The working from home thread: tips and advice

Got it thanks. It’s a shame b/c it looks like a great setup, but I’m not interested in fumbling for my phone to switch the lights on every time I take a video call.

They're just lights controlled over WiFi by either HTTP or TCP.

You've got multiple options to control them, you can use any of the options or build your own:

• Android app
  
• iPhone app
  
• Windows systray app
  
• Mac systray app
  
• Stream Deck to Windows or Mac
  
• PowerShell https://trevorsullivan.net/2020/08/17/automate-the-elgato-key-light-air-with-powershell/ (hell, build your own app in any language if you want, the network requests are outlined in this post)
  
• Linux utils such as https://github.com/justinforlenza/keylight-control
  
• Use Home Assistant or an equivalent to map any other button or control you posses into a light switch, i.e. use a Philips Hue light switch via Home Assistant to control the Elgato lights
  
  

They come with support for 99% of desktops, laptops and phones, with an optional set of fully customisable buttons to do things, and then various OSS solutions for the final 1%.

Feel free not to buy them if you think them excessive, large, too bright, too dim, ugly, that you dislike that they're not powered by USB-C or whatever... but lack of control options is odd when there's so many options the problem is which one to choose - I couldn't choose and ended up mixing and matching lots of options.

Sky broadband crapping out last night and ongoing is pretty rubbish…

Comments up thread about chairs with a life of their own: I had a video call with a prospective client the other day, and two minutes into the call someone started up a pneumatic drill outside, so I apologised, stood to reach past the monitor to shut the window, went to sit down and of course the chair had rolled away and down I went, onto the bare elm floor. I wish I had been able to watch from the other end. They said nothing.

They also work with HomeAssistant which opens up a very wide range of switches.

@cornelius_blackfoot

+1 for Ikea Tertial. Works a treat for me along with a 4000K bulb.

https://www.greenbank.org/misc/newdesk10.jpg

I think they're great lights with lots of possible configurable aspects. But unless I'm missing something the control option is definitely a problem for me because I just want to be able to turn them on and off easily without running dedicated software (which isn't compatible with Mac High Sierra), maintaining a seprate server or VM or switching focus away to another device like a phone. It's the same reason I prefer to use a dedicated hardware audio streamer rather than a phone app, once my phone is in my hand I'm checking half a dozen other apps without really thinking, and no longer just sitting down listening to music.

The Home Assistant stuff is great, thanks for that but running a Raspberry Pi solely to switch on a light that's literally right in front of me seems excessive :)

Edit: I do hope I'm missing something b/c I can't see a better light on the market in terms of quality and design

Fair enough... these are like Hue lights... you need extra things otherwise the switches are just 100% brightness and daylight.

There's a whole category of lighting on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=video+lighting&rh=n%3A1330763031&dc&qid=1630579571&rnid=1642204031&ref=sr_nr_n_1 and some of that has remotes shipped with it, or knobs on the lights, etc.

Just to clarify: because Control Center won't run on Mac High Sierra, the systray apps and/or Stream Deck won't work.

So it's phone control, run a raspberry Pi or write my own powershell script and use a keystroke mapper.

yeah... hah, all the cheap stuff on Amazon looks shit now I've seen your lights

it wouldn't be difficult for Elgato to put out a product that was equivalent to a Hue hub, or even build it in to the Stream Deck.

What do you think makes the biggest difference here?

It's all been incremental so it's hard to assess like that.

But priority for others I would say:

• Microphone is the biggest difference
  
• Lighting next
  
• Camera last
  
  

A good mic really makes a difference for how you're perceived, there's a lot of evidence for this and I can't count the times people will fall silent and listen (nor the number of times I am asked to make ASMR videos or have a podcast).

Then the lighting will improve even a built in webcam, so even if you just bought a basic webcam the lighting helps a lot. These lights are indirect... the light is diffused towards you, and you can control the colour temperature and brightness precisely. The lights make all the difference.

The camera and lens are good... but it's deep into diminishing returns, a good webcam would've been just as good for most of the usage but I already owned the camera so this just worked out. This is the biggest signal to others that I've got a good setup, people can see this through the way the shelves behind me are perfectly blurred... but it's not necessary, I'd say the microphone is necessary, lighting optional, camera a luxury.

For me the priority probably goes:

• Chair first
  
• Keyboard next
  
• Speakers
  
• Monitor
  
• Desk
  
  

These is my putting tactile points (bum, elbows, wrists, fingers) first... and then going for what I appreciate most next. Good speakers have made meetings less tiring, and music more enjoyable... I'd easily give up the good monitor before I gave up the speakers, so the speakers win.

The sit/stand desk is a luxury too. I could've achieved similar for less money, or just not bothered at all. But it has made the room very clean and tidy.

I advise engineers starting what to spend their hardware budget on and typically recommend the microphone and small speakers, along with a good webcam and some lights. Keyboard and mouse is personal, the rest is up to them. They have a fixed budget, but can choose how to spend it... i.e. they could buy the mic I have, or they could buy a Rode mic for half the cost and put the difference towards the lighting whilst leaving enough for a good Mac.

