How to choose a video conferencing camera for remote and hybrid working

Remote working and hybrid working are gradually becoming the new normal. People need to instantly communicate with others across the world. Therefore, video conferencing is very crucial for daily work operations and business communication today. Imagine that, you can have meetings with different people from different locations within one day and no need to travel around to visit customers. How convenient is this!

Although video conferencing is very common, people still encounter many troubles how to choose a video conferencing camera so they can enjoy a smooth meeting experience. The problems usually are:
1. Low video quality, such that participants cannot be clearly seen.
2. Low audio quality.
3. The meeting room and the participants are not completely included, only part of them are in one frame.
4. The video often lags.
5. The speakers are not correctly framed when talking.

However, there is a solution to these problems: upgrade your video conferencing equipment!

Video conferencing has become the main medium of remote business communication. Having reliable video conferencing equipment is particularly important for high-quality video conferencing. If you want to guarantee your video conferencing quality, a necessary investment in premium video cameras is required. So how to choose a video conferencing camera?

Choosing the right video conference camera needs to consider factors. We can focus on the following 8 points.
1. Resolution
2. Field of view
3. Audio pickup range
4. Conference room size
5. All-in-one device or not
6. Designed with AI tracking or not
7. Compatibility
8. Price

Resolution

The first consideration to put in mind on how to choose a video conferencing device is a good resolution can provide better video quality, allowing everyone to clearly see the details of the participants and the conference room. A good video conference camera should present the clearest image, and the crystal-clear image quality will bring an extra surprise experience to your meeting. Many video conferencing cameras support high resolution, such as NEXVOO N110, which supports 4K, 1080P and 720P resolutions, ensuring that you can get the best video quality with every software you use.

The Field of View (FOV)

A video conference camera with a large field of view allows all participants to be included in the frame during a video conference, which lets the other party clearly know who is sitting in the conference room. If you are using a video conferencing camera with FOV that is not large enough, you will see this scene: three people looking at the screen without saying a word, while the other party couldn't find where the speaker is. In order to avoid this problem when considering how to choose a video conferencing camera, the device should have a wide FOV coverage.

There are many video conferencing cameras with a FOV on the market, such as the NEXVOO N110. The 120° ultra-wide-angle lens can provide remote conference participants with a better view, and can also avoid people in the conference room from sitting too crowded.

Voice pickup range

Resolution and FOV are visual factors when and how to choose video conferencing cameras, but when it comes to audio, we have to consider the pickup range of the device. Being able to clearly hear other people’s voices is also a very critical criterion since audio and video always work together. Therefore we should choose the video camera with a long voice pickup distance.

A camera with a long sound pickup distance can be used in larger meeting rooms since it enables everyone to be heard clearly even if you sit at the far end of the room. For example, the NEXVOO N110, with a 16 feet voice pickup range and a 6-microphone array, is ideal for meetings held in medium-to-large sized conference rooms.

Conference room size

Every video camera comes with a different FOV and voice pickup range which is designed for different sizes of conference rooms. We need to define the size of the room and the number of participants before answering the question on how to choose a video conferencing camera. For example, in small meeting rooms, we can choose a camera with a compact and portable device, such as NEXVOO N149 and Meeting Owl Pro; for medium-sized meeting rooms, we can use a video camera with a certain pickup distance and a wide-angle lens, such as NEXVOO N110 and Yealink MeetingEye 600; for large conference rooms, we need cameras with a long voice pickup distance and an ultra-wide-angle lens, such as NEXVOO N120.

All-in-one or not

A collaborative video conferencing system with a separate camera, microphone, and the speaker usually costs more than an all-in-one device. And you also need to spend more time on deployment and maintenance. The all-in-one equipment integrates the camera, microphone, and speaker into one device, making it easier to deploy, maintain, operate, and is cheaper as well.

There are already many all-in-one video conferencing cameras on the market. The popular ones are Logitech's Rally Bar and NEXVOO N110. The N110 is a USB plug-and-play and cost-effective all-in-one video conference bar.

Designed with AI tracking or not

The AI tracking function is working with both speaker tracking and auto framing. The speaker tracking means that the camera will zoom in and focus on the current speaker until he stops talking. The auto framing will detect the face and position in real-time, automatically track the speaker and make him in the center of the frame all the time.

There are some devices with AI algorithms on the market that integrate advanced technologies such as face detection, speaker tracking, and auto framing. These are excellent considerations on how to choose a video conferencing camera. For example, the N110 with AI tracking function can automatically adjust the framing size based on the number of participants and their real-time location to ensure all of them are in the center. On the basis of auto framing, the speaker tracking function will detect the real-time location of the speaker and focus on him or her to let every participant have a clear view of who is talking now.

Without the AI tracking functions, someone needs to adjust the frame or angle of the camera manually and that will greatly affect your meeting experience. Only when we can clearly see and hear each other at the same time, that we can better communicate and express ideas. Therefore, work efficiency and productivity will be improved.

Software compatibility of video conferencing cameras

At present, the most used video conferencing software is Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, and each of them has a large number of users. But the problem with how to choose a video conferencing camera is that most video conferencing devices are compatible with only one software. For example, Yealink MeetingBar A20 can only be used for Teams, Neat Bar can only be used for Zoom. The Logitech Rally Bar and Poly X50 are compatible with both Zoom and Teams, but they can only use one system and need to restart when switching to another. How do you solve this problem? Deploy multiple solutions or change your currently used software? Well, there is a better solution on how to choose video conferencing equipment that can be compatible with most conferencing software at the same time! Nexvoo's N110 is your first option. It is compatible with Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams at the same time, no worries about the problem at all.

The price

The price is crucial as long as you purchase something. It is hard to accept paying for a high-end video conferencing camera for hybrid working that is far beyond the budget. Therefore, we suggest selecting multiple cameras that meet your requirements firstly, then choosing the one with the most reasonable price. If you want to make your video conference run more smoothly and efficiently, come and find the most cost-effective video conference equipment here!