Hybrid meetings are becoming more and more common as it is one of the best ways to ensure good meeting attendance. Hybrid meetings include in-person attendance, but also the option to attend the meeting via Zoom, GoToMeeting, Skype, or other virtual meeting options, for those residents on vacation, seasonal or those not wishing to engage in group gatherings. This gives not only your residents, but also you, as a board the flexibility to hold productive meetings.
One of the newest options for audio and video capabilities is an Owl system for the virtual meeting. It is an all-in-one device with a 360 degree camera, a microphone and speaker. It reacts to whomever is talking and highlights them on the screen. You can also add a microphone extension, which can be used at a podium set-up for residents attending the meeting in-person so they can clearly be heard by those attending virtually. It is also compatible with almost all web-based video conferencing platforms, including Zoom, GoToMeeting, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, BlueJeans, and many others. Having an all-in-one system is very affordable and will alleviate the need for many pieces of equipment, which can become lost.
Here are some key features that make the Owl a great system for hybrid meetings:
360-degree camera
Using a traditional webcam camera means you can only capture a small portion of your conference room at a time. Adjusting the position of the webcam as different team members speak is extremely disruptive and not practical.
The Meeting Owl camera is equipped with a 360° lens that captures a panoramic view of your meeting room. This creates a more immersive experience as remote attendees can see everything during the meeting.
Eight microphones
The Owl includes eight built-in omnidirectional mics. Using eight different microphones provides audio coverage for an entire room. These microphones can capture high-quality audio regardless of where a person is, as long as they are within 12 feet of the camera. This ensures that remote attendees don't miss out on anything said during the meeting due to low-quality audio.
Speakers
The 360-degree speakers allow you to clearly hear what remote attendees are saying regardless of where you are sitting in the room.
Combining the 360-degree speakers with the eight omnidirectional microphones offers a seamless experience when a conversation takes place.
The speakers also include an echo cancellation feature. An echo is often caused by a microphone picking up sound from a speaker, which can make the person difficult to hear. The Meeting Owl's echo cancellation feature makes it easy to hear, regardless of the equipment they are using.
You can easily adjust the volume of the Meeting Owl, thanks to the controls found at the bottom of the camera.
Automated focus
The automated focus (or "smart focus") is probably one of the most interesting features of the Meeting Owl. The camera automatically focuses on the person who is talking and displays this person on remote users' screens. The camera will switch focus if another person speaks.
Remote attendees have access to different split video feeds on their screen. One of these feeds shows a panoramic view of the room to provide context and show interactions. Another feed shows the person who is currently talking, and a third one shows the person who spoke last.
Showing the person who spoke last makes it easy to keep track of a conversation. The automated focus mimics how one would look towards a person when they speak up during a meeting.
There is also a corded microphone that can be added as an extension so people can walk up to a “podium” area and speak.
Campbell Property Management currently uses this system and has had great success with it. We recommend communities that are currently still doing virtual meetings or doing hybrid meetings consider this product to help your meetings be more productive.
The base owl costs around $1,000 and the microphone extension is $300.
To purchase the Owl system, click here.
To purchase the Owl system with the microphone extension, click here.