Most people where I work have this mic or something quite close to it, small speakers, a ring light or Key Lights, and then a Macbook or Thinkpad. Not everyone has a monitor, most use built-in webcams... but the mic, speakers and lighting almost everyone has.

speakers

For video calls aren't you better with headphones of some sort to eliminate echo?

I can't comment on the quality of the Ikea but if you're on a budget then going for a cheap lamp and experimenting with the lamp (bulb) output and colour temp might be a sensible option. I've tested a lot of high stuff including the Flos and most the cost is going toward the packaging and not the light performance. On cheaper units the E14 base limits lamps options but it stops the lamp getting too big and pointing out how weak the springs are. Regarding colour temp if you're in a room with poor amounts of daylight then 4K might be a good shout but if this is for more low light/night time use then i'd advise on 2700-3k with a high CRI (90+, it'll say it some in where in the tech jargon). Especially if you're using it to light your face. Some high end built in units use 3k as a compromise. 4k at night won't be nice. For lighting your face you'll want an opal lamp (bulb) to avoid glare and you might want to consider reflecting off a white surface to avoid shadowing.

Tuneable white with dimming would be the ideal option but i've not come across a good one yet.

For video calls aren't you better with headphones of some sort to eliminate echo?

It depends on whether you're using the same audio device for both the speakers and microphone or not.

There is a discreet circuit in almost all audio hardware that is super cheap to add and has great effect... AEC (Acoustic Echo Cancellation). It's basically a small bypass from the output to the input that negates the signal at a small latency and effectively wipes out echoes.

The dotted line is the magic... that carries the output signal, inverts it, adds a tiny latency, and it's applied to the input which cancels out the echo.

But it only works if you're using the same device for input and output.

So if both your mic and speaker are in your laptop... it works. If both the mic and speaker are driven by an audio interface... it works.

But if you choose an external mic and the internal speakers, or external USB mic and headphone jack speakers... then it doesn't work.

This is why things like Zoom and Google Meet will suggest you to use the same device for both input and output, as then they get the AEC removing echoes and low level feedback for free.

It's also why if you look at something like the Rode NT USB mic http://www.rode.com/microphones/nt-usb you will spot a headphone jack on the side. Now why would a desk mic need a headphone jack? Well... so it can have a signal that can go to external speakers and utilise the AEC chip. So if you buy a mic that has a headphone jack use it... otherwise you need an audio interface like the one I have which you can plug speakers into.

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This is a nice simple setup I use for working at night
Edit: not a great pic but it's a good quality opal lamp (bulb...) and lots of white surfaces.

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thanks for the advice, the anglepoise that was in the study with the missus, she's allowed me to bring into the front room, as she's just told me she doesn't like it and doesn't use it.

So your bulb recommendations are helpful.

question, what wattage are you using at night? 60w feels like it'll be too bright, but don't want it to be too dim either..

thanks

Why not an LED bulb? Or are you talking 60w filament equivalent?

I’m considering a light panel on an adjustable stand.

For a task light LED bulb probably no more than 6w but output will depend on colour temp, finish etc. A trad 6ow is probably around 10w in LED. If your using an anglepoise then it's probably an E27 base (screw) with a white reflector inside the shade which is a good thing. You'll want to go LED but the key will be to get a a more old school glass diffuser design. a lot of modern LED bulbs are quite directional and heavy and the anglepoise is designed to work with a bulb that is light and pisses light everywhere.

From memory this is a 6w porcelain but is very warm so low output

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That's a Tala lamp but they're a bit shit IMO. I rate Zico and if you can be arsed to put an inline dimmer into your power cord they dim very nicely

https://zico-uk-lighting.odoo.com/shop/zikd048-6w27e27o-globe-g95-porcelain-6w-2700k-123?attrib=1-1&attrib=4-14#attr=59,136,137

That's interesting, last year I spent a lot of time streaming /recording lectures and I think I and students would have appreciated lots of this but didn't have much money. In my head it's important to have the camera at eye height, but is it?

In my head it's important to have the camera at eye height, but is it?

It's important for rapport to make eye contact. What this really means is that wherever you are looking the camera should be there.

You're probably looking at your screen, so the best place would be behind the screen... But making a hole in the screen would probably break it.

Next best place is as close to the edge of the screen where you're likely to look. Now you know why built in webcam are always just above the centre of the screen.

And now you also know why my camera is positioned just above the centre of the screen.

I actually also use window managers in Windows and Linux to push browser windows top and centre to enhance this further. I should show what this looks like at some point. But I split the screen into three columns, the centre column into two horizontal slices. Video conference Windows occupy centre top which means if I'm looking at a video conference my eyes are very close to the line of sight of the camera and it feels like I'm looking directly at you (and paying full attention to you).

built in webcam are always just above the centre of the screen

Huawei Matebook begs to differ 🙃

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