which webcam?

Hudson1984 · 3 Aug 2020 at 22:34

Hi all,

so aside from Pcs, I play piano.

with Covid doing it's thing, the piano gods who give you shiny certificates have lost money as they can't charge you crazy exam fees - so they've invented an online version of the exam.

it's actually pretty handy for me as it's performance only (despite being piano, the exam still incorporates singing, something I cannot do!)

being online, it means you record your pieces, then just send them off. Now, I want my pieces to sound half decent, so the laptop that's no longer used for work (because it's dying) will become the recording booth.

I want a webcam/camera that I can setup to record my playing. I'm not looking for studio quality but something that won't distort if I play loud.

I am looking to upgrade the speakers on my digital piano as the recording will happen in the man cave (garage) rather than on my acoustic piano.

anyway....

any thoughts on a suitable camera?

Biz.Kid09 · 4 Aug 2020 at 09:44

Logitech StreamCam, Razer Kiyo or the Logitech C920 are all good options, they don't have fantastic microphones but may be good enough. Would a better option be an external microphone and then use the webcam from your laptop if you need the video also?

Hudson1984 · 4 Aug 2020 at 10:00

I guess that's the main query.

I've never filmed myself before so don't really know what to use.

The sound needs to be half decent as they'll mark it down if they can't hear what they need to hear. The video is only really there as proof that it's me playing.

Donnie Fisher · 4 Aug 2020 at 11:28

Most recording software can specify the source inputs of the video and sound separately.

So you can record visual from the web cam and audio my means of a better microphone placed in a better position for the sound.

Also the piano itself will have a line out / headphone out. You can plug that directly into the audio input of the computer and record a perfect copy audio that way. Would be way better than a mic.

Hudson1984 · 4 Aug 2020 at 11:46

Ah ok, cool, we're getting somewhere then.

So, placement will be a pain with anything on the laptop and i'd rather have it all fixed in place once it's setup, so i'll just get a basic webcam for video. Simple.

Now the question becomes what microphone? and what recording software?

Donnie Fisher · 4 Aug 2020 at 16:48

Whilst not something I've used personally, having a very quick look at it, I would have a close look at OBS Studio. Freeware software primary used for streaming video setups. You can select and arrange multiple audio and video sources and generate a single output video file. That file can be streamed, or simply saved to the hard drive.

See below how you can add various sources and mix their volumes ...

Do you need to speak ? If so, I would have :

- The video input from the webcam.
- The audio input from the webcam as well.
- The audio out of the piano feeding into your microphone jack on the laptop.

Then that way, you can:

- Talk to the camera for your intro.
- Fade down the mic on the webcam
- Fade up the piano input and record directly from the output of the piano - that way it wont distort.