Premium Video Conferencing for Everyone - Audio for USB Video Conference Must Be Better

Audio for USB video conference must be much better than audio for desktop conferencing. Think audio zooming on the speaker, high-end noise suppression and echo cancellation. Even 3D audio. As good as or better than high end conference systems. Pre-pandemic, video conferencing was a rather staid market. At the high-end, big expensive systems and plans for corporations. At the low-end, free Skype for the rest of us. Now, USB video conferencing is moving fast to redefine the domain.

Context-aware devices, such as the embedded smartphone keyboards, have been around for some time, though in a very limited form. By learning regularly used names, locations and phrases, they seem to know your next move, that is, predictive text. Similarly, but at a higher level, the next generation of smart audio devices will combine user-specific data, such as location, preferences and other device sensor data, including audio, to better serve the user.

We probably listen to more music and podcasts in our cars than anywhere else. Which means this is where we’re pushing the boundaries of audio experience — less noise, personalized sound zones, and control. And we’re more aware of the safety implications, not distracting or tiring the driver. This article was published in audioXpress, June 2020.