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Ask Slashdot: What's the Best Home Videoconferencing System? 76

Posted by EditorDavid from the I'll-be-seeing-you dept.
renzema (Slashdot reader #84,617) wants suggestions for a point-to-point video conferencing system "to connect the kids to their grandparents... We live in Europe and they in the U.S., but we both have gigabit internet and can sustain upwards of 100mb between our houses." I've been spoiled at work with super high quality Cisco systems... Currently, we have Amazon Echos, but the video quality on these (at least for Sweden/U.S. calls) is really lacking.

We've tried Facetime as well, and while the video quality is much better, the inconvenience of needing to use it on an iPad or phone is quite high (or starting a call with them, then them needing to move to the computer...) Ideally I would love Facetime on an Apple TV with a camera that follows us. We have played a bit with the phone-as-a-camera thing with Facetime and Apple TV, but the sound was not great...

I'm willing to invest in hardware, up to a few hundred dollars per site, if this can really be bulletproof and give a consistently high quality video connection. Ideally it would be standalone hardware that does not need a computer to be running all the time.
There's one problem that can't be solved: calling the grandparents' phone when they're out of the house and not available to talk. But the dream solution involves using a TV to make and receive video calls. "When a call is received, it would power on the TV and 'ring'."

The wishlist?
  • High quality picture
  • No echo in large rooms. Handles people sitting a few meters away from the TV.
  • "Would really prefer no monthly fees."

Any suggestions? Share your own thoughts and experience in the comments.

What's the best home videoconferencing system?

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Ask Slashdot: What's the Best Home Videoconferencing System? More

Ask Slashdot: What's the Best Home Videoconferencing System?

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  • You can get a lot of high end mirrorless cameras to USB out to your laptop/etc. today and act as a webcam that annihilate any notion of a dedicated "system" being better. Just look into that.

    • I would second that, the type of thing is in fact the style of commercial system like they mention with Cisco. Barco Clickshare, Polycom, Logitech Rally that kinda stuff and I would agree, most of them are mediocre at best. In my experience in the AV field you find lot's of them unused as it's simpler to just "plug my laptop into the TV" and if it does work well there's usually admin support for it. The Clickshare's are nice since they are basically wireless video pucks.

      I think they already kinda answere

    • The Facebook Portal was awesome. It's abandoned now, unfortunately, but it was fantastic. Digital face tracking with a very high resolution camera. Crystal clear audio. The mic can pick you up clearly from across the room. Still works with Facebook messenger and Zoom. Used to also work with Bluejeans and another I can't recall.

      • Aside from the camera resolution, what I love about the camera is (1) it picks really good saturation, contrast etc. better than I've ever been able to achieve with my iPhone or with my insta360, (2) the camera tracking is great at capturing 1-6 of us, around the table it moving around, and it positions us properly in the frame.

  • Raspberry pi (Score:2, Insightful)

    by wgoodman ( 1109297 )

    One strapped to the back of each TV with a point to point VPN. Use CEC to turn the TV on and off.

  • I can't be the only one who read that and thought A Home videoconferencing system? Never needed one of those. Always lived in a house that was small enough we could just shout to each other. What is this, News for nerds, rich people problems?

    ...then I saw the part about chatting with relatives in another country. Like the old Apple commercials used to say, "there's an app for that."

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Splat ( 9175 )

      Slashdot readers overengineering grandmas video calls so she can talk to Little Timmy in 200Mbps H265 8K.

      Yeah no, not just you....

      Let's take a perfectly acceptable, usable, convenient solution and overcomplicate it!

  • Facetime shortcomings? (Score:3)

    by battingly ( 5065477 ) on Sunday September 01, 2024 @06:17PM (#64754278)
    I find it convenient to make the Facetime call on a iPhone or iPad that you can use as your camera, then airplay to the appletTV if you want a big picture that everyone in the room can easily see. The camera on the iPhone or iPad will follow you to the degree possible. If you want a wide range of camera movement to follow you as you walk around the room, mount it on a gimbal with an automatic follow feature.

  • Home video landscape offers limited choices. (Score:5, Informative)

    by Angelwrath ( 125723 ) on Sunday September 01, 2024 @06:19PM (#64754282)

    This is an area I am quite familiar with professionally, but the solutions are not great.

    Casting boxes that support webcams:
    - Google Chromecast with Google TV supports a USB webcam connection, so this plus Google Meet to perform the calls is one option
    - Xbox with webcam and Skype. This is one option I know that likely supports a calling / ringtone option and Skype has been doing video calls for a long time, but keep in mind the calling feature may require fees

    Webcam options:
    For this the key element here is "with a camera that follows us". The home webcam segment calls this "PTZ", or Pan / Tilt / Zoom. Certain companies have unique names for the tech like "Eagle Eye". The PTZ keyword will help you find more choices beyond what I know, but the big caveat here is: this is a nascent industry and some solutions are bad. Either they are slow to react and recognize the new person in the room, or video quality is poor. I say this because anything advertising itself as a PTZ camera is an area I'm not familiar with but I have seen even the professional stuff from Cisco / Poly / Jabra and even there we saw noticeably bad cropping and / or video quality.

