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Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops

opalcamera.com

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Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops

#31

Post by solardev »

yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #8

If the microphone can do what they say (only listen in that immediate area) then that's really cool. (Big if - I believe you can filter by angle, but my understanding of physics precludes filtering by distance; someone please correct me if I'm ignorant) The mute button is a good idea - I strongly prefer having a nice dedicated button, though in my case it's on the headset - but that placement seems guaranteed to put…

Apparently it uses some special directional mic from Soundskrit. Product page for the chip: https://soundskrit.ca/technology/

The patent: https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/94/2b/ff/984fa6f...

PR about the partnership: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/opal-launches-tadpo...

> A first on any consumer device, Tadpole's trademarked directional VisiMic™ microphone only captures audio that the camera can see. VisiMic is made in partnership with Soundskrit, the Quebec-based audio firm that specializes in cutting-edge directional microphone technology.

Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops

#32

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

sebtron wrote: post #28
solardev wrote: post #24

Am I just really old, or is this web design atrocious...? I know HN skews traditionalist anyway, but even here, a site this bad stands out. I feel like normally we argue about user-invisible stuff like JS frameworks and analytics and tracking, but in this case it's a very in-your-face design meant to subvert all the common UX best practices in favor of something chic. Does anyone like this? (Who is supposed to?) I ca…

Honestly, I can't tell. Literally: I clicked on the link and all I could see was a white dot blinking on a black background. After about 20 seconds I gave up.

Does it change if you scroll down? I also thought it was broken until I started scrolling and the page decided to show itself to me after all.

Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops

#33

Post by needadvicebadly »

heeton wrote: post #18

I could never recommend this. I own a C1 and it's completely ruined by terrible software. On MacOS (various versions, on M1 and now M3), it stops randomly, needs regular reconnecting. I'm on an old version of the app because the new version doesn't even work at all (hard freeze after an hour). Countless examples from forums and elsewhere of the same issues. Shame, because the hardware is cool.

Echoing this. A bit miffed they've invested in an entirely new product without fixing the software issues of the C1.

Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops

#34

Post by solardev »

_joel wrote: post #11
yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #8

If the microphone can do what they say (only listen in that immediate area) then that's really cool. (Big if - I believe you can filter by angle, but my understanding of physics precludes filtering by distance; someone please correct me if I'm ignorant) The mute button is a good idea - I strongly prefer having a nice dedicated button, though in my case it's on the headset - but that placement seems guaranteed to put…

> If the microphone can do what they say (only listen in that immediate area) then that's really cool. Isn't that just some EQing for the vocal presense range and a level activated gate to turn it on when it's only above a certain threshold?

I don't think it is: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38266165

Something something tiny ribbon mic that only responds to sound waves perpendicular to its axis, something something, shielded from the sides something something. (Sorry, it's all a bit over my head, but it's more than using smart EQ and volume monitoring)

Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops

#35

Post by madeofpalk »

berbec wrote: post #5

What is the market for this product? I can't see their being enough people who a. have a laptop without a camera/need a better camera b. are willing to lug this thing around and c. are willing to pay $200. How is web design this bad acceptable? It's insanely slow, annoying to read and impossible to navigate.

Me, right now. At home. I like my camera and mic in meetings to be clear and high quality. Gets dark at 3PM, any all the webcams have atrocious noise in anything less than the brightest rooms.

I was using the Opal C1 for a while on my PC, but gave it away due to lack of official support on Windows, and it constantly losing focus/focus hunting in meetings.

But,

> The Opal Tadpole Was made to go with you. Wrap it around your wrist or put it in its case to keep it safe.

Who the hell is wrong to wrap their webcam around their waist??

> wrap your camera around your wrist as you go from meeting to meeting.

???

Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops

#36

Post by nviennot »

This landing page is terrible.

There's a bunch of professional photos of the camera, two with a hand, then two next to a pair of pants, then on a handbag.

Only after all that it is shown on a laptop, where it is actually used! It should be the first image. Also, there's so little comparison between built-in webcam image and their offerings.

Then there's a huge video with a bead sliding on the rope holding the camera. It seems that the marketers are just masturbating with the high-quality photography they made. It's not actually useful.

This is not a problem users were like "I don't know how I can go from a meeting to another with my camera".

Also, their "Have you ever wished you could instantly mute yourself in a video call without having to look for that elusive mic button? Well, now you can have it." -- this is a solved problem with mute buttons on F1/F2 or whatever your laptop does. Or at least, current mute solutions are not harder than "I'm bring my own webcam, plug it in, configure the audio source, position it correctly on the top of my screen"

This landing page is out-of-touch with actual problems users may have.

Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops

#38

Post by heavyset_go »

solardev wrote: post #24

Am I just really old, or is this web design atrocious...? I know HN skews traditionalist anyway, but even here, a site this bad stands out. I feel like normally we argue about user-invisible stuff like JS frameworks and analytics and tracking, but in this case it's a very in-your-face design meant to subvert all the common UX best practices in favor of something chic. Does anyone like this? (Who is supposed to?) I ca…

It's just comically over the top for a webcam IMO

Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops

#39

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

berbec wrote: post #5

What is the market for this product? I can't see their being enough people who a. have a laptop without a camera/need a better camera b. are willing to lug this thing around and c. are willing to pay $200. How is web design this bad acceptable? It's insanely slow, annoying to read and impossible to navigate.

In an ideal world, I'd probably prefer to buy a laptop with no built-in camera and then add a good quality one; this trivially improves the privacy situation (although models with a built-in shutter are also fine), and as others have commented the default cameras tend to have atrocious image quality so there's something to be said for separating it so people can get a good quality option.

Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops

#40

Post by callumprentice »

I use the Camo software that turns my phone into a webcam and the quality is astounding but it still suffers from the "appear to be looking elsewhere" issue.

I have sketched out a design for a bracket that dangles your phone upside down, in front of the screen and turns the phone front camera into a webcam that's much closer to where you are typically looking.

The interesting bit is that software on the phone displays the part of the monitor that's covered and creates a "seamless display experience" (slightly tongue in cheek).

Not perfect by any means but maybe worth creating a prototype of both hardware and software to see how it feels?

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