Last night we had our weekly Operations Team (OT) meeting. We met online again and tried some new stuff. Meeting online involves video conferencing, a method in which each person uses a webcam to simulcast themselves with others in the meeting. It combines the elements of a conference call and video. We thought we could do this with a program called Skype, but no. It only allows one on one conversation. (It does provide great one one one application though, and good conference calls)
This week we tried ooVoo a program in Beta that allows up to 6 in video conference. We had a terrible time with feedback echoes though. It got to the point that we tried audio from Skype conference call with video from ooVoo, but then the audio of both programs conflicted and gave us really bad loops.
We ended up cutting back to a conference call on Skype.
Now I must say that it takes a lot of patience to work with me. I tend to be forward looking, and will experiment till I find a way. To me the value of being able to meet online is huge. We wouldn't have to drive to another location, instead from the comfort of our own home we can have a true 60 minute or 90 minute meeting, and not lose drive time etc. Further I'm looking forward to when we have interns from VFCC. This technology will allow them to participate in our meetings. And finally I look forward to being able to connect other leaders from outside our church to our meetings without them having to drive from where they live. For instance, I'd love for my coach in Hagerstown to be able to join us for a meeting. Through this type of technology that would be possible.
Last night through all the goofs, my team showed great patience. That's another reason I love my team.
--Ben
3 comments:
Hi Ben,
Thanks for trying ooVoo and sorry to read you were having audio issues. To avoid the challenges with echo and feedback perhaps consider using headsets.
ooVoo has a built-in automatic echo cancellation mechanism but an echo may occur when one or more people in a conversation are using a set of speakers instead of a headset. It is caused when sound from the speakers is picked up by the microphone.
If you prefer to use a set of speakers instead of a headset, you can try to position the speakers in such a way that the sound is not aimed in the direction of the microphone. You can also lower the speaker volume on the set of speakers which is causing the problem.
Hope these tips help.
Best regards,
Philip Robertson
ooVoo
Thanks Philip,
What great response. We'll try it, and you can definately count on an update.
--Ben
Man, this is cool. You've got me thinking. If I don't like what one of my board members is saying during a video meeting, I could just accidentally hit the power button on my computer.....mmmmmm
Post a Comment