1. Determine the best location for the Owl. Since the owl captures video in a 360-degree panoramic view centrally locating the device is usually best. Exceptions might be situations where you want to capture in a classroom type setting with rows of people where you would place the device at the front of the room.

2. Connect the Owl. Turn the Owl over and connect the USB cable and power adapter. Connect the Meeting Owl to an in-room computer/laptop via USB and plug the Owl into power. 

3. Launch your video conferencing platform (Teams/Zoom).

 

In Teams: At the top of the screen select the ellipses > Settings > Devices.  From this screen you can ensure that the Meeting Owl is selected for video, microphone, and speaker duties.

In Zoom: In the top right corner select the Settings icon. Under “Video”, ensure that “Meeting Owl Camera” is selected under the Camera option:

Under “Audio”, ensure that “Meeting Owl Pro” is selected for both the Speaker and Microphone:

 

4. Connect your computer to an external display if needed via HDMI. This will allow you to share the video captured via the Owl, share screen, as you normally would.

5. When you’re ready start your meeting as normal. It will take a moment for the Owl to initialize when the meeting starts, this is normal, and you will see a screen similar to this as video loads:

6. In use: The Meeting Owl Pro is designed to utilize its 360 Degree field of view to “focus” on participants in view and break those into their own window based on audio and motion being captured.

 

Tips

• The recommended maximum room size for the Meeting Owl Pro is 15’ x 20’ x 10’
• Quieter rooms work better as the Owl picks up audio in a 360-degree field
• Ensure there is sufficient lighting. Darker rooms will produce noisier images as the device tries to compensate for insufficient lighting
• The Owl learns where people are sitting in the room. If someone new sits at the table, or if you speak, then move to a new location and speak again it can take up to 5 seconds for the video to switch to the new location.  The further away you are from the device the longer it will take to acquire video.
• If something isn’t working, try unplugging the Owl and plugging it back in
• Generally speaking, centrally locating the meeting Owl will produce the best results
• Suggested placement:
  • Participants are within 8 ft of the Owl for best video performance
  • Participants are within 18 ft of the Owl for best audio performance

 

Please contact the Help Center at help@uwadvancement.org or (608)-264-2275 if you have any questions!