Looking for something better than webcam for Webinar

Hi All

We need a way for one of our customers to view a mail piece and it's contents (printed matter) to avoid the delays in shipping pieces for approval. The idea is we will build a "viewing booth" that is well-lit and will have a fixed camera that should appear to a PC as web cam (so it can be used by GotoMeeting/Webex or similar). We can look at other software if there's something out there that will facilitate. We would prefer the remote end to be a web app.

A user at our facility will place the piece under the camera, and let the remote user inspect the piece (our user being guided verbally). The operator will (upon instruction) open the piece and allow them to view critical pieces of the printed information.

Best I can find so far is Logitech C920 which is pretty poor. Main things are that auto focus is terrible; depth of field is very small (which means we have to refocus on thicker subjects. Max subject thickness is probably 1/8-inch), optics are not too good.

Would one of the black magic products (or something else) do it, and what would I need to get a live feed that appear to the software like a web cam from firewire or USB? We can use Mac or Windows as the platform at the transmit site.

Obviously we're at the mercy of compression for transmission, but if we a quality source we at least stand a fighting chance.

TIA

Mark

What is your budget range? There are a number of document cameras that have USB connections that show up as a webcam under Webex / GotoMeeting. For example the Elmo MO-1, or the AVer U15

What is your budget range? There are a number of document cameras that have USB connections that show up as a webcam under Webex / GotoMeeting. For example the Elmo MO-1, or the AVer U15

Thanks a lot. Those don;t look bad., Don;t really have a budget. Project for CEO. I reckon I could get away with a few grand if needed. Will check out suggestions

Thanks

Again

Consider the Blackmagic Mini Recorder (Thunderbolt connection) or my personal choice, the Magewell XI100DUSB-HDMI USB 3.0 connection with built in scaling:

http://www.magewell.com/hardware/dongles/xi100dusb-hdmi/xi100dusb-hdmi_features.html?lang=en

I use the Panasonic HC-V850 (with the Magewell) and this provides excellent results as a "webcam".

Thanks for reply

I was playing with Livestream.com yesterday with the logitech (happened to have one in office). Was about a 10 sec delay (even on mobile quality). Is this the service or the encoding time on my PC?

Anyone know of a good real-time (can live with 2-3 sec delay of Live stream) streaming service?

Regards

Mark

Oh dear. Yes. That delay is really just how encoding and streaming works when using online streaming services. Not a lot you can do to reduce that if you use one of those services.

You can "do it yourself" instead. It sounds like you don't actually need this to be streamed to a big audience? You just need this to be a point to point video?

If that is the case then you don't need to use something like Livestream at all.

For a simple solution check out the devices from teradek that handle point to point video transmission (teradek bolt/cube)

Oh dear. Yes. That delay is really just how encoding and streaming works when using online streaming services. Not a lot you can do to reduce that if you use one of those services.

You can "do it yourself" instead. It sounds like you don't actually need this to be streamed to a big audience? You just need this to be a point to point video?

If that is the case then you don't need to use something like Livestream at all.

For a simple solution check out the devices from teradek that handle point to point video transmission (teradek bolt/cube)

Hi Liam

It will actually be a 1:1 "broadcast". If the solution I end up with appear as a webcam to the PC/Mac I have a great deal of choice in software. I test GotoMeeting and it works, but we have to setup the call, etc every week. I'd like a permanent URL where the customer can go and we just start streaming. LiveStream is probably the wrong platform, but I'm just starting the research. Ideally, the customer wouldn't have to install any software (other than a browser plug-in and the customer edn should run on Mac and Windows 7/8/9)

Will check out the teradeck stuff

Regards

mark

In that case you just need to use Skype...or a Google Hangout.

Skype works with my Blackmagic capture card - Google Hangouts doesn't work directly (anymore) - instead I use the Virtual Camera capability of my Wirecast Software.

You may be able to use GotoMeeting or WebX. I don't have any experience with their HD camera capabilities.

Good luck.

In that case you just need to use Skype...or a Google Hangout.

Skype works with my Blackmagic capture card - Google Hangouts doesn't work directly (anymore) - instead I use the Virtual Camera capability of my Wirecast Software.

You may be able to use GotoMeeting or WebX. I don't have any experience with their HD camera capabilities.

Good luck.

Thanks!

If using WebEx, beware with the BMD products, the Mac Driver does a double crop on the video if you use a resolution of 720p or below.