Video calls have become part of our daily communication. Meetings are no longer an attribute of large corporations, it is almost a personal meeting, where it is important to be heard correctly and on time.
Many people are annoyed by echoes or fuzzy pictures. And in the office, they usually start a conference without preparation and often encounter sound or picture problems. Trying to solve quality problems, they try new and more expensive video conferencing systems, which somehow do not help in a real office. Because not always the cost can guarantee uninterrupted operation. You need a reliable program with a wide range of services, such as iMin.
In a video conference room, the main thing is sound
Echoes always occur when microphones pick up sound from a remote side. The problem is well localized and can be easily handled by specialized devices and applications. Difficulties begin when the sound inside the room or hall itself is repeatedly reflected, in which case echo cancellation may not be able to cope.
The only thing that will help us here is an evaluation of the room for acoustic training. All solid voiced surfaces are enemies of videoconferencing, generating multiple echoes that are difficult to predict and cut out.
It is usually recommended to use more upholstered and sound-absorbing furniture. The corners of the room are especially bad for sound reflection, just put a large plant there.
Improving the image quality of video conferencing in the room
We figured out the sound, now we need to put the picture in order. Just as partners evaluate a company by reception or a meeting room, so they evaluate the quality of the picture by a video call.
Modern cameras, from smartphones to professional solutions, require only one thing: bright illumination of the subject. That is why on a sunny summer day a phone of any level gives good shots, but in the dusk or in a room without lighting, noisy and fuzzy. When shooting at home, it is recommended to set the lamp pointing directly at the speaker’s face. In office meeting rooms, it is impossible.
What is the best light to use in video conferencing rooms?
In order for the camera to focus on faces, you need to use the natural sunlight spectrum of lighting and try to achieve contrast: bright light on faces and darkness in the corners of the room / hall and in unused spaces.
If the meeting room has windows, that’s the best light we can get. This point comes into conflict with the previous section, the glass reflects the sound. Therefore, we approach the decision flexibly: we partially open those windows that illuminate the participants, and close all the others. You can close the windows for a while with the help of blinds, permanently with the help of thick curtains or plants.
It is necessary that the lighting be switched on by zones, and not immediately in the whole room. A good solution would be:
- replace office lamps with LED, natural spectrum;
- connect all lights to separate switches.
It is not necessary to rush to put all the tips into practice, it can be difficult or expensive. Try to identify the problem areas of the video conferencing room and work with them. However, it is worth considering problems from the perspective of a possible solution. If you don’t have the budget to replace all the problems, look at what’s really important and what you can spend your time and effort.
Interesting Related Article: “5 Fun Activities You Can Do On a Video Chat”