    Suggested items to look at:
    - Poly Studio P15 (includes speakers)
    - Jabra Panacast MS (extremely small and unobtrusive, uses 3 fixed cameras for area coverage and stitches the images together; recommend confirming video settings are set to the highest possible, out of the box we did not observe good video quality)
    - Logitech PTZ Pro 2, highly observable camera, it noticeably moves on servos when it's following people

    I will say: it probably pays to do your own research here, a search for "PTZ camera review" turned up plenty of choices. It will be worthwhile seeing what the reviews have to say as that will probably shape your shortlisting / decisionmaking.

    • Agreed. For a comfortable experience where people will likely be interacting from different areas in a room, instead of always sat in the same position at a desk, you have 3 main priorities:
      - Decent intelligent microphone array;
      - Subject tracking/PTZ camera (can be software);
      - User friendly.

      User friendly can be a bit of a challenge for any "home made" solution.

      One of the best home systems I've come across, both in usability and value, was the Facebook/Meta Portal TV [meta.com]. You sat it on yo

      • Yea, I saw one of those in a Best Buy when I was visiting the US and thought that it was a great piece of tech. Just hate the whole Facebook aspect of itâ¦

        • I totally get that, however it's so far ahead of anything else I've seen on the market, and at such a great price, I'd highly recommend taking the dive.

          Buy one, test that it still provides the services you require (if not, refund), then buy a second. It's a win/win.
          Meta have said that the available extra services might change with time, but have promised that the core technology should continue working for a good time yet.

          All of these people posting "just get an iPad", whilst well intentioned, have no clue.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

        One of the best home systems I've come across, both in usability and value, was the Facebook/Meta Portal TV. You sat it on your TV like a soundbar and initiated video calls from your phone (WhatsApp, FB, etc). The microphone array was very impressive, and the camera automatically zoomed and tracked everyone in the room. It also had lots of interactivity options, allowing you to read animated stories to the kids, play games together, etc, etc.

        I've seen the Portal used and it is impressive. However, it has on

    • There's no need for a PTZ webcam. Any iphone or ipad has center stage to automatically follow the subject. If you need more movement than that, just get an auto-follow gimbal, put a phone in that, and use Facetime. Done.

      • That still doesn't solve the audio issue. That needs a decent microphone array, and external sound that doesn't generate feedback.

        • What audio issue? Facetime has excellent feedback suppression. The microphone works great. Or you can attach an external mic/array if you prefer.

    • My parents and my kids have been happily using Facebook Portal since it came out in 2019. It's simple enough that non-tech-literate people can just press the "video-call" button and it works.. the camera quality is extremely good - it finds the right color balance, saturation etc. better than most other cameras, and the camera tracking keeps 1-6 people properly centered in frame really well. My kids also enjoy playing the games with their grandparents.

      I tried a load of other solutions but nothing has worked

      • Facebook Portal also lasted less than three years, and those three years were Covid, when a plug-and-play home videoconference system should have been a license to print money.
  • What's meant by this "we both have gigabit internet and can sustain upwards of 100mb?" Really a symmetrical 50 mb low latency connection is more than adequate for a video call with 2 parties....

  • I hate Zoom as a company. Their products are flawed. They're still the best for most people. Logitech and many others make great hardware. Want it all automated? You just sound a bit lazy.

    • Don't like Zoom? There are alternatives: Skype, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet ... surely there are others but I can't think of them right now.

    • I need cloud recordings, sharing of recordings when I choose to, recordings that start automatically, and most importantly, an interface that everybody knows and can get working without me. I also want a standalone app, since web permissions are painful for many. Only Zoom does all that. Sure, some people know Teams, but most don't. Skype? That was modern 5 years ago, but now it's way behind the times.

  • There's a reason musicians record in a small enclosed audio-controlled studio.
    Because that's how sound waves can be tamed.
    They spend HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS per such a room not a measly piss-poor whiny-ass "hundreds."

    You want it in a LIVING ROOM? You know, where distances to microphones and speakers are VARIABLE but you want NO ECHO?

    But hey, Slashdot Weekend, and any idiot can post a stupid question.
    You just posted the most wankerish one.

  • Just use facetime (Score:3)

    by XaXXon ( 202882 ) <xaxxon.gmail@com> on Sunday September 01, 2024 @07:11PM (#64754392) Homepage

    All they have to do is hit "answer" and you're done.

