Here’s my proposed solution for hybrid zoom meetings that we can hold at our CCRC at Wind Crest. This is a proposed solution for a group that is meeting in a CCRC meeting room, but who want to include residents who want to attend the meeting from their home apartments via ZOOM video conferencing.
Wind Crest has meeting rooms that have projectors directed at ceiling mounted roll-down 8’ by 8’ screens, so that projector-and-screen (when connected via HDMI to a laptop that is logged into a Zoom meeting) could serve well as the way for the in-room attendees to see the faces of the zoom participants.
And Wind Crest has in-room audio amplification from two hand-held wireless microphones and in-ceiling speakers.
My innovation for the hybrid zoom meeting is to use a tripod-mounted iPhone (ideally, an iPhone 16 Pro that includes a camera that has up to 5x optical zoom) as the camera to enable the ZOOM participants to clearly see anyone who is speaking in the meeting room.
By using an Apple feature called Continuity Camera, the iPhone can connect wirelessly to a nearby Mac laptop — and the laptop is logged into the zoom meeting. With 5x zoom, a perfect close-up of anyone speaking anywhere in the room can be transmitted to the zoom participants. (Note: An Android or older model Apple smartphone can be wirelessly connected to a laptop by using a camera connection app called CAMO.)
The further innovation is to use a pair of very-high-quality wireless mics that connect directly to the iPhone. I find that the best of these is the $200 Ankerwork M650, which includes two magnetic clip-on wireless microphones, and a single receiver with built-in mixer that plugs directly into an iPhone or other smartphone. The effective range of the mics and receiver is astounding — over 200 meters! And sound quality is excellent.
Here’s a link to that item on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQMGJG7V?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder_k0_1_10&=&crid=1B4HANXWLTYGK&sprefix=ankerworks&th=1
I use stretchy electricians tape to tape the small disc-shaped Ankerwork wireless mic to the top of stem of the hand-held mic. That enables the hand-held mic to be carried to anyone in the room who wishes to speak, and they will simultaneously be heard both: (1) in the meeting room (through the handheld mic and in-room amplification), and (2) by the participants on the zoom meeting (through the wireless Ankerwork mic and the iPhone-connected receiver).
I also use a similar configuration of tripod-mounted smartphone camera -- and the wireless mic and receiver equipment -- when I simply want to make a video recording of a group meeting in one of our Wind Crest meeting rooms. The wireless mics (with their receiver plugged into the smartphone's Lightning or USB-C port) enable the smartphone to receive much higher quality audio than the smartphone could possibly receive with its own built-in mic.
Barry Peters
Wind Crest (Colorado) / Erickson Sr Living