Room Bar vs Studio R30 Comparison

Compare Room Bar vs Studio R30 side by side: specs, ratings, pros and cons, and which one fits your room best.

On this page
Editor's pick
Cisco Room Bar video bar with its single connection cable
Room Bar
Poly Studio R30
Studio R30

At a Glance

Room Bar

The Cisco Room Bar is a compact video bar for huddle and small rooms. It has a 12 MP camera with a 120° horizontal view, 5x digital zoom, auto framing, Frames mode and speaker tracking.

View on Cisco (opens in a new tab)
Best For
Webex rooms
Zoom
5x digital
View
120°
Camera
12 MP, 1/2.3" CMOS, f/2.5, fixed focus; 1080p video
Teams Rooms
Webex (RoomOS) with Teams, Zoom and Google Meet interop; Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android; USB-C BYOD
Studio R30

The Poly Studio R30 is a USB video bar for small rooms. It has a 4K camera at 30 fps with a 120° view, 5x zoom (4x with auto tracking) and group, people, speaker and presenter framing.

View on Poly (opens in a new tab)
Best For
Small rooms
Zoom
5x (4x with auto tracking)
View
120°
Camera
4K
Teams Rooms
USB: works with Teams, Zoom and other PC apps

Review Scores Compared

Expert Score

  • Room Bar8.5/10 Leads
  • Studio R308.0/10

Optics & Room Coverage

  • Room Bar7.7/10
  • Studio R308.4/10 Leads

AI Speaker Tracking & Framing

  • Room Bar8.9/10
  • Studio R309.3/10 Leads

Room Audio Pickup & Output

  • Room Bar7.6/10 Leads
  • Studio R307.3/10

OS Platform & Ecosystem

  • Room Bar9.8/10 Leads
  • Studio R307.6/10

Deployment & I/O

  • Room Bar9.4/10 Leads
  • Studio R306.0/10

Why Room Bar Beats Studio R30 (and Vice Versa)

Why Room Bar beats Studio R30

  • Better deployment & i/o: 9.4 vs 6.0 out of 10
  • Better os platform & ecosystem: 9.8 vs 7.6 out of 10
  • Megapixels: 12 MP vs 8 MP
  • Horizontal FOV: 120° vs 110°
  • Teams Rooms: Webex (RoomOS) with Teams, Zoom and Google Meet interop; Mic… vs USB: works with Teams, Zoom and other PC apps
  • Appliance Mode: Yes vs No

Why Studio R30 beats Room Bar

  • Better optics & room coverage: 8.4 vs 7.7 out of 10
  • Ideal Room Size: Small and huddle rooms vs Up to 5 people within 3 m (add external mic for larger)
  • Camera: 4K vs 12 MP, 1/2.3" CMOS, f/2.5, fixed focus; 1080p video
  • Camera Resolution: 2160p 4K UHD (3840 x 2160), 30 fps vs 1080p, 30 fps
  • Weight: 0.45 kg (1 lb) vs 1.5 kg
  • Mic Pickup Range: 4.57 m vs 3 m

Review-score leads of 0.5+ points out of 10 first, then specs where only one comes out ahead.

Full Specifications

General

Room BarStudio R30
Best ForWebex roomsSmall rooms
Ideal Room SizeUp to 5 people within 3 m (add external mic for larger)Small and huddle rooms Better

Camera

Room BarStudio R30
Sensor1/2.3" CMOS—
Zoom5x digital5x (4x with auto tracking)
Field of View120°120°
Speaker TrackingYesYes (speaker framing, presenter tracking)
Megapixels12 MP Better8 MP
Aperturef/2.5—
Horizontal FOV120° Better110°
Vertical FOV95°—
FocusFixed focus—
Multi-Stream / GalleryFrames mode, People Focus (Webex)—
People CountingYes—
Camera12 MP, 1/2.3" CMOS, f/2.5, fixed focus; 1080p video4K Better
Camera Resolution1080p, 30 fps2160p 4K UHD (3840 x 2160), 30 fps Better
Pan and Tilt—Manual pan, tilt and zoom control
AI FeaturesAuto framing, Frames mode, People focus (Webex), speaker tracking, AI noise removalGroup, people, speaker and presenter framing
Max Frame Rate30 fps—
Whiteboard CameraView whiteboard content from Cisco Board/Desk or Webex app—

