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Webcam, Lights, and Audio for Remote Work, Podcasting, Videos, and Streaming

mattstauffer.com

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Re: Webcam, Lights, and Audio for Remote Work, Podcasting, Videos, and Streaming

#61

Post by pc86 »

ghaff wrote: post #23
kh_hk wrote: post #16

To be honest, investing in a whole studio setup for remote work seems to go against one of the biggest perks of remote work itself: freedom. Stock is usually good enough. That money is better invested on a pair of comfortable headphones, and also some good on-the-go light headphones with micro to hold remote calls outside of a quiet environment.

It mostly seems unnecessary even if I'm doing calls from my office, as opposed to when I'm traveling or otherwise not at home. I have a dedicated office with decent lighting (and not backlit) and a good Logitech webcam. That's more than a lot of people I work with have. Anything more would really be overkill and probably not even noticeable on a typical video call.

Hell, I've been trying to get coworkers to just get webcams and it is an uphill battle. There is so much non-verbal communication that you lose working remote, it's harder still when you can't even see the person.

Re: Webcam, Lights, and Audio for Remote Work, Podcasting, Videos, and Streaming

#62

Post by nickjj »

balfirevic wrote: post #59
nickjj wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 4i4 is just like the 2i2 (which is what I use). It basically acts as a way for you to plug in an XLR mic (or instrument) into your computer. It's classified as a USB audio interface. It won't help you when it comes to background noise cancellation or any type of processing. For that you need something like the DBX or you can find other hardware that combos as a USB audio interface + pre-amp + processor (with comp…

I know what both of those are, I was asking if there was anything with functionality of DBX but with a form-factor of Scarlett 4i4. It doesn't even have to have an integrated USB audio interface, although that would be cool. Thanks anyway for the recommendation of DBX.

Oh sorry, I missed the part about being "the size of the 4i4". I thought you were thinking about using the 4i4 as a replacement to the DBX.

The DBX doesn't need to be mounted to a rack btw. It sits clean on any flat surface like your desk. The only thing that's not optimal is it doesn't have a power switch on it and you should keep it off when not using it.

Personally I have mine hooked up to a surge protector with an on / off switch, so I don't put any stress on the plug. You could also use a remote control surge protector so you don't need to fiddle with manually turning it on / off like a barbarian.

Re: Webcam, Lights, and Audio for Remote Work, Podcasting, Videos, and Streaming

#63

Post by kraftman »

ravenstine wrote: post #44

The value of a good mic for remote work cannot be understated. One of the worst aspects of my job as a remote developer has been working with people with crappy microphones. I worked with one client whose conference mic was so low-fi that a lot of what they were saying in meetings was incomprehensible. (I told them about this, but they didn't seem to care, which is why I'm glad I'm not working with them anymore) Goin…

I've had a very different experience. I work remotely and sometimes others at my company do, the people who are remote are always so much easier to hear than the people in big echoey conference rooms, no matter what mics they are using.

Re: Webcam, Lights, and Audio for Remote Work, Podcasting, Videos, and Streaming

#64

Post by ghaff »

pc86 wrote: post #61
ghaff wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It mostly seems unnecessary even if I'm doing calls from my office, as opposed to when I'm traveling or otherwise not at home. I have a dedicated office with decent lighting (and not backlit) and a good Logitech webcam. That's more than a lot of people I work with have. Anything more would really be overkill and probably not even noticeable on a typical video call.

Hell, I've been trying to get coworkers to just get webcams and it is an uphill battle. There is so much non-verbal communication that you lose working remote, it's harder still when you can't even see the person.

A number of teams I work with have fairly strict "Cameras on unless there's some reason you can't (e.g. you're driving)" rules. In general, I think it's a good idea. I know not everyone likes video but it's one of those things you should really do IMO if everyone isn't co-located.

Re: Webcam, Lights, and Audio for Remote Work, Podcasting, Videos, and Streaming

#65

Post by exabrial »

One thing he didn't differentiate on was the microphone and its appearance in video casting.

While there are many good choices, the Shure SM7B is the quintessential desk or studio microphone for recording vocals. However, it is a bulky monster and will take up a _lot_ of real estate in a video frame. If you're audio-only, that's not an issue, your vocals will sound awesome.

For video, I really think an off-camera mic on a boom stand in sound treated room is the best option for seated, stationary casting. Many hypercardioid vocal microphones most people have actually work fairly well in this setup. Treating panels doesn't even need to be expensive; this youtuber made really nice looking ones from towels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVEXp87TTrs

I don't like the sound or intrusive look of a lapel mic or the noise it picks up, for moving sequences, it's probably the best option unless you can hire a grip.

