I like that it comes with an integrated camera, but I would like to be able to use an existing A/V systems as well. I've been in meeting rooms that already have a camera in every corner, plus one in front on an actuated gimbal. Leveraging that existing hardware would make a lot of sense.
Chromebox, now for simpler and better meetings
51–60 of 161 posts
Re: Chromebox, now for simpler and better meetings
#52Chromebox for meetings.. have Google hired Microsoft's marketing department from 2005?
What about "Chromebox for workgroups" ?
Re: Chromebox, now for simpler and better meetings
#53I assure you that this is not a joke.
The best 'self-contained' video conference machine I've used in the last year is:
1. $400 less up front than the Chromebox
2. Has an annual service fee $200 less than the Chromebox
3. Has a camera with awesome built in face detection (if one person is in the room it centers on their face, if three people are in it automatically expands to fit them all in, if you wander around the room it follows + refocuses on your face).
4. Is voice controlled.
5. Plays Lego Marvel Superheroes at 1080p.
The XBox One and their Skype integration is really well thought out and solves most of the annoyances surrounding video conferencing, focal length, bad speakerphone mics, etc. highly recommended.
Re: Chromebox, now for simpler and better meetings
#54Re: Chromebox, now for simpler and better meetings
#55I assure you that this is not a joke. The best 'self-contained' video conference machine I've used in the last year is: 1. $400 less up front than the Chromebox 2. Has an annual service fee $200 less than the Chromebox 3. Has a camera with awesome built in face detection (if one person is in the room it centers on their face, if three people are in it automatically expands to fit them all in, if you wander around the…
It sounds to me like this one is designed to work from conference room to conference room, rather than requiring a connection from one user to another user.
It's a fine point, but it might matter to some users.
Also, for collaborative document editing, I think Hangouts are going to win, hands-down.
Re: Chromebox, now for simpler and better meetings
#56I assure you that this is not a joke. The best 'self-contained' video conference machine I've used in the last year is: 1. $400 less up front than the Chromebox 2. Has an annual service fee $200 less than the Chromebox 3. Has a camera with awesome built in face detection (if one person is in the room it centers on their face, if three people are in it automatically expands to fit them all in, if you wander around the…
Minor point, but note that video with >2 people on Skype requires a premium account ($10/month). I'm not sure if you also need a subscription to Xbox Live ($50/year/Xbox).
Re: Chromebox, now for simpler and better meetings
#57Hopefully this price point and target audience is just the beginning (a la Tesla?). I'd love for it to be simpler for me to arrange Hangouts in my living room, and for now I deal with doing it through an HTPC.... but I'm absolutely not interested in paying what they're charging here. So I hope eventually they introduce a cheaper consumer targeted device. (edit: here's hoping the next Chromecast has a way to hook up a…
Regarding your desire for the Chromecast to have a webcam hookup - one factor that might play into why it doesn't is that in general encoding video is somewhat more computationally expensive than decoding it.
Just have an ASIC do it. No need for a general purpose processor.
Re: Chromebox, now for simpler and better meetings
#58As a remote worker, I could see getting something like this for our central office. I need an almost frictionless solution and this sounds pretty close "walk into the room, click the remote once and you’re instantly in the meeting." My coworkers aren't interested in walking into a conference room with their laptop and sending a hangout. It would be useful if it supported multiple cameras somehow - which might break t…
A dead simple secondary whiteboard camera would be a killer feature in my opinion
Re: Chromebox, now for simpler and better meetings
#59I assure you that this is not a joke. The best 'self-contained' video conference machine I've used in the last year is: 1. $400 less up front than the Chromebox 2. Has an annual service fee $200 less than the Chromebox 3. Has a camera with awesome built in face detection (if one person is in the room it centers on their face, if three people are in it automatically expands to fit them all in, if you wander around the…
Minor point, but note that video with >2 people on Skype requires a premium account ($10/month). I'm not sure if you also need a subscription to Xbox Live ($50/year/Xbox).
Sure, but Chromebox requires $20.83/month for its service, and with Skype, you have the option of buying a day-pass for $4.99 if you only use the service occasionally.
Re: Chromebox, now for simpler and better meetings
#60Tell you what google, why don't you the service for few years before I sign up to make sure you want to keep the offering.