bar suits a six person meeting room?
HP labels the Studio X52 and V52 as medium room bars, which is where a six seat room usually lands. The deciding factor is the room's depth and the platform you use, so send us the room dimensions and we can talk it through.
Does a Poly Studio X bar need a PC?
No. The X series runs the room application on the bar itself. The V series and R30 are USB bars and do need a computer.
What happened to Android 10 Teams devices in September 2026?
Microsoft's Learn page says Teams certification for Android 10 and 11 devices ended on 3 September 2026, with Microsoft support ending on 3 September 2027. Check the Android version of any bar before buying, and ask the manufacturer about a specific model's plans.
Can Codeeo Tech deliver Poly kit to the UK?
Yes, we can quote with delivery to a UK address. The goods ship from Dubai, so import VAT, any duty and WEEE responsibilities apply as described above.
What to send with a Polycom video conference enquiry
- The room's length, width and seat count, plus where the display sits.
- The platform the room must join: Teams, Zoom, or several.
- Whether you want an appliance, a USB bar or a Windows room system.
- Any existing display, ceiling microphones or audio processor that must stay.
- The UK delivery address and who will act as importer.
Every Poly product on the Codeeo Tech store is priced through Add to Quote. Send those details through the contact page and the reply will confirm the model, its software position and the delivery route to your UK office.
Cover photo: Chairs in a meeting room (Unsplash), via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
