Green Dolphin Design

Video chat has become one of the most popular methods of communication in this day and age of advanced technology, and you will find that it is also one of the most effective methods of communication. Rather than trying to avoid your words getting lost in translation when in a conference call or chat, using video chat is the best way to ensure that everything you want to communicate reaches the person you are talking to as clearly as possible.

Whether you are video chatting with your friends and family or you are having a video conference with your colleagues or boss overseas, there is some equipment that you will need. Some of the equipment is simple and fairly cheap, but some of the equipment can run you or your company a good deal of money. In order to have the proper equipment for your video chat, here is a list of some of the things that you will need:

When Having a Video Chat at your Desk:

• A webcam is the most important piece of equipment for your video chat at your desk, as the other person will need to be able to see your face as you chat via video. You can find a number of webcams made by many manufacturers such as Microsoft, Logitech, Facevision, and many others. The cost of these webcams vary according to the quality of the video and the pixel density, and you can spend anywhere from $60 to $250 on a webcam for use at your desk.

• A headset will enable you to talk to your counterpart on the other side of the video chat, and a USB headset will make your life a lot easier. These headsets are easy to use, easy to plug in, and make your video chat much more effective.

• Speakerphones are perfect for those who are having a video conference call with a number of people, and a speakerphone is required to communicate with a number of different people via video chat. You can easily find speakerphones that work with your computer, and they are easy to plug in and install the software for quick use.

Video Chat in Small Conference Rooms:

• When chatting in a small conference room, you will need a camera that is able to move and adjust in order to view the different members of the video conference. Using a webcam that is able to pan, tilt, zoom in and out, and automatically focus is the best way to ensure that your video chat is as easy as possible. The average webcam with these features will run you about $150, though you can find models that are both cheaper and more expensive according to the quality of the picture.

• A speakerphone is a vital piece of equipment for your video conference in a small conference room. Seeing as you are having a number of people participating in the video conference, a single headset will not be sufficient to capture the voices of all the people talking. Using a speakerphone is the best way to ensure that all parties are able to speak and hear clearly. It is vital that you find a speakerphone that is able to cancel out background noise, which is common when having a video conference in a small conference room.

Video Conference in Large Conference Rooms:

• It is vital that you find a webcam that is able to capture high quality pictures at a wide angle, but also able to zoom in on specific objects in the video conference. Purchasing one of these high quality cameras will be fairly expensive, but the expense is necessary to ensure that the person on the other end can see as clearly as possible.

• A PC Video Capture Card is a good way to hook your video conference up to your TV. These cards are easily inserted into your computer, and they are able to capture the video conference being streamed over the internet and display in on the TV or projector in your conference room. This makes it easier to use large conference rooms that are filled with many participants, as it allows you to play the video on a larger screen to be seen by all.

Audio Equipment

• If you are meeting at your desk, a headset will do the trick. However, meeting in a conference room requires that you use noise canceling speakers, as there will be an abundance of background noises that will irritate the people participating in the video conference. Echo cancelling mixers help to ensure that the audio captured and streamed through the video conference is free of annoying background noise.

• The microphones that you use should also cancel out any background noise that would be captured and sent to your counterpart on the other end of the video chat. Using directional microphones is a good way to cancel out noise, though many omni-directional microphones are able to capture only the sounds of people’s voices. These microphones allow you to move around as you talk, but still eliminate the background sounds.

Extra Video Equipment:

• A tripod may be a good idea to give your webcam a good position from which to view your conference. Rather than placing the webcam on the table, using a stand can allow you to elevate the camera to provide a good view.

• Using a wall mount is another way to ensure that the camera captures the video chat at a good angle, and you can easily use these wall mounts to place your video camera high on the wall above your TV. This will allow you to capture picture at a good angle as you face the TV screen where your counterpart appears.