CFOtech Australia - Technology news for CFOs & financial decision-makers
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Transform your home office tech to look and sound like a pro
Wed, 30th Sep 2020
FYI, this story is more than a year old

The company office or the home office? Many organisations are adopting more flexible working policies for their employees after COVID-19 as they realise that employees who work from home are just as productive as those who work from the office.

If a space is quiet, safe, and comfortable, any space could potentially become a good workspace. But a good workspace needs the right equipment. Home workspaces still require a means to communicate with colleagues, managers, and employers – which is why a webcam and microphone are essential companions for any desktop or notebook PC.

Some older webcams on the market were designed to sit atop bulky monitors, others you might find embedded in PCs may be too grainy. It's a similar situation with inbuilt microphones commonly found in notebooks – they rarely provide best-quality audio. So let's look at a couple of options that can solve those problems without breaking the bank.

The Live Streamer CAM 313 – PW313

AVerMedia's Live Streamer CAM 313 – PW313 is a webcam featuring Full HD recording - ideal for streaming, podcasting, gaming, and conducting videoconference meetings over your chosen platform.

The device clips to the top of your notebook screen or desktop monitor, and can swivel to capture your best angle.  It includes a privacy screen for those moments when you're not using the device. It plugs into your desktop PC or notebook via a USB 2.0 port and works with Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS devices.

The CamEngine software for Windows 10 provides camera effects and filters like portrait enhancement - perfect for content creators. There is also CamEngine Lite, which is designed for home office users - it provides basic software that can help users to configure brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, and sharpness.

Features:

  • Plug-and-play
  • Works instantly with any videoconferencing platform such as Cisco Webex, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Skype, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and others
  • 360-degree swivel for flexible camera angles
  • A built-in privacy shutter

The CAM 313 - PW313 is available for MSRP AU$149.

The AM310 USB Microphone

While the CAM 313 includes inbuilt mono microphones, users might want a better microphone that can deliver superior audio quality in stereo form. This is where the AVerMedia AM310 USB microphone can help users sound truly professional, as it is perfect for videoconferences, podcast recording, or live streaming.

The unidirectional microphone uses a cardioid pattern that will pick up voice with zero lag or latency but will filter out sounds coming from the side or behind the microphone.

A switch on the microphone also lets users easily monitor their voice in real-time with AverMedia's real-time audio monitoring capabilities.

The microphone also provides easy access to mic mute and headphone volume controls.

This microphone plugs into any USB 2.0 port on a Windows or macOS 9+ PC and is plug-and-play straight out of the box.

Features:

  • Plug-and-play
  • Great voice recognition distance
  • Unidirectional microphone
  • Ideal for meetings and live streaming

The AM310 USB Microphone is available for MSRP AU$149.

More information

You can also email the team at contact@avermedia.com.