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| Combo headphone-mic headset |
Video conferencing
is amazing. The idea that we can turn a
meeting room into a makeshift television studio and broadcast to the world is
astounding, even to a veteran media person like me. In order to have a successful broadcast, we
need to use the right tool for the job.
When we’re dealing
with video conferencing, we are broadcasting two things: picture and
sound. And while everyone understands
that the video camera needs to show what the viewer wants to see, it can be a
challenge to have the microphone pick up what everyone wants to hear.
Audio rarely
receives the attention it deserves, even though so much of the information
conveyed during a video conference is actually heard rather than seen.
So, what tools do we use to gather sound? The microphone that is built in to your
laptop does a pretty good job if you are the only person on your end of the
conference. However, using the built in
mic and speaker can often set up a feedback or echo effect, where your mic
hears and rebroadcasts the output of your speaker. You will avoid that problem by using a combo
headphone-mic headset like the one pictured.
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| Blue Snowball mic |
If you have a group
of people gathered around a table, you need a different kind of microphone to
hear everyone clearly. The Blue Snowball
microphone can be switched from a cardioid pattern to an omnidirectional
pattern, which means it can be used by a single person or set in the middle of
a table to pick up an entire group of people.
It connects via a USB cable to your computer and is compatible with
Skype and other conferencing software.
Another style of
microphone that is well suited to gathering sound at a meeting is the PZM or
boundary microphone. It sits flat on the
table and picks up reflected sound. This
is the style of mic used with a Polycom and AVer video conferencing system. Some models, such as the MXL-404 (pictured)
also connect to your computer via USB.
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| MXL-404 PZM Mic |
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