Do you spend nearly half your day communicating with clients and coordinating with your team on Zoom? or perhaps, you find Google Meet a more reliable alternative to modern-day video conferencing tools? Either way, video conferencing has emerged as a significant element of our daily work routine. It is one of the many modifications the coronavirus pandemic has made to our lifestyles.
This trend is likely to continue as businesses realize the advantages of continuing with the work-from-home arrangements. Therefore, upgrading your videoconferencing gadgets is an excellent investment, especially if you run a home-based business.
Gone are the days when laptop cameras were sufficient to hold video calls with clients. Today, impressive video quality with 4K resolution is crucial to impress your clients and enjoy smooth communication. If your work routine involves online consultancy or tutoring, quality of video and sound are vital considerations.
Keep reading to explore some gadgets that will help you video conference like a pro.
Conference Room Camera
You have much to learn if you don’t know the difference between an ordinary webcam and its conference room counterpart. Standard webcams are fixed cameras mounted atop the laptop screen or monitor. In contrast, webcams designed for conference rooms include various innovative features. For instance, they come with premium-grade microphones and speakers to avoid huddling over the microphone.
Interestingly, conference room webcams also have automatic face detection, superior audio functioning, and sound distortion. The video quality is commendable, ranging between 720p to 4K video quality. These cameras will magnify all the details, eliminating distortions and those horridly graining frames that transport us to the 90s. However, make sure your network bandwidth supports 4K video transmission.
Corporate meetings demand high-quality conference room webcams so you can maintain decorum while communicating with sought-after investors and clients. Popular choices, such as Logitech Video Conferencing, make collaboration and engagement more straightforward and fun. You can sit on the other end of the room and still enjoy excellent video and audio quality.
Upgrade the Lighting
Do you want to enhance the video quality and look more appealing without putting a massive dent in your pocket? We suggest a simple solution: upgrade the lighting.
Take a cue from your favorite social media influencers, and invest in a bright, tripod-mount LED light. An adjustable and bright LED light will enhance the display and boost image clarity for an impressive outlook. Lume Cube is a popular option, especially if you want to customize the color and brightness to change the ambiance.
The market is abuzz with customizable LED lights that allow you to tailor the brightness and temperature to your preference. These are a wise choice for counselors, therapists, teachers, consultants, and speakers struggling to create the right mood. Be sure to look for mounting features, USB charging ports, and devices that support landscape and portrait modes.
If looking for something cheap, a standard ring light or laptop-mount option will do perfectly fine.
Professional Microphone
Sound quality is a crucial metric to consider, as distortions and squeaky sounds will reflect your brand image. More importantly, it will make your remote coordination and communication system inefficient and unreliable. If you’re constantly struggling with background noise and distortions, it’s time to ditch your laptop’s built-in microphone.
Power your high-stakes video conferences with a standalone microphone decked with innovative features. Content creators and podcasters worldwide use the Blue Yeti Nano, a USB-enabled microphone with a sleek design and stellar sound quality. You can also explore cheaper options that offer quality without the fancy upgrades.
Many people enjoy the functionality and savviness of a wireless headset. It’s a much wiser choice if you spend the entire day taking calls and require a dedicated device. Apple Airpods come highly recommended as well.
TV Conferencing Devices
Would you like to use your smart TV to power your video conferences with superior image and sound quality? It’s entirely possible, and most large corporations use wide QLED screens to conduct their video conferences. The right connectivity gadget can help you ditch your tiny laptop screen and enjoy a new world of convenience.
Conducting panel discussions on Facebook can get messy when you’re working on a small screen. The struggle is similar during a conference call involving multiple clients or employees. Switching to the TV screen has many perks, and we urge you to invest in the Facebook Portal TV. This dynamic gadget will help you transform your TV into a portal for multiple video-calling apps.
The Facebook Portal TV comes with a microphone and webcam, and you have to mount it atop the TV. You can use it to connect video calls on Facebook, WebEx, Zoom, GoToMeeting, and a few other apps. It’s wise to pick a smart camera device that follows the individual’s movement around the room. Such a gadget is excellent for online teaching and career-making presentations.
You can also explore Amazon, Google, and others, but Facebook has the most advanced gadget on the market. It offers a flexible fit as compared to Amazon Alexa and Google Chromecast.
Upgrade your Laptop
Professionals who work while traveling should consider upgrading their laptops instead of investing in standalone devices. Do you run into disturbances while multitasking and attending a Zoom session? That usually happens with older models; opening a few tabs can send the fans whirring with ferocious speed. If you’re facing such an issue, upgrading to a laptop with dedicated webcam software and a speedier processor can work wonders.
We recommend any laptop that comes with at least a 9th or 10th-gen Core i5 with a touchscreen display. The recently launched Lenovo ThinkPad Xi Yoga is a great option. The new M1 MacBook Air comes with a 7-core GPU, while the M1 MacBook Air delivers blazing speed with an 8-core GPU.
Zoom and Google Meet calls can burden the processor immensely, and whirring computer fans create distortions. If you can’t shift to the TV screen frequently, switching to a newer laptop is the wisest choice. With any of the models mentioned above, you won’t need to invest in a microphone or sound device.
Final Thoughts
Video conferencing is the way forward for communication across all major industries, from healthcare and education to finance and retail. Professionals looking to branch out, run small businesses, or offer their services as freelancers have much to gain by upgrading.
Ultimately, these video conferencing gadgets will enhance quality, and quality reflects reliability and excellence. Modern-day tools and devices also enhance convenience and comfort, allowing you to streamline your communications effectively. It’s wise to assess your needs and start investing accordingly.
Neha Nidhi
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