Checklist.video – Research backed tips for great video calls • Hacker News Board

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

#41

Post by esperent » Tue, Apr 27, 2021, 3:35 AM UTC

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…

Yeah, I noticed recently that my headphones have two modes - sound only, where they sound great, and wireless headset mode, where the sound is awful.

However, it's only awful for music. It's fine for voice, really. I only noticed the two modes when they got stuck in headset mode after I finished a call and I was wondering why the music I put on suddenly sounded bad.

OTOH, this list has made me wonder how much of the delay I hear in video calls is due to bluetooth. Cutting 300ms of delay is much more important than improving already serviceable sound quality.

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

#42

Post by esperent » Tue, Apr 27, 2021, 3:39 AM UTC

singold wrote: post #33

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…

I've also noticed in my case that bluetooth headphones interfere with my laptops wifi, but am not sure why. And the hardware bottleneck makes a lot of sense for me because those headphones didn't interfere when weren't connected to the laptop (the same happens to me with my phone)

Same, except it's the other way around - my wifi interferes with all audio bluetooth devices I've tested. It causes a stutter about once every five seconds that goes away as soon as I disable the wifi.

Fortunately, it only happens when I'm connected to a 2.4ghz network so I was able to fix it by switching to 5ghz - but even with the modem in the hall outside my office, I'm at the extreme limit of 5ghz reception. It really does not travel far.

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

#43

Post by supermatt » Tue, Apr 27, 2021, 6:48 AM UTC

jeztek wrote: post #9

supermatt wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d be interested in the links to the published research! If it’s actual research, I think the naming is fine. If it’s reading a bunch of “top 10 tips for looking great on webcam” then it’s not. When I clicked on “why” I was expecting some actual information. As is, it just reads like an opinion piece IMHO For example, you state an arms length as the optimal distance - but this would be different based on FoV, etc. T…

Ah, okay I'm trying to understand your recommendation. Is it because not every tip has a research finding tied to it, which seems incongruous with the title? Or is it that the research finding doesn't explicitly tie to the recommendation? Most of the tips do reference research findings, and you can find the reference by clicking on the subscript numbers or scroll down to the references section. Some tips are more com…

> Was your expectation that the tip should link to research determining the optimal distance from the camera to achieve good eye contact?

Yep, that would "back" the statement with research, otherwise it is conjecture. As mentioned, this particular statement is easy to dismiss given the wide variety of FoV on webcams - but other statements are equally unfounded.

To clarify - I like the site, and im sure it is useful to many, but its very misleading to state that it is backed by research when it isnt.