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Comment by exodust | Hacker News Reader

Outdated and reads like an ad for Zoom. One of the recommendations is literally "use zoom because it's better".

Also on shaky ground is the advice to use a DSLR camera as web cam. As pointed out in a recent discussion here, the problem with adding more devices to the chain is... more devices in the chain.

Dedicated diffuse lighting, wireless headsets, separate cameras etc.. participants will need to be patient while you prepare and configure your film set.

I used a wireless headset for awhile, but swapped it for a wired headset after too many times joining meetings without the headset pairing in time.

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I have a Logitech g533 headset, which is wireless, and came with a dongle. It might be something other than Bluetooth? I paired it once when I got it 2 yrs ago and that's it.

I forget to charge it sometimes but that's on me.

I like pacing during meetings

Yeah the ones with dongles aren't Bluetooth, I also haven't had many problems with mine which is similar. Bluetooth is pretty bad for audio+mic, it has to reduce audio quality to do both

I don't know about that specific model, but I'd expect a "gaming" headset to attempt to have both a high-enough quality and a very low lag.

There are also DECT headsets which seem to have very low lag. Quality isn't great, but you wouldn't expect it to be given the size of the phones. But it works great for voice and has a very long range.

As the other comment said, your Logitech g533 isn't bluetooth. It's using its own dongle and wireless transmission of lossless audio. No other wireless device will ever compete or try to pair with the dongle, so you can set and forget. Glad to hear you can pace happily during meetings!

In my case, I was using a Logitech bluetooth headset. When calls came in, I would need to switch the headset on, wait, hope it connects, hope Teams hadn't switched to default mic, and hope the battery was still good. I grew tired of the uncertainty and went back to a wired headset.

Speaking about non-bluetooth wireless headsets, I'm super satisfied with the corsair hs80 - the microphone sound quality is absolutely crazy and I can pace and walk around my whole apartment without any issues. Highly recommend them.

The author says not to use a wireless headset. And what’s the difference in time to join a meeting between a high quality mirrorless or DSLR camera and a cheap webcam after the initial setup?

I'm guessing it's a reference to the discussion on this[0] article that essentially says that the more advanced/pro level audio and video equipment in the loop, the more likely you are to have a problems and delay the start of the meeting for everyone. Also many DSLR cameras have a 30 minute time limit due to the CMOS sensor overheating.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31411813

It's not because the CMOS sensor overheats. That's just some faff someone made up to cover up the real reason.

Imports tariffs for digital video cameras are significantly higher than tariffs for still cameras. So companies like Canon, Nikon, and Sony artificially limit the maximum record time on their DSLRs to get around the higher taxes.

The difference is the DSLR isn't designed to function like a webcam - always plugged in ready to go. "Set and forget" doesn't apply as reliably.

For personal use it's fine. But for work meetings where someone calls you unexpectedly is where things can go wrong if you have unconventional equipment dependencies.

The author recommends an "old DSLR". But you will need utility software running, it's not just a simple driver. Manufacturers make and update these utilities at their discretion. It's a gamble whether it all runs smoothly.

The DSLR needs to be in a special mode, and won't wake up in that mode automatically for incoming calls if powered down, etc.

One hackish idea that I had for quick deployment of my mirrorless as webcam, but that I never implemented was to use a dummy battery ⃰ and have a micro controller act as the dummy battery switch. The switch is then controlled by a process that monitors whether the UVC device that's associated with the mirrorless camera is currently being used.

[*] A power adapter that feeds into a battery shaped terminals, thus allowing an "infinite" battery which. It could be better than USB charging while using the battery because USB charging might not keep up with the battery drain. The downside of course might be malfunctioning dummy battery causing your camera to fry.

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