    If it's too complicated for them to use their own phones, you said you're willing to buy hardware, so just buy them a dedicated ipad and stand and all they have to do is hit "answer" when you call them.

    Done.

    It meets all the requirements you laid out.

    • Often the problem is that the tech isn't quite as set-and-forget as you'd like, especially for seniors.

      In particular, we need:
      * a way to prevent uninstalling and modifying the homescreen.
      * a way to prevent the volume being turned down (sooo often, people can't hear because of how they picked up the device)
      * absolutely no adverts
      * absolutely no prompts. (the device must never ask permission to upgrade, or give notifications of new versions, ...)
      * guarantee of no spam - only specific people can call.

      In some c

  • Finding a turnkey solution that's good quality and standalone under a few hundred is going to be very difficult.

    We've had very good luck with a Laptop connected to an IPEVO Totem 360 and a IPEVO Vocal Hub running 6 IPEVO vocals as mic's and speakers. This setup was for a massive echo filled conference room and it has been great in reducing the echo. The only problem is the setup was around $3000-$4000 total for all of the devices but it was cheaper than a hardwired Mic and Camera system. If its a small room

  • Discord (Score:4, Informative)

    by Guspaz ( 556486 ) on Sunday September 01, 2024 @07:22PM (#64754426)

    Get a decent camera and a decent microphone. Plug them into a computer, and use Discord. If you want to help with noise and reverb cancellation, get an nVidia 3000 or 4000 graphics card and use the "nVidia Broadcast" tool, which can sit in between the microphone and software and do quite effective noise and reverb cancellation (strength individually controllable).

    But honestly, facetime on an iPad is a hell of a lot easier and more convenient. I don't really understand how it's not the most convenient option. If you want a bigger screen, get the 13" one.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Ormy ( 1430821 )
      I'd suggest the same, decent camera and mic (even better if you get a mic that can do both omnidirectional and unidirectional, or a microphone array if you really want good audio from a bad room) and discord. Put it on cheap laptop, connect the laptop to a TV if necessary. If discord is too much for elderly relatives, google meets can sometimes be easier for some users. Discord has pretty good noise suppression and echo suppression built in, if that's not enough you could try the 'nvidia broadcast' that
  • Just use Google Chat on a video call or zoom. Both have clients for every device imaginable and are free. And schedule your calls.

  • I Skype no longer a thing? A coworker used to video call her parents in Germany several times a week.

    • > Is Skype no longer a thing?

      Nope. Skype died 8 years ago, back around 2016.

      MS blew $8+ Billion buying them in 2011 and within 5 years everyone I know switched to alternatives (LUL) because MS kept fucking with the UI that no one asked for.

      People seem to be split into 2 camps:

      * FaceTime on the iPhone / iPad was good enough.
      * For regular computer users Google Chat, Zoom, Slack, Teams and Discord took over.

  • VDO.Ninja is a suitable backend for this, video goes point to point, the backend just does the initial signaling between endpoints. You can also self-host the backend if you want. Works pretty much anywhere a browser has permission to see a camera.

  • I rarely have a need for such software personally, but I use Jitsi on those occasions, and I'm happy with it.

  • Have you checked and optimized your network traffic for the Echos? It is a low-cost (your time) check.

  • For capturing people in a room, don't rely on the computer's mic, nor on crappy webcam mics (well, OK, do if you've experienced great sound for them, but that's a roll of the dice).

    Instead, make sure you have an analog or USB "boundary mic" or "pressure zone mic" for capturing conference room audio. They're adapted to the task, omnidirectional, and some are quite affordable. The OG boundary mic was the Crown PZM, but there are many affordable options now.

    To use a boundary mic, place it on a broad flat surfa

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jddj ( 1085169 )

      another thought: Make sure the camera cable and the mic cable are not going to F you up - get extension cables if needed - this comes during the PRACTICE. You ARE practicing, right?

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Well if you've got sound men/women, fishpoles, shotgun mics and somebody mixing, you're talking more than the typical home system, Mr. Villeneuve.

        A coffee table is typically too low to let people comfortably finger drum on it. Yes, you'll hear some disturbances, but far better than a cardiod pattern from some crap webcam's electret condenser nic.

        Doing this successfully today with remote meetings for a local club. Anybody can say "It'll never work". Some of us learn how to make it work.

        • Comment removed based on user account deletion

          • Dude, this is a setup for kids talking to their grandparents.

            Depending on age micing them up is likely a nightmare (both the kids and if anything like my parents the grandparents too)

            Soundboard table also sounds like a problem but probably easier to solve. Like putting the omni mic on the tv stand

            • Agree about micing people up being a challenge (and having to use a mixer on top of that!).

              But a boundary mic is designed for a flat surface, not a stand. The flat surface increases the boundary effect.

