CollabWorx Audio & Video Conferencing
Microphone and Camera Information

CollabWorx Audio & Video portlet is designed to support wide array of camera products available on the market. Still, due to differences in used algorithms, programming interfaces, and quality, some of the cameras may work better than others with CollabWorx audio/video portlet. The quality of CollabWorx audio and video is unmatched, but you will need a decent mike and camera to fully benefit from the quality of our software. Below you can find our recommendations for audio and video devices:

Cameras we like

We recommend these devices for use with our software.

• Logitech QuickCam Orbit is a high-end camera with advanced features such us face tracking, zooming, and panning. It is a bit pricey but a lot of fun - and the video quality is outstanding. This camera has superb color reproduction (USB 2.0 required).
• Creative Lab NX series (NX, NX Pro, NX Ultra) USB 1.1 and Live! series (Live!, Live! Pro and Live! Ultra) USB 2.0 are outstanding cameras, and they are supported by our newest software release. If you encounter any trouble with these cameras, Please, contact us for information how your specific CollabWorx deployment can be updated to support them.
• Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 USB cameras on Windows 2000, XP, and ME.
• Creative Labs WebCam Pro Ex (if you still can get it) USB camera on Windows 2000, XP, and ME. This camera comes with a simple but very decent analog microphone.
• Winnov Videum Conference Pro (audio/video capture board with camera) on all platforms, the only alternative for Windows NT.
• If you wish to connect a really high-end camera (such as, for instance, a SONY EVI-D70, you may consider buying Winnov Videum 1000 Plus (this card includes very good analog audio capture) or Winnov Videum 1000 VO PLUS video capture card. Alternatively, you can buy a video-to-USB converter such a USB Live! from Global Media.
• Global Media K2 USB Video Camera - CollabWorx software working with this camera supports lipsync! Requires your PC to have a USB 2 port. Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

If you see another camera and are not sure if it is appropriate, please, use price as a guideline. Cameras offered for less than $39 retail are probably not worth buying.

Cameras we don't recommended

These devices caused problems when used with CollabWorx A/V portlets:

• Veo USB cameras, including the recent Veo Advanced Connect Web Camera. This camera produces output in only one format, which is incompatible with the advanced codecs we use in our software.
• IBM PC and IBM Net USB Cameras (only support very low frame rates, very cheap but you get what you paid for)
• Any USB cameras sold for below $39 (well, they may work but they all use cheap CMOS sensors and the video quality will be poor).

Recommended microphones and headsets

We generally recommend use of digital microphones. They are pricey but the difference in audio quality is tremendous as compared to analog mikes.

Under no circumstances should you use microphones built-in into cameras. All these products will produce inferior, noisy audio with ambient noise dominating conversation. Built-in microphones are practically useless.

• Logitech® Premium USB Headset 350 is a high quality noise canceling USB device combining digital headphones and mike.
  
• Plantronics DSP-300 headset (USB device). Audio quality is outstanding, but the plug-and-play driver is a bit quirky (i.e., you may see Windows trying to reinstall the driver every time you connect the device).
• For conferencing rooms using amplified speakers and accommodating groups rather than a single user we recommend SOLO digital echo canceling microphone from Phoenix Audio Technologies or the USB speaker phone from the same source.
  

Video Codecs Download

If your video window displays message "MP42 not installed" you should update your codecs library. Download and install this package:

Windows Media Player Codecs

Contact us!

Send e-mail to  support@collabworx.com if you experience any problems when using CollabWorx Audio & Video portlet. If you have tested a camera or a mike you like, please, let us know as well!