Home office video / mic setup advice

[USMC1316]

I started a new position that has me working from home. I had a meeting in my home office for the first time and I couldn't help but noticed how horrible my video and audio is.
Anyone with a great setup at home that could share some advice?

In my head I want a really good quality video and a strong audio feed. I thought about using a Yeti Blue mic, but I also thought about getting Focalrite 2i2 amp with a XLR mic.
When it comes to the camera, no idea.

Thanks

 

[staticV3]

How much are you willing to spend in total?

 

[Speedskater]

Get a USB microphone.
We have a Blue Snowball Ice, that my wife used to sing with the church choir back in COVID days. The music technical director would paste all the voices together for the pre-recorded service.
But there might be better looking choices.

 

[Berwhale]

There is some discussion on this topic here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/audio-for-ms-teams-zoom-etc.41375/

I use a Logitech H820e binaural DECT headset and the camera built into my Phillips monitor, both work very well...

Headset: https://www.logitech.com/en-gb/products/headsets/h820e-noise-cancelling.html
Monitor: https://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/346P1CRH_00/brilliance-curved-ultrawide-lcd-monitor-with-usb-c

The benefit of a DECT headset like the Logitech is that I can wander around the house and garden when i'm on a call and nobody can tell

 

[USMC1316]

How much are you willing to spend in total?

For the both audio and video, 500ish or less. If the return is worth it if I went a little higher it would be to much of a issue.

 

[staticV3]

For the both audio and video, 500ish or less.

What currency? And would you be ok with buying used equipment?

 

[USMC1316]

What currency? And would you be ok with buying used equipment?

Dollars, I do not have any issue buying used equipment.

 

[jhenderson0107]

For the both audio and video, 500ish or less. If the return is worth it if I went a little higher it would be to much of a issue.

I typically use a Logitech Brio webcam for video during Teams and Slack meetings. However, its audio quality is compromised by room acoustics as its microphone is over 18" from the audio source (me). So, I recently purchased a DJI wireless microphone which clips onto my shirt collar. The close proximity of the DJI microphone results in high voice quality during meetings. I also occasionally record tutorial and training videos at my nearby electronics bench using a Sony full frame mirrorless plus the DJI with excellent results.

 

[LTig]

There are several different possibilities:

• speaker/microphone combo: A quite simple audio solution is the Jabra Speak 510, it contains speaker and microphone and firmware to suppress feedback. It works good for vocals and spares you from wearing headphones all day (I hate this) but sound quality is far from hifi (which may not be the best choice anyway). We use one in a small office for video conferences.
  At home I use my private studio equipment with great success and great sound but it's far above your budget (and I had never bought it just for video calls).
• headset: I can recommend the EPOS ADAPT 660 BT headset series, sound is good and the mic works fine (at least I heard no complaints yet). Noise cancellation works fine but you can switch it off at home. BT works over quite a distance (10m). I use one for MS Teams telephony when I'm in the office.

For video just add a full HD capable Webcam to mount on top of the screen (no need to invest more than $100) and you're done.

 

[USMC1316]

Thanks everyone, all good information and advise.

 

[bluefuzz]

Get a good lavalier microphone. For video good lighting is the most important thing – and a setup where you can look straight at the camera which can obviously be difficult if your screen is directly in front of you.

 

[Berwhale]

@USMC1316 You might want to edit your post above so your question to LTig is not in the quoted text.

 

[jsilvela]

Your fantastic quality audio will probably be heard through Zoom or other such services that add echo cancellation, noise reduction etc. etc.
They can be disabled if you're in a studio environment. If you're not, they are useful, but they'll be messing with your pristine audio.

So if you just want to be kind to your colleagues and not inflict awful audio on them, I add a vote for headset or USB mic, and a cheap HD camera.