Really good overview. Only thing missing might be some visuals on how to set up the owl in zoom so it's the main speaker/microphone, and also how to avoid echoing. That's probably beyond the intended scope, though. Thanks for making this.
thank you! It was nice to be able to see a comprehensive review and demo without submitting my contact info, birthday, favorite color, etc to them! 🤦♂
Great video and I like the honesty of giving the pros and cons. Question - for say a board of directors meeting, and some board members are remote, does Owl/Zoom allow the meeting organizer to keep all remote participants on mute/no video except those remote participants who are also on the board and need to be seen and heard? Generally because of background noise with many dozens of online viewers, we mute all remote participants but having the ability to capture remote board members so others can see and hear them and also have them as part of the So recording would be fantastic.
We have the very first Owl, but during the pandemic it proved too poor quality (its only 720). We are considering the now "Pro" but the quality from it, even though its 1080 it doesn't look great in your initial placement. Do you know why the later positions you sit in you looked much clearer? Was there possibly a smudge on the top? How was the audio in a meeting with many people in the same room? In our experience its not been great and hard for people on the other end to hear people if others talk at the same time as the main person. In this demo its just you, but in the reference image of the meeting you had many people.
The audio is definitely the stand out feature. The video is fine, better in 1080 for sure, but the audio is really great. Folks joining from home have complimented that for sure. I'm not sure why it struggles with that one side of the room. It's not a particularly bright room, so that's part of according to them. support.owllabs.com/s/knowledge/My-Owls-video-is-grainy?language=en_US
We have one of these at our work in a round table huddle room . we find the quality grainy when they zoom into your face. Quality is about 720 and rarely 1080p. Hoping the second gen will be 4k
we use this owl for our weekly meeting. we are having some issues with the other user hearing our audio clearly… it works good and then goes bad and back to good…. what would you recommend?
I am not too impressed with the sound. Would it be possible to use an owl just as 'a cam' and use other mics for the sound. Or does the mics have te be selected in Zoom in order to get the focus of the Owl to a person speaking work?
We have one of these at our work in a round table huddle room . we find the quality grainy when they zoom into your face. Quality it about 720 and rarely 1080p. Hoping the second gen will be 4k
Thank you for this great video! For the multiple remote participants on Zoom, does the Owl camera appear as just another "square" in gallery view? Also, for those in the room with the Owl, can they see all the remote participants at the same time (i.e. gallery view)? Much Appreciated!
We conduct hybrid classes, and need to do presentations using PowerPoint and embedded videos in it. Will we be able to see and hear the presentation on the TV monitor? Could we use an additional computer that is logged on to the same zoom meeting and be able to see/hear a presentation?
Thanks for this! Can you use the app controls if you are not in the room? For instance, if I'm working remotely and on the zoom call but have the app for that owl on my phone can I be the one to control where it's focused? Or do you have to be in the same location as the owl?
I realize everyone is thinking of the use of this in educational settings, but I am a fitness instructor, and I'm curious if it would follow quickly enough to use for hybrid exercise classes. This requires the camera to keep a full-body view. Right now I just use Zoom, but it would be nice to have a camera that follows. I'm not too techie, but do you have a sense of this use of the Owl?
@@stephanielundquist1808 I wonder if you put the owl on the floor rather than a desk and you would likely have to stay a certain distance away to keep the full body in the camera. Just throwing it out there.
I don't know that you can really be too close. The camera is pretty wide angled. I have seen examples with two people at a table about that size and it seems to work very well.
I don't do anything proactively. When you are the one talking is Zooms in on you. Sometimes it's a little slow to respond, but I it does it on it's own. So not sure why it wouldn't do it for you.
Your video is great! I am having trouble getting my laptop to find the owl after I connected it in the USB. Did a scan and it does not find it. Any ideas of what I can do? I have windows 7.
I don't have any thoughts right off. Looking at the online documentation they say Windows 7 is supported even though it's a pretty old OS at this point. Everything I plugged it into it worked, but I only tested back to Windows 10. It could be that the port you are using isn't USB 2.0 if your computer is older, but I would be surprised by that. might we worth reaching out to them, I hear the support is pretty good. support.owllabs.com/s/knowledge/What-are-the-system-requirements-of-the-Owls-host-computer?language=en_US
What if someone is standing at a physical white board in the room. Does the owl capture the person and the full white board or is there an adjustment on the app that must be done for that?
