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Checklist.video – Research backed tips for great video calls

checklist.video

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Re: Checklist.video – Research backed tips for great video calls

#21

Post by mdu96 »

swyx wrote: post #18
stonogo wrote: post #13

It's interesting to me that nobody's really taken the initiative to come out with a high-quality video-only UVC camera yet. I have in mind something like Arducam's offerings* but with autofocus. Even taking a Raspberry Pi high-quality camera and trying to make a webcam out of it is difficult. I have no interest in buying a thousand-dollar mirrorless camera for this purpose, and even less interest in taking Michael Lo…

noob question - what is the difference between a typical webcam (i have the logitech c925) and a "UVC camera"? i mean i get theres a price difference and i can see the difference, I just don't exactly know what causes it and why i need to pay $1k for it.

hey swyx! a "UVC camera" simply refers to a camera that connects to your device over USB. most "typical webcams" are actually UVC cameras. the ones that are not, are the fancy SLR set-ups that you have to jerry-rig to your computer with multiple connectors and hubs. these are the setups that typically cost at least $1k.

Re: Checklist.video – Research backed tips for great video calls

#22

Post by mdu96 »

crummy wrote: post #16
stonogo wrote: post #13

It's interesting to me that nobody's really taken the initiative to come out with a high-quality video-only UVC camera yet. I have in mind something like Arducam's offerings* but with autofocus. Even taking a Raspberry Pi high-quality camera and trying to make a webcam out of it is difficult. I have no interest in buying a thousand-dollar mirrorless camera for this purpose, and even less interest in taking Michael Lo…

Apparently you can use Android and iPhones as webcams (e.g. see https://reincubate.com/camo/ ).

have you used these apps before? what's the experience like?

Re: Checklist.video – Research backed tips for great video calls

#23

Post by Mulpze15 »

>Make sure your face is well lit

To do this, make sure you have your window in front of you, and certainly not behind you (backlighting is awful)

If you are on a call at night, or in a dark place, make sure your laptop screen is not your main source of light: if someone shows a red slide, you will look red.

Re: Checklist.video – Research backed tips for great video calls

#24

Post by mdu96 »

blablabla123 wrote: post #14
npilk wrote: post #12

Glad to see “hide self view” on this list - that’s made a huge difference for me in the last few months. I’d suggest removing the need to click through the “read now” button - seems like if I’m on the page, I want to read the tips.

Self-view together with this semi formal workspace environment makes this whole video experience really unnatural. Although I doubt it can be deactivated on many video conferencing platforms.

Yeah, as we point out in the Checklist.video site, unfortunately only Zoom, Google Meets, and WebEx give you the option to turn off self-view. (Notable lack of this ability in Microsoft teams!)

Re: Checklist.video – Research backed tips for great video calls

#25

Post by mdu96 »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #7
jeztek wrote: post #2

It’s been a whole year since the pandemic started and video calls are still terrible. We've been doing a lot of research into how to make them better and wanted to share what we've learned. We were aiming for something whimsical and easy to read so the tips primarily focus around illustrations that were inspired by IKEA instructions. For people who are interested in delving into the details we put the meat of the adv…

> It’s been a whole year since the pandemic started and video calls are still terrible. Because it's hard. Just going through the list in the article: > Use a cable to connect to the Internet Difficult if your house isn't wired for ethernet and the modem is in an inconvenient spot, or in a room which contradicts tip #4. Do you let a long cable drift along the floor? Powerlines will work in some houses, but not others…

The other maker of Checklist.video here :)

Yeah, definitely agreed with you that it's difficult if your house isn't wired for ethernet. I actually do let a long cable drift along my floor :P Having a strong upload speed is crucial to letting others be able to hear you without any lag - and that's one of the most important factors to having a great video conference. This is why we wanted to emphasize a wired connection, but we also provided the specific upload/download speeds that could get you the high quality call as well.

Re: Checklist.video – Research backed tips for great video calls

#26

Post by mdu96 »

Mulpze15 wrote: post #23

>Make sure your face is well lit To do this, make sure you have your window in front of you, and certainly not behind you (backlighting is awful) If you are on a call at night, or in a dark place, make sure your laptop screen is not your main source of light: if someone shows a red slide, you will look red.

> make sure your laptop screen is not your main source of light: if someone shows a red slide, you will look red.

Haha, this is such a great point - thanks for noting this!

Re: Checklist.video – Research backed tips for great video calls

#27

Post by mdu96 »

swyx wrote: post #17

> Keep an arm's length away from your camera > Eye contact is incredibly important for showing others you're engaged and paying attention. Taking a small step back from the camera will decrease the angle between your eyes and the camera, making it seem more like you're making eye contact. this is actually a really great trick! and straightforward explanation. thank you, nice project, wondering why you made it a stand…

Thanks swyx, we're glad you enjoyed the site!

It's a standalone site because we wanted people to be able to easily share it with their teammates right before important video calls.

A few people have given us really helpful feedback about more information to include (e.g. setups for different types of remote workers). But we haven't decided how we'd like to build on it further yet. If we did, what would you like to see from the site? / what would be most helpful to you?

Re: Checklist.video – Research backed tips for great video calls

#28

Post by crummy »

mdu96 wrote: post #22
crummy wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently you can use Android and iPhones as webcams (e.g. see https://reincubate.com/camo/ ).

have you used these apps before? what's the experience like?

I have not, though my coworker does sometimes (Camo) and the video quality is quite good.

Re: Checklist.video – Research backed tips for great video calls

#29

Post by tomg »

I would add to the reasons for "Use wired headphones or speakers" is that many (all? not sure) combination "bluetooth headphones with mic" hardware will bottleneck at the bluetooth link. You end up sounding like you're on an old landline (and incoming audio is equally low-fi).

I ended up using my bluetooth headphones just for incoming audio; and a dedicated mic on my desk for my speech. It improved both my voice and everyone elses' dramatically.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bluetooth_profiles#Han...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bluetooth_profiles#Hea...

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/40951060/how-to-make-a2d...

https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/44sxms/bluetoo...

Re: Checklist.video – Research backed tips for great video calls

#30

Post by jimbogr77 »

tomg wrote: post #29

I would add to the reasons for "Use wired headphones or speakers" is that many (all? not sure) combination "bluetooth headphones with mic" hardware will bottleneck at the bluetooth link. You end up sounding like you're on an old landline (and incoming audio is equally low-fi). I ended up using my bluetooth headphones just for incoming audio; and a dedicated mic on my desk for my speech. It improved both my voice and…

Ended up with the same setup.

Qc35 + Razer seiren mini work great together.

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