As set forth in our first column in this space, our mission is to bridge the gap between the broadcast/professional/production world of hardware, software and technology services and the larger group of solutions in the consumer world. Unlike back in what some of us might refer to as “the good old days,” the lines between those two worlds have blurred, and consumers and enthusiasts are now using gear that was once the sole province of pros.
On our side of the fence, many are increasingly saving time and money by using consumer products without losing quality.
Here, it is not just about the quality of the work, but the time it takes to plan and do it, when considering some consumer-side products that once would have been shunned by pros, but which today could be daily assists.
Can You Hear Me?
Let’s start with a small consumer product that can make a big difference in the pro media world. With smartphones serving multiple tasks, many have come to depend on earbuds for IFB, anchor Q&As and general off-air monitoring instead of traditional earpieces. That’s a great idea and often a cost-cutter, but the extra path often leads to latency and other issues.
An interesting solution is Questyle’s $99.99 Dongle Pro 2. It’s a small BT adapter designed primarily for iPhones that delivers significantly better audio than directly pairing earbuds or a TWS device of the reporter’s choice. Bypassing the codec limitations of iPhones as a plug-in transmitter interface, it uses the latest Bluetooth 6.1 spec and is MFi certified to support aptX HD, aptX Lossless, LADC, LHDC-v5, LC3 and other high-resolution codecs, many of which the iPhone does not enable.
Along with higher-quality audio, the real benefit here is increased stability and significantly reduced latency—as low as 20 milliseconds with LE Audio. This makes on-air back-and-forth with field reporters a much more natural experience without the hassle of wired connections. An additional benefit is Auracast, which lets multiple compatible headsets connect to a single device. And on the drive home from the remote, you get the same low latency and high-res audio for editing on a laptop or gaming on a Switch!
Meeting Minders
If you’re like me, you often spend a lot of time in seemingly endless meetings, where you need to remember what was said, what needs to be done and, most importantly, what you are responsible for. Sure, you can record the meeting on your phone. But afterwards you still have to play it back to find the important items and the discussion timeline, and then write a summary and to-do list.
Thankfully, we now have easier ways to get a recording, a summary and a transcript at the same time. Combining digital recording, far-field mics, wireless connectivity and compact form factors, there is a new category of voice and call recorders that makes memorializing meetings easier than ever. Thanks to AI, they can transcribe, translate if needed and then summarize things that would otherwise be consigned to paper or memory.
Having tried them, I can attest to the benefits while noting the different approaches. The likes of Plaud, Pocket, Comu and others are as thin as a credit card and record locally from built-in mics. Viaim’s RecDot is a bit different as the mics are in a pair of proprietary earbuds for recording both the room or from phone and video calls.
RecDot also lets you keep the buds in their case and can record when they are not in your ear. HiDock goes one step further with a form factor somewhat like a small handheld recorder. It records directly for meetings or on-the-fly notes, but you can also pair it with any Bluetooth earbuds or headphones or connect to your computer to record.
One more thing of note: Each product has different plans for the AI transcription and summarization. All have at least some free minutes while some, such as HiDock, have no time limit. They all also have add-on plans for more minutes and other features. Alternatively, as long as the device lets you download a compatible audio file, you can simply run it through your favorite AI system. Along with the basic features, consider battery life, charging connector type and form factor.
Notable Hardware
Not having to rely on memory or take notes during a long meeting or relying on memory is a productivity advancement, but sometimes you need to take hard-copy notes concurrently with voice recording. Fortunately, there is another class of consumer-esque products for that. They look like standard tablets such as the iPad and its competitors, but at close glance they are quite different. Generically, and sometimes in the model name, they are called “Notes.”
A good example is TCL’s NXTPAPER Note A1, which was supplied to me for this article by the manufacturer. There are a few obvious differences from standard tablets. Unlike the iPad, there is no “selfie” camera, no 3.5-mm audio jack, and, aside from the TCL’s access to the Android Play Store, the “notes” can rarely load popular apps directly. Hmm. Doesn’t that limit the usability?
Yes, it does, but that’s the point. Limiting the feature set forces you to concentrate on the task at hand: the meeting, lecture, speech or conversation. Even better, these “notes” don’t just record the conversation, they let you simultaneously take notes on the screen and place “markers” in the live transcript as you go along, to highlight items for follow-up. That gives you a recording and notes as a backup.
Depending on the device, these can also handle email and some apps, even though that is not their primary purpose. The same holds for watching movies and content—but presumably not during the meeting. The TCL NXTPAPER was even able to work as a backup when my laptop had a tantrum and the screen wouldn’t come up.
Note that many of these devices have e-ink screens. That’s great for battery life, but they might have too much lag and they are typically not great for full-motion color video. Standard tablets go in the other direction: good color but not focused on note-taking.
There, the TCL is reasonably unique in its class with a matte-finish, 120-Hz refresh LCD as opposed to the 30-Hz refresh of many e-ink screens. That said, “note-centric” tablet products including Boox, reMarkable, Supernote, Kindle Scribe, iFLYTEK, the TCL and others may be just the things to help you get more productivity out of any meeting.
Cameras That Do Windows
Another interesting consumer-market device that might help when you are out on location is an interesting new category of products generically described as “windows cameras.”
No, not the cameras in or on your Windows OS laptop. These are small cameras specifically designed to look through windows. Sure, you can plop down a small residential security camera in the office, in a vehicle or remote unit, or at a temporary location. However, when looking through glass, you’ll probably see reflections that work against a clear image.
That’s where products such as Sonoff’s CAM Glass View “Smart Window Camera” or Wyze’s Window Cam come into play. Their secret is custom-tailored, black-colored mounting brackets that give you a 2K resolution, night-vision image view that all but eliminates reflections.
It sounds simple, but it works. A camera I had looking out a window previously had no usable image at night. However, with the simple installation of one of these devices, there was a clear view. Isn’t that what cameras are supposed to deliver? Both connect to apps, have motion detection and local storage to an SD card so that no subscription is required. Here’s where the consumer side origin of these really comes in handy: both are priced under $35!
There you have it. Sometimes the consumer products can fit the bill for you and cut costs where “pro” products can’t do the trick. Always be on the lookout on “The Other Side.” You never know when you’ll find the right thing to solve a problem.
Author’s Note: Some of the products mentioned were provided by the manufacturers. This in no way influenced the review of those products.
