No headset: Preventing voice/audio recycling in video conference.

[emccalment]

I have a question regarding audio pickup in a video conference, potentially Skype. It's hypothetical for me currently because I haven't ordered any of the equipment thus far, and merely foresee it as an issue currently.

I'm looking to be doing a call without using a headset since we'll be doing video as well. My concern is for the mic picking up the voices on the other end and then repeating them through my mic. I want the conversation to be fluid, so I don't want to be muting/unmuting my mic every time I go to speak. Obviously I'll want my speakers up loud enough to clearly understand everyone, and I foresee this looping back through the mic and causing issues. Is there a good solution for this/is it usually a problem?

Any and all help appreciated. Thank you.

 

[viewtyjoe]

If your mic has a cardioid profile (fairly common), you should generally be okay as long as the rear of the microphone faces your sound source, though as Ironsounds states, you can get some bleed when things get louder. An omnidirectional microphone will be more difficult to work around, though. Most webcams use microphones that don't pick up sound from the rear or are physically obstructed from picking up the vibrations, so you should be able to set up the webcam so that the speakers are in the dead zone behind the camera/mic and be fine.

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... Microphone feedback/repeating is a typical issue... typically microphones are designed for sound rejection from the backs and sides, so you never want your MIC pointing at a speaker... I run Skype through an amplified system and table MIC with no problems... when gaming in team play, there are times a loud games noise can get repeated between other peoples system, adjusting your Mic position, gain, and Speaker output volume, will control this.

 

[viewtyjoe]

If your mic has a cardioid profile (fairly common), you should generally be okay as long as the rear of the microphone faces your sound source, though as Ironsounds states, you can get some bleed when things get louder. An omnidirectional microphone will be more difficult to work around, though. Most webcams use microphones that don't pick up sound from the rear or are physically obstructed from picking up the vibrations, so you should be able to set up the webcam so that the speakers are in the dead zone behind the camera/mic and be fine.

 

[emccalment]

I appreciate the feedback gents. I think I'll be getting a Blue Yeti, so cardioid should be an option. After i get it in I'll just have to play around with some settings. Thanks!