This is a cool idea, I often wondered about this.<p>These days I'm on a 5k monitor and when having a more direct conversation in a meeting, I make a point to place my Webex video window at the top and center of my screen. (I never run it maximized, only 1/4 of height & width, so 1/16 of my screen realestate.)<p>I tested this setup with PhotoBooth and compared when I look at my own face vs. the actual camera. The difference is minor.<p>Bonus, it signals to whom I'm speaking whether I'm looking at some other window or at them. This is useful for empathetic listening.
With so much multi-image computational photography and video processing these days, I've been wondering whether we could have a multiple camera system (with cameras on the top, bottom, left, and right of the screen) and a processor that can simulate a camera in the center of the screen - or even dynamically moved to the eyes of the caller.<p>I know there's a bunch of research on viewpoint interpolation, but how close might we be to a dedicated processor to be able do this in a laptop, or at least specialized VC monitor?
It's funny how videos such as this, which are optimized for engagement over learning, explain things in a backwards fashion. Instead of explaining how the thing works, and then showing you how to make the parts to build one yourself. They show you how to make the parts, and only explain what it is you're building at the very end.
Essentially a teleprompter. Been looking at doing something with my external camera for all of the video calls these days.<p><a href="https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Teleprompters/ci/2122/N/4028759394" rel="nofollow">https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Teleprompters/ci/2122/N/4...</a>
Thats how Errol Morris does his magic - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEsoSR2npes" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEsoSR2npes</a><p>(The Interrotron)
Facetime will be doing that in iOS 14
<a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/06/22/facetime-eye-contact-correction-feature-to-launch-with-ios-14" rel="nofollow">https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/06/22/facetime-eye-cont...</a>
I always recall an Apple patent[1] from years ago that posited interspersing the camera pixels with the display pixels. I wonder where they got with that...<p>[1]: <a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US7535468B2/en" rel="nofollow">https://patents.google.com/patent/US7535468B2/en</a>
Well, I really hate eye contact and never look people in the eyes, so this wouldn't be something interesting for me. I wonder if I am alone or if this is common.
Errol Morris famously uses a two-way mirror contraption for his documentaries so that when he interviews his subjects, they are looking directly into the camera as if they were talking to you. It definitely gives a more intimate feel when the subjects are talking.
At the end of the video, he tried it with his friend who's <i>not</i> using the apparatus. Yet, her eyes seem to be looking at him too. What do you think?
The GlideGear iPad teleprompter is under $200 and saves a lot of time if you’re pressed for time:<p><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B019AJOLEM/" rel="nofollow">https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B019AJOLEM/</a><p>The setup is to use an iPad hosting Sidecar wireless display from your Mac. Use Moom or similar screen management app that detects kicking on the new display, and pops your meeting video windows onto it at full dimensions (but not ‘full screen’ mode).<p>If the other person is both on video and sometimes sharing content, you need to flip the video horizontally, which isn’t obvious. There are three options:<p>1. Check if your display can flip the video.<p>2. Use SwitchResX if your graphics card can do it for that particular monitor:<p><a href="https://www.madrau.com/" rel="nofollow">https://www.madrau.com/</a><p>If it can, great. If it cannot, then ...<p>3. Use the Flip Mac Window utility from here, so you’ll see it the right way around in the mirror:<p><a href="https://www.freetelepromptersoftware.com/mac/" rel="nofollow">https://www.freetelepromptersoftware.com/mac/</a><p>How this works is it screen captures the original window, and plays it back flipped over top of the window. That means actual buttons / icons <i>are not moved</i>, only the rendering of the window is flipped. If you need to navigate the window, unflip it first.<p>Note that 12.9” iPads <i>only</i> fit in this GlideGear if you re-shape the mirror brace, but the mirror <i>is</i> large enough for a 12.9” iPad and it looks fantastic.<p>I like coupling this with Logitech Brio (best) or Logitech Streamcam (good).<p>I‘ve used it extensively with WebEx, Zoom, and Teams.
Couldn't you lie the screen completely flat and build it the other way (reflecting the screen and passing through the camera), avoiding the keyboard problem?
> but that means you aren’t looking at the camera and, thus, you aren’t making eye contact.<p>But that's what I love most about video conferencing: You don't have to make eye contact. The only thing better is voice-only with a shared presentation space.
Working on a similar set-up myself; got a proof-of-concept running using Duplo bricks [1], the quality of good teleprompter glass is really impressive.<p>[1] <a href="https://twitter.com/gunnarmorling/status/1296043605459705856" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/gunnarmorling/status/1296043605459705856</a>
Quite cool although:<p>1.) I find if you put the video conference window top and center of a monitor--preferably a larger one--it works pretty well so long as you make at effort to keep your eyes towards the top of the screen. This is especially important (and takes some discipline) if you're presenting from slides.<p>2.) The general recommendation, which is my experience as well, is that the webcam should be up at eye level or maybe a bit above. So if you are using a laptop, it should be up on some books or other type of stand.
If you have a multi-monitor setup, make a slight gap between two of them and put the camera behind the gap. Then position the video window so the camera is central to it.
This is basically just a teleprompter in reverse. If you’re okay with spending slightly more $$, just buy one of those instead:<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Glide-Gear-TMP100-Adjustable-Teleprompter/dp/B019AJOLEM/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=teleprompter&qid=1598187692&sr=8-3" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Glide-Gear-TMP100-Adjustable-Teleprom...</a>
This trick has been used for a whole in VC studio's for decades and I first encountered this in the 90's. Being able to get eye-level contact with the camera when people will want to look at the screen - this just solves that. Just not cheap.<p>Though lighting was always key and with the two-way mirror set-up, you will want a few more lumens to compensate for loss of that mirror in front of the camera.
Related video[1] about teleprompters, including some insight into the nitty gritty.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeRu4xYH_W0" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeRu4xYH_W0</a>
Side note: that channel (DIY Perks) has tons amazing projects. I'll never actually do any of them but the project breakdowns and assembly are fun to watch.
cool idea. but a picture is worth a thousand words. would've loved a simple image of the setup instead of reading 5 paragraphs describing it, found it really hard to parse in my head.
I haven't actually had a single video-conference since lockdown started. Plenty of audio-conferences with 50+ people for show and tells, and if two people turn their cameras on it's suprising.<p>Personally I'm very happy with this. Means you can tune out and keep working on stuff that matters to you when the call starts going off-track or out of your area.
I make sure to video conference right in front a mirror and I find it's no issue for me, but for this video:<p>1. The video itself uses the cliche "weird" baitclick.<p>2. Honey sponsership.<p>On Hackaday.<p>That's just sad, hackaday used to not be like that.<p>Guess really it's the times.