I work for a company with about 26K employees, where infrastructure is pretty locked down but we realize that "digital is coming" and that we have to be more flexible. My review is really for the corporate IT department trying to figure out what the heck this thing is, is it a security risk, and where do we go from here.
First, we wanted to know that this can be used in fully stand alone mode-- USB only-- as a webcam. It can. Internet is not absolutely required, it does work with Pixelbook and Chromebooks, it does work with Windows 10 with no additional manual driver loads required.
IT does do what it claims, scanning the room, identifying humans, making them the center of the video when they are speaking as you would expect from a very large, very expensive video conferencing system. The video quality was "good" but I wouldn't call it exceptional.
Next: Firmware updates. Yes it does require some kind of wifi based internet connection and a smart phone app to initiate firmware updates. At this point we have users using their smart phone as a mobile hotspot to manage firmware updates. We don't allow unauthenticated devices without MDM on our wireless network today, so this was the most logical short term workaround.
Next: Can it be secured? Not really. I thought it was running Android, haven't been able to confirm what OS is on it.
Finally: The Registration: This is probably the part that, at first was the most concerning from a corporate IT perspective. It has its own cloud based utilization/ status/ statistics gathering program that allows anyone with a corporate email address who registers a unit to see all of the other units in the environment. I discovered that we had two other units registered. In reality a person could register the unit on a personal email account and we'd never know about it, etc. This is the murky part that we haven't fully settled in on.
As of now the units are still allowed for use and we haven't made any clear conclusions on starting up an IoT type dedicated SSID, though this is not the only product driving that kind of decision it's certainly one of them.
The device does accomplish it's goal of making a remote worker feel more part of the team and for that, there were few to no other prefect alternatives.
I bought the MO after having articles forwarded to me from (2) different people in the same day about it and then gettting inundated with social media ads... so good news for the Meeting Owl marketing team, your marketing worked.
We do morning "Huddles" where we have approximately 20 people in one room and a few other people remotely video conferencing in. We use mainly Chrome OS with Zoom running in a web browser. Our normal setup is a wide view camera on the top of a TV at one end of the room. The room is fairly large, approximately 25-30 feet long and 15 feet wide.
We tested it with a huddle this morning and overall it worked well -- some takeaways so far:
* It definitely has a "cool" factor -- people found themselves staring at the screen to see if it noticed they were speaking... we dubbed it "Witchcraft" :)
* The speed at which is detects who is speaking can vary -- sometimes it picks them up right away, sometimes it is a little slower to respond. My guess is it is trying to decipher between someone making rustling noises with paper (ie: not important sounds) vs. important sounds like speaking.
* Our room is large -- the remote users noted that the audio was similar to the high end video conference microphone we normally used -- which was an original concern of mine.
* Since our room is so large, one comment is that the people tend to have a lot of "white space" around them -- it would be nice if the Owl could zoom in on them, even digitally, to make them look larger... possibly there could be a setting for the type of meeting (small/medium/large room and if people are sitting or standing, or distance most people are from camera, etc). When sitting I don't think this would be as much an issue as when we stand for our huddles. I'm not sure if the resolution of the camera currently is high enough to support this.
* The remote users noted it was an improvement to be able to see the face of the person speaking. Normally they have to guess who is speaking based upon recognizing the voice.
* We had a few minor glitches... there was one situation where my body was directly on a split and MO would not center on me. I could see my left and right arms but the middle of my body was on the camera split. I made sure to talk directly at it was not able to pick up.
* The full room view is not very useful when having a large conference (huddle) type setup -- the remote users considered it more "gimmicky" and not effective as it was too small. It also takes up the screen real-estate and so the direct shots of people are smaller. Two options: A) It would be nice to have the option in the app to turn that feature off. B) It would be cool if it could "auto turn off" if someone within the same room was not speaking. For example if only a remote person was speaking, show the full room, but once someone within the room is speaking then show only the large views of people (and get rid of the panorama) as it is not as relevant. This may be tough as you would have to figure out how MO could determine the difference between a speaker and the TV [Maybe the app would allow defining the location of the TV in the setup to aid MO in this].
