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Why webcams aren’t good enough

reincubate.com

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Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#181

Post by Kliment »

masklinn wrote: post #164
ourcat wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've always been amazed that Apple did the camera bulge. I'm quite sure that an iPhone not being able to lay flat on a table without wobbling would have caused Steve Jobs to throw it at whoever designed it.

> I've always been amazed that Apple did the camera bulge. At this point I can only assume they simply never managed to find a way to significantly improve the module while keeping things flush.

Then just make the whole thing a bit thicker so it's flat (and put in extra battery). The current solution is phenomenally ugly and annoying.

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#182

Post by Sunspark »

stretchcat wrote: post #159
ska wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but they still have little utility beyond a simple phone call We've collectively been running a huge experiment for the last year that has pretty conclusively proven this hypothesis false.

Narcissistic managers demanding everybody on their team use webcams during meetings hardly refutes clairity post.

Wanting to see one's colleagues is not narcissism. There's a valid accessibility reason as being able to see the other person helps people with hearing challenges and also, it's pretty rude to refuse to let yourself be seen.

I never understood people who "didn't want to be seen" on camera during meetings (especially meetings with hearing accessibility issues) because those same people were willing to work in the physical workplace. The way I see it, if you refuse to be seen in a virtual meeting, you should _also_ refuse to be seen in person as well.

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#183

Post by chrisweekly »

krrrh wrote: post #93

I spend a lot of time on video calls every day, and wanted to take advantage of my iPhone camera. I had tried Epoccam and it was buggy, and broke between releases of Zoom or didn’t work in Slack calls. Screwing around with OBS was time consuming and pinned my fans. Reincubate Camo has been a pleasure to use over the last 3 months, and has never let me down. Having good image quality on video calls is on par with wear…

Huh. OBS has worked well for me, incl on a 2012 mbp.

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#184

Post by sebmellen »

mnw21cam wrote: post #133
jrickert wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you haven't, try going into your video settings on Zoom and selecting "Enable HD". This solution has fixed the aspect ratio problem you're describing for my company's customers in almost every case.

No, "Enable HD" does absolutely nothing.

If you're on a Mac you may be able to pipe it through CamTwist. I can add more info if you're interested but would take some work to dig up.

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#185

Post by noelsusman »

guenthert wrote: post #111

Hmmh, I couldn't care less about webcams. I'm not that pretty and not all that eager to share the interior of my dwelling. I do however care about sound quality. With my accent and mumbling I need all the help I can get. Others reported that the camera in their phone beats most webcams, but what about the microphone(-array)? The sound quality of phablets hasn't quite won me over. Is there anything better available, s…

The Blue Snowball is significantly better than anything in a webcam or phone and it's only $50.

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#186

Post by thayne »

> webcams are designed as small devices that need to fit onto existing monitors or laptop lids

Ok, but I would be fine with a bigger webcam. Why aren't there affordable large webcams available? Say, the size of a mirrorless camera, but without the big pricetag.

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#187

Post by barkingcat »

mfkp wrote: post #154
redisman wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good optics need physical space that a super flat screen doesn't have (in depth). My Macbook screen is like 1/4th of the depth of my iPhone

If people don't mind a bulge in their phone, I doubt they'd mind a camera bulge sticking out the back of their laptop.

Yah this precisely.

Why are phones allowed to have bulges and chins and notches, but laptops somehow are too "thin" to do the same? For that matter, why hasn't anyone made a laptop screen with a centre notch? people accepted that for phones and now every large manufacturer of phones use notches in their phones.

Laptops are much larger and heavier so it's really doable to include a better camera.

The only thing blocking isn't technical.

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#188

Post by trinix912 »

timvdalen wrote: post #25

When I wasn't able to purchase a webcam (for a reasonable amount) at the beginning of the lockdown, I started using my Pixel 3 with DroidCam[1]. My video quality is consistently the best in all the meetings I'm in, so I can really recommend using your phone. I stream the video over adb myself, to make sure I don't drain the battery too much and to keep everything wired. [1]: https://www.dev47apps.com/

What are some good alternatives for macOS?

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#189

Post by bradfa »

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #169
defanor wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was under the impression that dynamic microphones are much more suitable for non-studio settings, where echoes and other noises happen, as well as for regular speech, not music (and that they are actually used on radio stations). And XLR dynamic ones can be connected to a computer even with just an XLR-to-TRRS cable, not requiring phantom power. Or a proper audio interface if one wishes to, not something built into…

You need a mic preamp somewhere in the signal chain. Sadly, many manufacturers have been pushing "USB mics", which bundle the preamp and an analog->digital converter into the mic body, and they've been very successful at marketing/selling these devices. I say sadly because these devices violate rule #1 of digital audio: there should only be 1 sample clock. The moment you start using these mics in combination with any…

Got any recommendations on "proper" audio interfaces which are reasonably affordable?

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#190

Post by vsskanth »

diamondo25 wrote: post #146
tibbon wrote: post #142

Here's what really bugs me. It's clear Apple has good cameras, excellent even. And small. Yet, the camera in my $2000 Macbook Pro? Remarkably worse than even the worse external webcam. If they can throw an amazing camera in a phone, why can't they put a decent one in a laptop?

I think because it has no room for the module. Cameras these days tend to bulge out of the case of the phone...

Thank you. Never thought of this. It all makes sense now.
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