Sony CMU-BR100 camera and microphone for Skype
It's your only choice for a webcam, for Skype, for your Sony Internet TV (check compatibility before ordering). It can also be used as an ordinary webcam on a computer....
15/02/2022
It's your only choice for a webcam, for Skype, for your Sony Internet TV (check compatibility before ordering). It can also be used as an ordinary webcam on a computer. This tiny camera/mic is approximately 6 inches long and 3/4 inch wide. The assembly instructions are almost incomprehensible. Once I ignored the useful little images, I was able to stick them to the top of my TV. You would expect a product at this price to have a better mounting system, e.g. a matching peg system that better pairs the webcam with the TV. Once you've glued it to the TV, plug it into the TV's USB port and you're ready to go. Simply launch the Skype app, found under "Internet Video" on your Sony TV remote. You won't be able to text or send files using the internal TV app, but you might not need to either. In a typical family room/entertainment room setup, you won't. Windows or iOS (where you can select the microphone array under Tools/Options/Audio Settings). It's a good product for its intended purpose, and I see it approaching a reasonable price after a number of price cuts. If you're looking to maintain the look and feel of your TV, this does the trick. Image quality and microphone array are very good, although I would like a less wide-angle view. It's great to have Skype video on the "big screen". I'm sitting about 4 feet from the screen and find myself appearing on the small side due to the wide angle lens. If you were 15 feet away I'm afraid you'd just be a dot, but that's not my setup and you should check other reviews on that dot. It would do a good job of getting the whole family involved in the shot, and I guess that's the trade-off. i.e. plugged into the USB port on the computer, not the port on the TV). It's pretty much plug and play - just go to Tools/Options/Audio in Skype to set the microphone to the microphone array in the webcam if you want to use it (the mic quality is excellent) .If you decide, as I did, that you don't need to plug the webcam into your TV, your choices widen considerably and the price drops. Amazon which sells for $40 and uses Zeiss glass. It looks like the product would be easy to mount with velcro to the back of your TV/monitor, but it needs to be plugged into a computer, NOT the back of a Sony Internet TV:[..]Summary: It's a sleek webcam with a crisp image and a great mic (a 4mic array) that you can plug into some Sony Internet TVs. It's a bit expensive and the wide-angle view may not be ideal for all settings. You can also plug it into your computer and use it like any other webcam, in which case there are other less expensive choices. It's your only choice if you want to run a Skype video on your Sony Internet TV using the built-in USB connector and the Skype app. This integrated Skype application is easy to use. You may find the process of attaching the top (or bottom) of your TV annoying, as the visual instructions aren't clear.