Whether you’re back at the office or working from home, meetings are an unavoidable part of any career. If you can’t have in-person meetings with all of your co-workers, partners, and clients, it’s important to have a top-notch audio and video conferencing system to ensure proper communication.
While a basic compact system with a built-in microphone may be perfect for some in-home office settings, the same device may be severely limiting when you introduce more than one person into the video conference.
Therefore, for group meetings, we suggest a more sophisticated system that has high-quality audio and 360-degree video coverage — and no conferencing device comes more highly recommended than the Meeting Owl Pro.
No more squeezing in front of the camera
While the owl aesthetic may make the Meeting Owl Pro look like a child’s device, it is actually a powerful business tool. If you hold group video conferences frequently, this smart device is quite indispensable.
One of the few devices that rotates 360-degrees, the Meeting Owl Pro makes squeezing in front of the webcam during speeches and demonstrations a thing of the past. This smart device rotates to whoever is speaking up to 18 feet away. That way you can run your hybrid meetings much like you would run an in-person conference — everyone involved in the meeting can just sit around the conference table and conduct business as usual, while still being seen by both those at the conference table and those on the other end of the video chat.
Upgraded features
While the first iteration of the Meeting Owl was met with skepticism due to some problems with the audio range, the new Meeting Owl Pro seems to correct all of these shortcomings.
With an extended range of up to 18 feet, the Meeting Owl Pro features double the volume of its predecessor. Not to mention, with better audio capabilities the device is no longer found focusing on the air conditioner running in the background — the Pro version has no problems focusing on who is speaking 100% of the time.
On top of high-quality audio, the Meeting Owl Pro also boasts a sharper 1080p camera that, along with the enhanced Owl Intelligence System, automatically highlights and shifts focus to whoever is speaking.
“Our clients are really loving the new extended audio range of the Meeting Owl Pro. This allows for larger meetings in larger spaces and the upgraded video quality is the perfect compliment for those meeting rooms.” ~ Mark Gillaugh – National Account manager
With the Meeting Owl Pro’s AI-enabled facial recognition and eight omnidirectional microphones to pick up the sound, the Owl Intelligence System can automatically locate the active speaker and highlight his/her gestures and facial expressions. That way, everyone feels like they’re at the center of the conversation without any remote control or awkward camera motion during video meetings.
Seamless Integration
The Meeting Owl Pro combines a 360-degree camera, mic, and speaker into one easy-to-use device. This plug-and-play smart webcam creates an experience of in-person participation for hybrid teams that seamlessly integrates with the conferencing platforms you may already use.
Simply plug-and-play this WiFi-enabled device, launch Zoom, Google Hangouts, Slack, GoToMeeting, RingCentral, or the meeting platform of your choice and start streaming your meeting live.
Even if you aren’t at a conference table, you can mount the Meeting Owl Pro on a compatible tripod and host a meeting or conference wherever you are.
Your Meeting Owl Pro comes with:
- A power adapter
- One 6.5-foot micro USB cable
- A quick-start guide
That’s all you need to stay focused on what matters — the meeting.
Meeting Owl Pro vs. The Rest
At the end of the day, we invest in video conferencing in order to have the best possible experience during hybrid meetings — including audio, video, and sound. In order to have an effective conversation, it’s important to see facial expressions and body language — which is why the Meeting Owl Pro is in a class of its own. Let’s compare the Meeting Owl Pro with Logitech Meetup, Poly Studio, and HuddleCamHD — three highly-rated webcams from top-notch companies.
With a 360-degree field of view, the Meeting Owl Pro stands above other webcams in the same price range. Compared to Logitech Meetup’s 120-degree field of view, Poly Studio’s 120-degree field of view, and HuddleCamHD’s 82-degree field of view, the Meeting Owl is virtually unmatched. On top of that, the Meeting Owl sits in the center of the table and doesn’t require mounting below a TV like the other three on the list.
While Logitech Meeting and Poly Studio’s microphone only picks up 13.1 feet and 12 feet away respectively, the Meeting Owl Pro can pick up sounds up to 18 feet away — and rotate the camera to the speaker automatically.
The Meeting Owl Pro is also the only one on this list that has a 360-degree tri speaker — meaning you won’t just be able to see everyone at the right time but also easily hear conversations from the other end of the video conference.
The Meeting Owl Pro also has WiFi-enabled for software updates, the only other device we are comparing it to that does that is Poly Studio, but Poly must be mounted below the TV and doesn’t rotate.
When you compare the new Meeting Owl Pro with other all-in-one cameras, mics, and speakers in its class, the quality is simply unmatched. The Meeting Owl Pro is your cost-effective all-in-one hybrid conferencing solution.
Meeting Owl vs. Meeting Owl Pro
Released in June of 2021, the Meeting Owl Pro seemed to have a mission to correct any complaints from its predecessor, the original Meeting Owl, which was released in 2014.
Since many meeting platforms are allowing up to 1080p streaming quality, the old Meeting Owl’s 360-degree 720p camera was upgraded to a 2X sharper 360-degree 1080p camera.
While some were complaining about the old Meeting Owl’s 12-foot radius audio pickup, this was really best for smaller rooms. Now the Meeting Owl Pro’s 18-foot radius microphone not only works in medium and large rooms, but it also focuses on clarity and doesn’t get the person who is speaking confused with air conditioner or computer noise.
The first Meeting Owl had a single 360-degree speaker, but the new Meeting Owl Pro has a 2X louder room sound via a 360-degree tri-speaker.
While the original Meeting Owl featured the Owl Intelligence System with autofocus, the new Meeting Owl Pro has added Smart Zooming functionality.
Lastly, the latest Meeting Owl Pro features a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 605 processor, which is an upgrade from the 2014 model’s Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 410 processor.
With all of these upgrades, you’d expect Owl Labs to raise the price a lot more than they did. With the Meeting Owl Pro’s similar price tag to the original, it just makes sense to upgrade.
Hybrid Meetings with Rentacomputer.com
Are you looking for a hybrid meeting or video conferencing solution? With over 30 years in the technology rental industry, Rentacomputer.com has had decades of experience with conferencing. We highly recommend a Meeting Owl Pro rental to bolster your next meeting or conference.
Not sure what you need? Our experienced Tech Travel Agents will help you select exactly the right device and rental package that is perfect for you and your unique needs and budget.
If you have any questions about the Meeting Owl Pro, contact Randy, one of our experienced rental agents, for any questions you have about available devices, cost, or the rental process. Contact Randy today at 1-800-736-8772 ext. 225 or fill out a quick, easy online quote form.