Re: Webcam, Lights, and Audio for Remote Work, Podcasting, Videos, and Streaming

#66

Post by 52-6F-62 »

nickjj wrote: post #51
52-6F-62 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> home office style recording environments (even with acoustic panels) are going to have a noticeable amount of background hiss (computer fans, etc.) get picked up and his set up doesn't account for that. You can definitely baffle a lot/all of that noise away, but you definitely need to be more mindful of your setup and not just have some wall-mounted panels and your tower right next to your mic. I've been privy to s…

> the example you posted is so obvious I was surprised at it. Yeah I was surprised too. Considering that clip is from the author of the post. > you definitely need to be more mindful of your setup and not just have some wall-mounted panels and your tower right next to your mic. Mine is on the floor, under my desk, which has a large thick piece of wood (the desktop) as a barrier and it still comes through without a no…

A single wooden panel won't do much to help you in that situation regardless. It's a great reflector and wouldn't absorb much of the noise, especially of the sides are wide open.

Most people, especially someone just recording dev screencasts or video conferencing don't at all need a $300-350 preamp. It just seems like so much overkill. You could get perfectly usable noise reduction baked into Audacity, or with $50 plugin if the noise is existing.

FWIW, I record (music) with a laptop on my desk, sometimes multi channel simultaneously and with the right mics[1] and sufficient ambient noise reduction I've never had an issue with fan hiss or hum.

[0] https://www.waves.com/plugins/z-noise

[1] https://www.shure.eu/musicians/discover/educational/polar-pa...

Re: Webcam, Lights, and Audio for Remote Work, Podcasting, Videos, and Streaming

#67

Post by schrijver »

whitehouse3 wrote: post #27
kwerk wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would you recommend?

Shure's SM58 and SM57 have the same capsule as the SM7B for 1/3 the price and fuss. Like the Rolex Submariner, the SM58 has been cloned at lower and lower prices since its introduction. The design is solid regardless of the price point. Imitations from Pyle and Audio Technica sound great and cost less, but aren't as rugged. If you _want_ to spend money for more pleasing tone the Beta 87A from Shure is outstanding. As…

The SM58’s best feature is it’s ubiquity (so you know exactly what you’re in for) and how rugged and dependable it is. That’s why they’re everywhere in stage sound IMHO. I don’t really like the sound though. For me it’s lacking in high end. A decent condenser mic (like the 87A for example) will do much better in this regard. Such mics need phantom power but most audio interfaces provide that.

Re: Webcam, Lights, and Audio for Remote Work, Podcasting, Videos, and Streaming

#68

Post by lostapathy »

nickjj wrote: post #50
lostapathy wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to disagree on a lot of this. The Triton fethead is just a "plug it in and go" solution in a lot of setups. That dbx preamp has a lot of knobs that, for the most part, need to be set right in order for it to work at all - let alone help the situation. Also worth noting that the fethead is tiny - it sits inline with your cable, whereas that dbx requires you to mount 19" rack gear at your desk, which is a big…

> The Triton fethead is just a "plug it in and go" solution in a lot of setups. That dbx preamp has a lot of knobs that, for the most part, need to be set right in order for it to work at all - let alone help the situation. But that's the thing. The Triton is just a pre-amp, the Scarlett also has its own pre-amp, but maybe it's not strong enough to drive the Shure mic (it's strong enough for most other mics). The DBX…

The Scarlett absolutely is not enough pre-amp, on it's own, for that microphone.

Re: Webcam, Lights, and Audio for Remote Work, Podcasting, Videos, and Streaming

#69

Post by JshWright »

nickjj wrote: post #20
adamwathan wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A noise gate does not remove hiss or static, it simply reduces the volume of the signal when it gets below a certain level. As a professional audio engineer in a past life, I can say the SM7B + Triton Fethead is a great recommendation. The SM7B has very good off-axis rejection characteristics and will pick up _much_ less room noise than most alternatives.

> A noise gate does not remove hiss or static, it simply reduces the volume of the signal when it gets below a certain level. But the end result is with a configured noise gate the audio coming out will not appear to have as much hiss or room noise. Check out the Youtube video I linked of his. It's super noticeable. With Sony MDR-V6 headphones, I hear a huge amount of hiss in his audio. To the point where it's distra…

> But the end result is with a configured noise gate the audio coming out will not appear to have as much hiss or room noise.

> Check out the Youtube video I linked of his. It's super noticeable. With Sony MDR-V6 headphones, I hear a huge amount of hiss in his audio. To the point where it's distracting and drowns out his voice.

If the noise floor is high enough that it interferes with the actual signal, a gate is just going to make it more annoying to listen to (as you hear the noise cut in and out).

Re: Webcam, Lights, and Audio for Remote Work, Podcasting, Videos, and Streaming

#70

Post by schrijver »

jamestomasino wrote: post #2

I was a bit surprised to see the recommendation of another inline preamp in the chain with the Focusrite. He recommends a TRITON AUDIO FetHead Filter in-Line Microphone Preamp. Does anyone have further experience with this setup? I've been using my MXL Mics 770 Cardioid Condenser Microphone with a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 with nothing in-between. I know I've got the gain dialed up pretty high but it never occurred to m…

The preamps in your Focusrite are decent, and you have a condensor microphone which is probably louder than the dynamic microphone used for the video. You’re fine I’d say!

If you’d want more control over the sound before it goes into the computer, than a kind of channel strip unit with a preamp compressor and eq could make sense, although you can do all that in OBS as well.

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