Awesome Videoconferencing

The MuteKit by On Air Warning aims to improve video calls. The MuteSwitch is a three-button, illuminated keypad with buttons to mute/unmute your microphone, camera, or both. The On Air Warning light indicates when your camera and mic are live, while MuteBar software puts the controls front-and-center and lets you freeze your image as an “instant selfie.”

If you’ve ever had to sit through a corporate conference call, you can probably relate to Nicholas T.’s comedy sketch. It roasts the kind of bureaucratic double-speak, buzzword bingo, and nonsensical tech talk that often fills the air. Seriously, why can’t most meetings be an e-mail? (Thanks, Rob!)

VivoMeetings offers a premium video conferencing solution for businesses. It’s built from the ground up for security and offers unlimited recordings and real-time transcription. It works on mobile and desktop and in hardware-equipped meeting rooms. Grab a 1-year subscription in The Awesomer Shop for 17% off.

Livestorm is an end-to-end video engagement platform that requires no downloads, for easy collaboration while capturing actionable insights in one place. You can use Livestorm for on-demand, live, or pre-recorded meetings or events, along with registration pages, email follow-ups, and video recording capabilities.

Our lives are filled with Zoom calls and other video meetings these days. ChonkerKeys are giant keys that offer quick shortcuts for common videoconferencing functions like mic muting, camera, and screen sharing, and light up to indicate status. Choose from the five-key Original or the reconfigurable 11-key Max model.

Nearly everyone has a smartphone with a camera these days, and videoconferencing is commonplace. But back in the 1980s, it certainly was not. Techmoan shows off Sony’s PCT-15 aka “Face to Face,” a 1988 device that could send a single black-and-white image at a time, transmitting data via a phone line – like a fax machine.

Google shows off the future of video calling with a prototype system that makes distant people feel like they’re sitting face-to-face in the same room. It uses multiple cameras, 3D depth sensors, high-speed video compression, and a “light field” display to convey an incredibly realistic sense of depth.

Are you sick and tired of conference calls? Zoom Escaper can help. The website works with virtual audio device software to intercept your microphone on its way to conferencing apps, and can inject annoyances like an upset baby, construction, barking dogs, or a crackly connection to get you off the hook.

With the increased need for video calls these days, those with low-bandwidth connections may experience poor video quality. This tech being developed at NVIDIA dramatically reduces bandwidth needs by sending a fixed image, then using an AI-controlled avatar to track and replicate their facial movements in real-time.

For many of us, working from home means countless videoconferences, with Zoom being the most popular choice for big team meetings. Continuing their Wonders of the World Wide Web series, Squirrel Monkey looks back at what life might have been like if Zoom came out in 1988, and required a special dial-up adapter box to work.

We’ve all been on conference calls where you wondered if your presence was really necessary. Our preferred approach is to tune out until we hear our names mentioned, but Matt Reed’s idea is even better. He created a AI-based clone to stand in for him. It’s more than a little rough around the edges though.

These days, everyone carries a videophone in their pocket. But before the days of iPhones and Galaxies, calling someone and seeing them at the same time was difficult and expensive to achieve. Techmoan shows off one of the earlier examples of a working video calling system, British Telecom’s VC 7000, which dates back to 1993.

Solaborate’s Hello 2 is a webcam that shines when plugged into a TV. It has a 4K HDR camera that can automatically tilt and pan, as well as four powerful microphones. It has lots of communication apps built-in, and supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.