              My point about using a boundary mic was for getting a room miced for several people with a single mic for a home teleconference with good (not perfect) sound.

              There are clearly ways to get considerably better sound, as anyone who's done even a little pro sound can tell you, but if you're not going to do mic se

  • I don't know what you mean by "system" but a webcam on a TV running Google Meet with you folks on the couch would work well.

  • I have been using Zoom a lot, and it really works well. HDMI a computer to a TV if you must. Free for 40 minutes sessions, and if you need to talk longer, just call back, and another free 40 minutes. Rinse and repeat :).

  • NAT (Score:2)

    by Bert64 ( 520050 )

    The public video conferencing services are designed to relay the traffic through their servers on the basis that most users are stuck behind NAT and cannot establish a direct connection between devices. The quality is kept low to reduce bandwidth use by their central servers, irrespective of what capacity you have between the two participants. Even systems like telegram which *can* make direct connections between users, keeps the quality low to level out the user experience.

    The more expensive equipment is d

  • is really a physics problem. If you have a large room with reflective surfaces and are not very close to the microphone, you will get echoes. There are a few de-reverb plugins, but they are far from perfect. Not sure, if any of them have ever been implemented in hardware-only solutions.

  • Set the Grandparents up on Find Me, and then you can solve the unsolvable problem, by checking to see if they are home before calling them.

  • Wait a couple of months (Score:3)

    by djb ( 19374 ) on Monday September 02, 2024 @04:52AM (#64755214) Homepage

    Apple is rumoured to have a new HomePod with a screen and a revised Apple TV which will hopefully support a webcam out in time for Christmas. So probably worth waiting until product announcements season is over.

  • Check Google Duo app available on some Samsung Smart TVs with certified external cams. Super simple to use, works great. Has PTZ.

  • zoom (Score:1)

    by antus ( 6211764 )
    zoom free version. phones, tablets, laptops or pc with built in cam or reasonable quality webcam.

  • I use a Mac mini as my home theater PC and have used it for video calls in the past, such as when I was interviewed by ZeroPage Homebrew [youtube.com] for my Atari 2600 Homebrew games.

    Other World Computing [macsales.com] has used Mac minis starting at $59 [macsales.com].

  • The Meeting Owl is a great solution if you're using it with a computer. I'm sure you can find an inexpensive one out there... they were super popular during the pandemic in schools and businesses that now have them stored in closets. ANY model will work... you don't need the latest and greatest. Check your local craigslist for more info https://owllabs.com/ [owllabs.com]
  • Try CU-seeMe on a 56k modem.

    Great hours-long transatlantic family conversations!

    - "Can you hear me?"

    - "Ya, but a little choppy..."

    - "Can you see me?"

    - "A bit pixellated by ya..."

    - "Hold on, I'll restart my modem..."

    [5 minutes later]

    - "Can you hear me?"

    - "Ya, but a little choppy..."

    - "Can you see me?"

    - "A bit pixellated by ya..."

    - "Hold on, I'll restart my modem..."

    Rinse and repeat!

    Hours of family fun I tell 'ya!

  • I feel you. It seems some people here don't understand the challenge of distance and grandparents, so neither a table nor discord will do. Be aware that some dedicated hardware might get obsolete at some point, my dedicated ”Logitech Skype TV cam HD” camera (including WiFi and LAN) only lasted a year until the servers got switched off. And I got dedicated Android cameras which used Duo that got killed, those Chinese devices never really worked well. Therefore I recommend to get a device with a

  • Zoom: Dead simple. Multiplexing. Cross platform. Globally preferred video conferencing platform since 2020.

    My next choice, a distant second, would be WhatsApp

  • Zoom Basic is free and allows for calls of up to 40 minutes.

  • If you have grandparents which a real alergy to tech devices, then the Amazon Echo Show is worth considering. You can configure the "drop in" function so that if you call them, it will connect without the grandparents having to do anything. If the Echo Show device is set up on a table in the grandparents' house where they would normally be happy to take the call (e.g. on a coffee table in front of a sofa), then it it very easy for them to use.

    Downsides include the video quality, which I would call "sufficie

  • Been interested in trying out this solution:

    https://try.getjubileetv.com/l... [getjubileetv.com].

    No clue if it’s any good, but I liked their prior product Caavo.

  • The answer is 'facetime.' Or skype. Or Microsoft Teams, even.

    Yes, everybody needs an apple device. If you're talking about buying special equipment to do it, the special equipment can be an iPad.

    You'll never beat the 'grandma proof'edness of saying 'hey siri, facetime Brayden.'

    Many people have tried to build 'home video conference' systems, that include hardware. Facebook Portal is the most recent one I can remember that was mass marketed, and that was back in 2019.

    It was dead within three years, and tw

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