* Along with having an app to change settings -- I may have a number of staff using the device and not be connected to MO for settings. It would be cool to have mini QR code cards (think index card type things) that we could hold up to the MO camera to change settings. If my team wanted to turn the Panorama on/off, they could just hold up a QR code to the MO and it would change the setting instantly. We don't want people fumbling with their phones or having to "connect" it if they have not already. [Feel free to send me a free MO if you use that idea LOL]
* One unintended side effect: The MO makes me much more aware of the bald spot on the back of my head... I can now see it when I look at the TV. :)
A good conference room camera has become my obsession. I've returned maybe 5 cameras, I have a drawer full of other ones. Nothing out there until this thing really lends itself to be used in smaller conference rooms.
I'm thinking of dropping these in all of my smaller conference rooms. I agree with one of the other reviewers, the time it takes to recognize the speaker can vary. Regardless, I have tried a variety of wide angle lens camera's to work with smaller huddle rooms with no success. This crazy camera is awesome and does a great job with small huddle rooms! I've not tried it in larger environments.
Here's my gripe, I have a lot of different folks coming into the conference rooms. The hardware is very elegant but I prefer more clearly marked buttons in lieu of elegance. The subtle control buttons at the base are too obscure for a common use environment.
-Chuck
Owl is really great and has made a big diff in our meetings. Audio is better than a speaker phone (both mic and output) or tv, and the views rock - in many ways because the camera is simultaneously closer to everyone and also the distance to participants is more evened out. So you can both see everyone, and make out everyone's face. And the simplicity is *great* (just plug in and it works, no software to install, extra mics, wires, etc).
Small asks:
- It would be nice if the resolved video was slightly higher res so you could read things on whiteboards (without writing super huge)
- It does seem to pickup HVAC/computer fans just a bit... don't know if there's a way to filter out drone type noises better.
- Super minor - An indicator on the unit of which way is front (ie, which side is where the split in the panorama view is) so you can split the in-room tv instead of someone's head.
This is my second one - first one is in such demand, we needed another.
These are great for meeting in smaller rooms for upto 12 or so people. It actually holds up better than expected in larger conference rooms, but sound and picture quality degrade. It's all about the placement of people around the OWL and their proximity to the OWL. The larger the room, the further people will be spaced from the OWL, so naturally you'd have diminishing returns. I think optimally people should be maybe 8-10ft max from the OWL.
I love that this is a self contained unit that does all the thinking - no special drivers needed. So far it has been truly plug and play. Plug it in and not only does the system automatically recognize it, but Zoom will usually select it automatically as the default for cam/mic/speaker. We've only had to enter into the system settings once or twice to force it to recognized and used as the default.
Folks at the remote end love that this tracks the speaker. They can see who is talking as well a panorama of the entire group - at the same time.
CONS:
Cost: at $800 it was not an easy decision to make the first time around. After working with one for a while I am sold on how well it works, but still steep at $800.
Mics: Not really a CON but more of a wish-list item. For larger rooms it is the speaker and mics that degrade faster than the cam. It would be great if this could work with external mics and speakers. I could then set up my wireless conference mics/speakers around the room and let the OWL handle the cam. The cam still holds up pretty well in larger spaces - better than the single POV cams. Folks really like being able to see everyone in the room with the inside-the-circle 360 view. However, as it is the OWL is dependent on the internal mics to track the direction of the current speaker. I haven't actually tested external mics/speakers with the OWL, but I suspect that it would work just fine, but just not be able to track the speaker. Worst case scenario might be that the CAM would bounce around trying to figure out who to focus on. I'll get a chance to test this out at some point.
Item Reviewed: Meeting Owl 360 Degree Video Conference Camera
Feature Product
- BEST TEAM MEETING EXPERIENCE. Meeting Owl is the first 360° smart video conferencing camera. It automatically highlights and shifts focus to different people in the room when they speak, so you know what's happening as if you're there.
