About the Meeting Owl
The "Meeting Owl" is a video conferencing device that functions as an all-in-one camera, microphone, and speaker, designed to enhance hybrid meetings by providing a 360-degree view of a room, automatically focusing on the active speaker, creating a more immersive experience for hybrid meetings where some people are physically present and others are joining virtually. The Meeting Owl has the ability to automatically change camera view to the current speaker in the room.
This quick start guide provides an overview of the Meeting Owl control options when used in a Zoom or Teams meeting.
Items that come with the Meeting Owl
When checking out the Meeting Owl from the Loan Desk, the following items should be in the package:
The Meeting Owl
Power Adapter (including a detachable power cord)
Long USB-A to USB-C cable : used to connect the meeting owl to devices that only have USB-A connections, and for situations that require a long cable
USB-C to USB-C cable: used to connect the meeting owl to devices that have USB-C connections. (Length: 6ft)
Connecting the Meeting Owl
Turn the Owl over and plug in the USB-C cable and power adapter. Plug the USB cable into a computer or laptop, and plug the power adapter into an outlet. Wait for the Owl's eyes to stop pulsing and hear a hoot. If you are using the Meeting Owl in the Library Conference room, a USB cable labelled “Meeting Owl” will be located at the Podium for you to use.
Using the Meeting Owl in Zoom and Teams
The Meeting Owl should be auto-discovered by Zoom, however, for both Microsoft Teams and Zoom you may need to choose “Meeting Owl” as the video source, and audio source for microphone and speaker. After you start the meeting, the Owl's eyes will light up when camera is active.
All of the Meeting Owl’s features are controlled via the Meeting Owl app. You have a choice of using the app that is installed on the Library Conference Room PC, or downloading the app to your iOS or Android device.
Controlling the Meeting Owl
Control of the Meeting Owl is through your mobile or tablet device. Via the app store of your device, download the Meeting Owl App (https://resources.owllabs.com/app-download). Note: while a desktop version of the Meeting Owl app is available for PCs and Macs, administrator rights are required to install the software.
After you launch the app, connect your device to the Meeting Owl via Bluetooth. Once your meeting has started, you will have the ability to change the current meeting controls. Note: Both the desktop app and mobile app are identical in appearance and show the same set of current meeting controls.
Note: It is not necessary to change the Default Settings for meetings. The “Current Meeting Controls” settings in the app are sufficient for managing the current meeting.
Current Meeting Controls, and their purpose:
Lock and Zoom
By default, the Meeting Owl will detect sound and motion in the room to focus on active meeting participants and show them on camera during a meeting. However, in a setting with different speakers throughout the room, the Owl may be too slow to track and refocus on the current speaker (from 5-10 seconds). If you'd like to disable this default behavior and take manual control of your device's camera, you can use "Lock and Zoom" to pan, tilt, and zoom its video to focus on one particular person or area of the room.
After you turn on Lock and Zoom, move the slider back and forth to select an area you would like to see locked to the screen.
Pan: Move the slider left or right to pan the camera left or right.
Tilt: Move the slider up to tilt the camera up, and down to tilt it back down to center.
Zoom: Adjust the Zoom slider up and down ( - / + ) to Zoom in and out.
Additional information on Lock and Zoom: https://support.owllabs.com/s/knowledge/lock-and-zoom?language=en_US
Presenter Enhance
If you'd like the Meeting Owl to constantly track a presenter as they move across the room, you have the option to enable Presenter Enhance. With Presenter Enhance, your device's camera will use the Owl Intelligence System to identify the main presenter and track them as they speak and move around the room, keeping them displayed on camera the entire time.
Without the Presenter Enhance feature turned on, the Owl may take up to 5-10 seconds to find and focus the current speaker in the room.
Additional information on Presenter Enhance: https://support.owllabs.com/s/knowledge/presenter-enhance?language=en_US
Pano View (Panoramic View)
The Meeting Owl can show a 360 degree view of the room as a horizontal strip on top of the video feed. A panoramic view provides remote meeting participants with helpful context that the Main Stage might not highlight, such as the total number of in-room attendees, who they are, their reactions, body language, and more – things that remote attendees would usually miss in a “traditional” hybrid meeting. Toggle the Pano view on and off with this setting.
Additional information on Pano View: https://support.owllabs.com/s/knowledge/How-do-I-turn-off-or-turn-on-the-Meeting-Owl-Pros-360-Panoramic-strip
Mic and Volume Controls
From left to right: The Mic button will toggle muting of the microphone. The two speaker icons will lower and raise the Meeting Owl’s speaker volume.
Ignore Zone
With Ignore Zone, you can specify a section on your device’s panoramic strip that you don’t want to be highlighted on the Main Stage. When an Ignore Zone is set, your device’s video won’t focus on noise, monitors, TVs, photographs, or anything else in that area of the room, preventing unnecessary distractions and ensuring that your meetings can stay focused.
Please note, however, that setting an Ignore Zone on your device’s video will not quiet any unwanted noise from that area of the room. The Ignore Zone will simply prevent that area from being visually highlighted on the Main Stage. That said, if your Ignore Zone is set over a constant, unchanging audio source (such as an HVAC unit or fan), then you can adjust Noise Reduction in the Meeting Owl app to help this.
After turning on Ignore Zone, use the slider to identify the area that the Meeting Owl will not attempt to focus on if there are sounds originating from that area:
Additional information on Ignore Zone: https://support.owllabs.com/s/knowledge/ignore-zone?language=en_US