Smartcam Skype test8 Jun 2015 22:50
I went out and bought a £169 ASUS Windows PC laptop today, with which to test Smartcam. It's all a bit sluggish and I don't think I've got enough RAM, so I'll try and add more tomorrow.
I downloaded Smartcam and fired up the desktop version of Skype, which also had to be downloaded. It's very easy to set up........ Smartcam appears as an option in the Skype video settings. I think the lighting is quite critical. You need to be evenly lit and the background needs to contrast with you and your clothing. When you get the lighting and contrast right, Smartcam looks nice and tracks your outline very well. If you don't get the lighting and contrast right, then patches of the background appeared where they shouldn't have. Best not to be too close to the camera in my opinion, and best to experiment with different angles. I think it's better if the background is generally darker than the subject.
What's impressive is how Smartcam seems to very accurately hold your outline during movement when the lighting and contrast are set up properly. The fun part of placing yourself on say The Great Wall of China works well, looks good and is quite amusing. Get the lighting right and I think this is a top product, although I've only had limited use so far today. I hope to try a few more tests with more RAM on the laptop and I might try altering the lighting etc but initial impressions are good considering the laptop is probably not really fast enough. The fact that it integrates so easily with Skype makes me wonder if Skype are future potential partners.
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