- SEE AND HEAR EVERYONE CLEARLY. It combines mic, camera and speaker into one device and sits in the center of the table. The 360° lens shows the whole room, while eight microphones pick up everyone within twelve feet.
- EASY AND QUICK SETUP. Plug in the power and USB, load up your favorite video conferencing platform, and start your meeting. No downloads or installs.
- GET NEW FEATURES AUTOMATICALLY. Meeting Owl connects to wifi so you get new helpful features automatically over time and the best possible experience.
- GIVE THE OWL A TRY. Use the 30-day return policy to try the Meeting Owl in your own office. Get feedback from your in-office and remote teammates and see what they think.
Description
No other conferencing camera puts everyone “in the room.” Take a transformational approach to your remote and distributed meetings. The Meeting Owl gives a more inclusive video conferencing experience. That means increased efficiency, no miscommunication, and a team that feels closer together.
Good product. People who work remotely for our company really appreciate the expanded views of everyone in the room.
The sound quality and mic are good. However I feel the video quality could be improved a bit. It’s perfectly usable, but not quite as good as say a mid grade Logitech webcam. Feels a little mushy and slightly underexposed.
Generally people like it and we’re considering a second one for another conference room.
I bought this for a conference room in my home. I do a lot of work from home and wanted to be able to have a good camera for Zoom calls with a small group around my conference table. I learned about the Meeting Owl from being on the receiving end of a call with several people around a table. The sound quality was great and I was quite impressed with the device's ability to focus the camera on the person speaking, coupled with the full "panorama" view of the room from the middle of the table. I called the host of that meeting to learn what they were using and discovered the Owl. I was about to buy a more traditional camera / audio system but I liked the functionality of the Owl. The bonus is that it cost a bit less than what was I considering. Net net, I'm very happy with the device. It works great, picture and sound quality are excellent, and it connects easily to my MBP. I've been using it on and off for about a month and so far, I have not found any gotchas.
Video is very good. A solid product. The quick recognition of who is speaking is impressive. The only thing that prevents it from getting 5 stars is the audio. We are finding it is still better to dial in to a meeting and use a conference room phone instead of the Owl's integrated microphone and speakers.
Love everything about this camera, I have been researching conference room cameras for a long time and could not find one that would have the audio quality we need because of the echo in our conference room is so bad. This camera is perfect! The sound quality is great and the receiving end is also solid sound quality. I will be adding two more to our other conference rooms as soon as we get the chance. The picture quality isn't super Hi-Def but good enough for what its needed for, that could also be the median we are using for conferencing. The one drawback may be having to plug it directly into a computer which is on a wall behind an 80-inch screen, about 10 feet away. I currently have a USB extender running it back to the computer, I suggest if you do this you get one that includes AC power adapter otherwise the signal will not come through as it should. Hope this helps anyone make a decision as it really is a fantastic camera!
Looks super cool. Works as advertised.
Easy interface... just plug it in via USB and the owl takes care of making all the people show up.
Sound quality is better than our previous VOIP Polycon conference phone.
Only recommendations:
1) it doesn't always key in on who is speaking. I haven't called support, so they might have a setting or something I need to tweak.
2) we have a glass wall on one side of the conference room and lots of backlight comes in on that side that degrades the video quality a bit.
3) our table holds 10 people. sometimes the Owl has a long way to see folks at the far end of the table and they appear pretty small.
4) sometimes, where to look if you are in the conf room is awkward. you want to look the person you are speaking to in the eyes, but that means you have to look at the screen where you are projecting the online participants video feeds. That is not next to the owl if your owl is in the middle of the table.. so you aren't looking at them when they are looking at you, which makes the non-verbal communication piece still not completely solved.
I would imagine in a smaller room with a 6 top round table, and no external light coming it, it would be better, but still not sure where to put the screen..
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