It will keep focus on the presentor. They do offer a supplemental camera that works with the Owl specifically for whiteboard use. I have not reviewed one yet, but hear good things. Though, it requires an annual subscription which I'm not a fan of. amzn.to/3J7dMdC
Kudos, and well done!! I've heard great things about this product, and your video helped me unravel what the printed description/spec sheets tried to describe. I wonder if their tech support team will send me a link to your video. __Camera position__ Have you tried setting the Owl at different heights? What does the Pano view look like when the Owl is set on the floor - feet and knees? Do you know if it can be hung upside down, from the ceiling? The only suggestion for you would be to redirect the sound to the TV at the end of the room instead of the Owl. That's going to pull the in-room participants' eyeballs to the online speaker videos when they have something to say. We found a used 42" TV for $40 to display the virtual audience. FYI: I'm building a business around hybrid meeting support (uhh... "Hybrid Meeting Specialists"), and this looks like a great tool to add. We're currently using the high-end Logitech group.
This is actually a better demo than the one Owl Lab released on TH-cam. Well done!
Thanks!
agreed
Really good overview. Only thing missing might be some visuals on how to set up the owl in zoom so it's the main speaker/microphone, and also how to avoid echoing. That's probably beyond the intended scope, though. Thanks for making this.
thank you! It was nice to be able to see a comprehensive review and demo without submitting my contact info, birthday, favorite color, etc to them! 🤦♂
Glad it was helpful!
I'm specing video conference systems for a client and this was very helpful. More helpful than the manufacturers content for sure.
You're very welcome!
Great review! Adds great value to the hybrid meetings.
Great video and I like the honesty of giving the pros and cons. Question - for say a board of directors meeting, and some board members are remote, does Owl/Zoom allow the meeting organizer to keep all remote participants on mute/no video except those remote participants who are also on the board and need to be seen and heard? Generally because of background noise with many dozens of online viewers, we mute all remote participants but having the ability to capture remote board members so others can see and hear them and also have them as part of the So recording would be fantastic.
Great video. Thanks for taking the time to create it.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Really useful demo... you made my decistion easier to take. Thank you.
Thanks for the super helpful review. Great delivery of information. Thank you!
Great video, doing a great job explaining and showcasing the Owl. Thank you!
Thank you! Let me know if you have other topics or technology you’d like to see covered.
We have the very first Owl, but during the pandemic it proved too poor quality (its only 720). We are considering the now "Pro" but the quality from it, even though its 1080 it doesn't look great in your initial placement. Do you know why the later positions you sit in you looked much clearer? Was there possibly a smudge on the top?
How was the audio in a meeting with many people in the same room? In our experience its not been great and hard for people on the other end to hear people if others talk at the same time as the main person. In this demo its just you, but in the reference image of the meeting you had many people.
The audio is definitely the stand out feature. The video is fine, better in 1080 for sure, but the audio is really great. Folks joining from home have complimented that for sure. I'm not sure why it struggles with that one side of the room. It's not a particularly bright room, so that's part of according to them.
support.owllabs.com/s/knowledge/My-Owls-video-is-grainy?language=en_US
We have one of these at our work in a round table huddle room . we find the quality grainy when they zoom into your face. Quality is about 720 and rarely 1080p. Hoping the second gen will be 4k
we use this owl for our weekly meeting. we are having some issues with the other user hearing our audio clearly… it works good and then goes bad and back to good…. what would you recommend?
I am not too impressed with the sound. Would it be possible to use an owl just as 'a cam' and use other mics for the sound. Or does the mics have te be selected in Zoom in order to get the focus of the Owl to a person speaking work?
A nice gadget but a bit pricey. Well done and very helpful review.
Great review of this device. Thank you so much!
I can't see if anyone has asked this: How does Owl handle Share Screen functions in Zoom?
Thanks for the review, it was very helpful. Have you or anyone tried (2) Owl 3s? I'm pretty sure that's what I'm going to need if I go with Owl.
No, I've never had a second one to play with. Kinda would like too for sure. Maybe they'll send me one :)
Thanks for putting this together. Very helpful!
This looks brilliant. As someone with low vision, it looks like this solution would be super helpful for me when it comes to hybrid meetings.
We've had great luck with it. People of all abilities seem to appreciate it alot.
We have one of these at our work in a round table huddle room . we find the quality grainy when they zoom into your face. Quality it about 720 and rarely 1080p. Hoping the second gen will be 4k
4K would be great for sure. One things we noticed is that people are different distances away it struggles to keep focus.
Super helpful thanks. I’m definitely getting one now
thanks for the review, as it really helped to narrow the choice down
Glad it was helpful!
Great video man! good information!
What happens if the people speaking in the room are using microphones for the attendees in person (large room, where microphones are needed)
Is this usb plug and play, will it require software to be installed into your laptop or pc?
Thank you for this great video!
For the multiple remote participants on Zoom, does the Owl camera appear as just another "square" in gallery view?
Also, for those in the room with the Owl, can they see all the remote participants at the same time (i.e. gallery view)?
Much Appreciated!
We conduct hybrid classes, and need to do presentations using PowerPoint and embedded videos in it. Will we be able to see and hear the presentation on the TV monitor? Could we use an additional computer that is logged on to the same zoom meeting and be able to see/hear a presentation?
