[SOLVED] video conferencing setup

[benmills45]

Hi all, hope you're all well.
I need some assistance with setting up a video conferencing room.
We have a tv and spare pc's and laptops but in terms of connecting multiple microphones and a camera i may need some help. Please see image linked for the layout of the room https://ibb.co/gdVkDvd
Any advice would be much appreciated, the budget i have been given is £300
Thanks,
Ben

 

[hang-the-9]

First, that TV is way too small for the room, it's OK to look at some images of a person but you will not be sharing documents with anyone in the room. For a room that size you would want about a 65" TV there.

What service are you using for video conferencing?

How professional does this need to be? For that large of a room for proper sound and video you will need more than your budget allows, I would say you need about 1,000 for an average camera and audio pickup for the room. Even a cheap wide-angle camera for this use would be near your full budget.

https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Group-Conferencing-System-Meeting/dp/B01B4SNM92/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=Video+Conferencing+System&sr=8-3&th=1

There are cheaper things like these mics but they are not very good for going past a small table, maybe a round one with 4-6 people near it https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZNT7PR...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

From the room layout you are likely to need 3 mics on the desks and a camera for good results. For your budget you are limited to a cheap camera and some mics running to the computer. The TV speaker should be sufficient for the audio, but you may also need some powered speakers for the room.

We are re-doing our HQ building with new setups using Poly X30 units and TVs, the cost is much higher than 300 a room for a proper business setup. Rooms of the size you have are listed as "large" on our plans and cost is about $3,000 for their setup using Poly X50.

There is a comparison of the products we selected https://www.poly.com/us/en/products/video-conferencing/studio/studio so you have an idea about what it takes to setup a conference room of that size for good quality results.

You can maybe use a few USB mics on the tables with a webcam to get to your budget https://www.amazon.com/Movo-MC1000-.../B01DJTK8FU/ref=psdc_3015406011_t2_B078MRMMQG https://www.amazon.com/Kaysuda-Omni.../B078MRMMQG/ref=psdc_3015406011_t3_B01DJTK8FU

 

[benmills45]

thanks for the reply. I'm going for a usb audio mixer setup with desktop mics that's best for our budget and we can add a few more microphones in the future.
Struggling to find a decent webcam for around £100
Would've been better to have a larger budget ahaha

 

[Wolfshadw]

I think having multiple microphones in a smallish room like that is asking for trouble. If you get one loud talker, then you're going to be dealing with echoes and squelching. If you don't need to actually see the other people speaking from a distance, I'd just use a telephone conference and a PC that is set up with Team Viewer, Zoom, or something similar to just share the desktop.

-Wolf sends