Error 601

My former employer is being sued by a software vendor over a licensing dispute that makes the individuals suing over scan to email seem reasonable by comparison. I was asked to travel for a deposition but I refused and they agreed to do it by video-conference.

I have barely used a webcam in my entire life. I have helped people setup cameras they purchased maybe two or three times. All my former employer's outside legal got from the other firm was a two-page PDF about GoToMeeting but no meaningful hardware requirements beyond microphone, camera and speakers. So they just told me to get a good camera, put it on a tripod and get a lapel microphone.

I went to Best Buy but what they had almost seemed too cheap and none of them were on display and I only read one review that had any depth what-so-ever. (Logitech C920) The Blue shirt girl had no input other than "yeah, I don't know, nobody buys these anymore."

Any suggestions? I will be reimbursed for all expenses related to this. But I don't want to go overboard.

gfunkdave

Cameras have become quite cheap. You can get a perfectly nice HD camera with a built-in mic for maybe $50 or so. Since they are reimbursing you anyway, why not just buy the top-selling webcam with mic on Amazon, which is $70 and includes full 1080p resolution, auto-focus, and mic?

http://amzn.com/B006JH8T3S

I have a Microsoft LifeCam with built-in mic that I bought maybe 5 years ago for about the same price, and it works fine.

You don't really need a lapel mic. Just put the camera within a few feet of you and talk to it. That will also be a good distance to frame you in the picture. Most of these webcams will clip to something - a laptop screen, a table, or the like. Heck, your laptop probably has a built-in webcam. You can almost certainly just use that.

"Broadcast quality" to me denotes something that a TV station would use, which would likely entail thousands of dollars.

Error 601

Thanks,

Unfortunately I am acting on some fairly specific yet non-technical instructions.

I am to be seated at a table, in shirt and tie. The camera is to be on a tripod and I am to be wearing a microphone. If they don't like what they see when we rehearse this they're sending me a plane ticket.

The Logitech C920 you linked to is the only device for which I could find a review that wasn't completely superficial.

Perhaps professional quality would have been a better choice of words, I was going to use the setup in my current employer's boardroom, but it was destroyed by a rogue fire sprinkler on Labor Day.

gfunkdave

Dunno why/what their requirements are, but really any decent webcam will provide a clear HD picture and good sound quality. You can always buy a lapel mic or headset mic if you feel it's necessary.

That's all I got.

glob99

For a good video, remember lighting. Place a lamp nearby to illuminate your face.

Loren Pechtel

What's going on is that the camera tech far exceeds the web tech. You don't see fancy professional webcams because the difference between what a high end camera could do and what an ordinary camera could do is basically zip--the quality is going to be reduced to what can be sent over the link in realtime anyway.

I've got a Logitech C910 on this computer. It's only been used a few times, it did a fine job. My only beef with it is that it's designed to be as close to the top of the monitor as possible which means it has to stick out in front of the monitor a bit--and over the years I've managed to knock it off on occasion because of that.

chgoeditor

As an alternative, why don't you just find a place that offers video conferencing facilities in Colorado Springs? A lot of court reporting services offer it for precisely this kind of situation.

gfunkdave

Now there's a great idea! ^ @:-)

Error 601

Yes, that was discussed, Regus specifically.

MAN Pax

I have a C920 which works fine for all my work conference calls and gives an "HD" picture.

gobluetwo

Why is a lapel mic necessary? Could you just have a small table mic (search for "computer or USB microphone" on Amazon)? I find those more convenient, as they don't have the static/friction noise you often get with cheap lapel mics.

Jimmie76

I've got a Logitech QuickCall USB Speakerphone which works very well for VOIP/webcam and is actually a very good product - sadly out of production although I did find one being sold new on Ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Logitech...item19bcd085a1 for $35 + shipping. I know it will work with Win7 but not sure about Win8 and beyond.

I understand that the replacement model is also quite good but I haven't tried one of those.

KRSW

I have a few Logitech C910 webcams around my office -- much prefer these to the C920 as they have better video quality.

Audio-wise, your best bet is to have the right room. Avoid rooms with hard floor surfaces like wood or tile or concrete. You also want to avoid rooms with hard drywall ceilings and lots of windows . All of these cause reflections and echos. Ironically, many conference rooms have ever single one of these audio sins in them.

Error 601

I did a dry run of this today with my former employer's lawyers using the Logitech C920 and I don't think anyone was terribly impressed with the video quality through GoToMeeting, but it did work. They didn't look great either.

I have to visit the old office in a couple of weeks for reasons completely unrelated, so they're going go try and schedule the depositions then for me and three others, but failing that we're going to go with this.

I appreciate the input.