Thanks for this! Can you use the app controls if you are not in the room? For instance, if I'm working remotely and on the zoom call but have the app for that owl on my phone can I be the one to control where it's focused? Or do you have to be in the same location as the owl?
interested in this answer too
I wanna ask if it is possible to set up for room of 25 people
I realize everyone is thinking of the use of this in educational settings, but I am a fitness instructor, and I'm curious if it would follow quickly enough to use for hybrid exercise classes. This requires the camera to keep a full-body view. Right now I just use Zoom, but it would be nice to have a camera that follows. I'm not too techie, but do you have a sense of this use of the Owl?
That is a really interesting question. I’m honestly not sure. It seems to prioritize faces so I would expect it would zoom in more upper body.
@@Foundery Rats.
@@stephanielundquist1808 I wonder if you put the owl on the floor rather than a desk and you would likely have to stay a certain distance away to keep the full body in the camera. Just throwing it out there.
thanks. Question. Will the Owl 3 mic/expansion still work to frame and track even while assigning a separate audio device in a meeting platform?
That is a great question. I believe so as it's still listening with its mics even if you aren't using them.
Great effor you put into this review. Any opinion on competitive options?
I have not tested personally any of the alternatives. What I have heard from others is none work as well. That's about all I know.
Does it have a bluetooth option to connect with Laptop, or only wire/USB connection?
thanks for the video BTW, BR
Just usb for connecting to the computer. Bluetooth would be nice for sure.
CAn you be too close to the Owl camera? Can I put it in the middle of a conference table that is only 36" or 42" wide?
I don't know that you can really be too close. The camera is pretty wide angled. I have seen examples with two people at a table about that size and it seems to work very well.
My only question is if you have the remote people on the TV, you're looking at the TV not the camera.
That's why they now have the Owl Bar! It has a camera too and if focus shifts to the TV that camera takes over.
Tanks very much
Good review! Very helpful!
Thank you!
How is it that the camera zooms in on you ? I cannot get it to do that.
I don't do anything proactively. When you are the one talking is Zooms in on you. Sometimes it's a little slow to respond, but I it does it on it's own. So not sure why it wouldn't do it for you.
What about screen sharing in zoom. Then the owl gets really small like the camera, correct?
Correct.
Your video is great! I am having trouble getting my laptop to find the owl after I connected it in the USB. Did a scan and it does not find it. Any ideas of what I can do? I have windows
7.
I don't have any thoughts right off. Looking at the online documentation they say Windows 7 is supported even though it's a pretty old OS at this point. Everything I plugged it into it worked, but I only tested back to Windows 10.
It could be that the port you are using isn't USB 2.0 if your computer is older, but I would be surprised by that. might we worth reaching out to them, I hear the support is pretty good.
support.owllabs.com/s/knowledge/What-are-the-system-requirements-of-the-Owls-host-computer?language=en_US
What if someone is standing at a physical white board in the room. Does the owl capture the person and the full white board or is there an adjustment on the app that must be done for that?
It will keep focus on the presentor. They do offer a supplemental camera that works with the Owl specifically for whiteboard use. I have not reviewed one yet, but hear good things. Though, it requires an annual subscription which I'm not a fan of. amzn.to/3J7dMdC
Is this system better then Logitechs Rally Bar?
I have not tested the Logitch to be fair. But from what I've seen of it I would still go Owl.
Kudos, and well done!! I've heard great things about this product, and your video helped me unravel what the printed description/spec sheets tried to describe. I wonder if their tech support team will send me a link to your video.
__Camera position__
Have you tried setting the Owl at different heights? What does the Pano view look like when the Owl is set on the floor - feet and knees? Do you know if it can be hung upside down, from the ceiling?
The only suggestion for you would be to redirect the sound to the TV at the end of the room instead of the Owl. That's going to pull the in-room participants' eyeballs to the online speaker videos when they have something to say. We found a used 42" TV for $40 to display the virtual audience. FYI: I'm building a business around hybrid meeting support (uhh... "Hybrid Meeting Specialists"), and this looks like a great tool to add. We're currently using the high-end Logitech group.
Why is the camera quality trash answer reminds me of my old flip phone
Nice. Once they get a 4k camera in there, it'll be perfect.
Agreed. That would be an amazing upgrade.
no mention of connecting two Owls. That is REALLY a nightmare!!!
I've heard you can do it but never had two owls to try. Good to know.
Good but too expensive.
The quality of these cameras are terrible. Looks like something from 2016
For the price the picture is horrible.
If you have a problem with this forget trying to get customer service!! The Owl is over priced and has no support!!
Be careful buying this product!
No WPA entreprise support. What a joke.
It looks like shit tbh