Connectivity

Room BarStudio R30
Power over EthernetPoE port for Room Navigator and one Cisco IP mic—
USB1 x USB-C input, 1 x USB-A1 x USB-C 5 Gbps, 2 x USB 2.0 Type-A
HDMI1 x HDMI-in (4K30), 2 x HDMI-out (4K60)—
NetworkEthernet 100/1000, Wi-Fi, IPv4/IPv6, 802.1X—
WirelessBluetooth (radio versions)—
Displays Supported2—
PortsAnalog mic input, PoE port for IP mic4.5 mm power input
Content SharingHDMI, USB-C, wireless sharing; 4K content—
HDMI In1 x HDMI (4K30)—
HDMI Out2 x HDMI (4K60)—
Ethernet2 x RJ-45 100/1000 (1 LAN, 1 PoE for Navigator)—
Wi-FiWi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2x2 MIMO—
BluetoothBluetooth and BLE (radio versions)—
USB Host Ports1 x USB-A 2.0—
Line In / Out1 x analog mic input—

Platforms

Room BarStudio R30
Remote ManagementCisco Control HubPoly Lens
Teams RoomsWebex (RoomOS) with Teams, Zoom and Google Meet interop; Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android; USB-C BYOD BetterUSB: works with Teams, Zoom and other PC apps
CertificationsMicrosoft Teams RoomsMicrosoft Teams, Zoom
Operating SystemRoomOS 11 or later / Teams Rooms on AndroidNone (USB peripheral)
USB / BYOD ModeYes (USB-C passthrough; Room Bar BYOD model)Yes (USB to PC or Mac)
Touch ControllerCisco Room Navigator (table or wall)—
Zoom RoomsInterop (SIP / WebRTC)—
Google MeetInterop (WebRTC, RoomOS mode)—
WebexNative (RoomOS)—
SIP / H.323Yes (H.323, SIP; 4-way MultiSite option)—
Appliance ModeYes BetterNo
Firmware UpdatesVia Control Hub—

Design

Room BarStudio R30
MountingConsolidated wall/screen mount; above or below display (can be flipped)Monitor clamp
Weight1.5 kg0.45 kg (1 lb) Better
Privacy CoverPrivacy cover includedAttachable lens cover
Dimensions534 x 82 x 64 mm17.5 x 3.4 x 3.2 in (with monitor clamp)
Power100-240 VAC, 12 V DC, PSU-12VDC-86WExternal 12 V / 3 A
Power Consumption14.3 W in meeting, 8.2 W idle, 86 W peak—
ColorsFirst Light, Carbon—
Operating Temperature0 to 35 °C—

In the Box

Room BarStudio R30
Warranty1-year limited—
Optional AccessoriesTable Microphone Pro, Ceiling Microphone Pro, Room Navigator, multi-head cables—
In the BoxRoom Bar, Room Navigator (bundle), HDMI 2.0 cable 1.5 m, 86 W power supply, privacy cover, Ethernet cable 8 m, mounting kit—
Licence IncludedCisco Device Subscription (sold separately)—

Identifiers

Room BarStudio R30
Model NumberCS-BAR (TTC7-28)—

Audio

Room BarStudio R30
Built-in Mics4 Better3
Mic Pickup Range3 m4.57 m Better
SpeakersStereo, 2 full-range drivers, 100 Hz-20 kHz, 93 dB max SPL BetterSingle speaker, 100 Hz-20 kHz, 90 dB SPL @ 0.5 m
Audio ProcessingAEC, AGC, AI noise removal, de-reverberation, full duplex, spatial audio, beamformingBeamforming
Expansion Mics1 analog mic input; 1 Cisco IP microphone via PoE—
Mic Array4-element beamforming array + front-facing tracking micsIntegrated mics
Max SPL93 dB—
Speaker Frequency Range100 Hz - 20 kHz—
BeamformingYes—
AI Noise SuppressionYes—

Design & Setup

Room BarStudio R30
MountsMounting kit included—
SecurityHTTPS/SSH management, SRTP AES-128/256-GCM, end-to-end encryption (Webex), WPA3Kensington lock slot

Takeaways

  • Our pick: Room Bar, with the highest spec-based rating (4.5/5).
  • Choose Room Bar for webex rooms.
  • Choose Studio R30 for small rooms.

Pros and Cons

Room Bar

PROS

  • Native Webex plus Teams, Zoom and Meet interop
  • 120° horizontal view
  • AI noise removal and spatial audio
  • Two 4K60 HDMI outputs

CONS

  • Mics optimised for 3 m and up to 5 people
  • 1080p video

Studio R30

PROS

  • 4K camera with 120° view
  • Four framing modes
  • One USB-C cable to the laptop
  • Teams and Zoom certified

CONS

  • Three mics and one speaker
  • Needs a laptop (no appliance mode)

Similar Comparisons

Quick Verdict

  • Room Bar 8.5Best overallLeads in Room Audio Pickup & Output, OS Platform & Ecosystem, Deployment & I/O
  • Studio R30 8.0Leads in Optics & Room Coverage, AI Speaker Tracking & Framing