Zoom Lessons - Axe - DAW - Improving The Experience

Warrior

Power User
I'm using Zoom to conduct lessons with my students.

I'm working towards improving the experience and I've purchased an Elgato CamLink 4k so I can use my Panasonic G85 as a webcam along with my Logitech webcam. The problem is the video latency is terrible.

I'm working with Elgato support to troubleshoot it but so far, nothings working.

In Zoom, I'm able to select my aggregate device so my students hear a direct feed of my Axe-FX instead of hearing it through the mic.

I'm also attempting to use OBS software to improve the production value going into Zoom.
My goal is to be able to feed my DAW (which would include my Axe-FX) into OBS which would then feed Zoom.

So far, I'm not able to get this all worked out but I'm working on it.

I'm curious if anyone has been able to achieve something similar and, if so, what's working for you?
 
Hello mate. I’ve been down the same path (including OBS) so I understand your pain! I’m a Mac user and ended up using Loopback to manage the audio (all sources), using a separate usb mic for voice, axe fx in via usb and the camera for video only. I found OBS flaky on Mac and went with a solution called Ecamm live for the production side of things.

I’ve been using this setup for delivering online lessons, Axe FX III preset consultancy (through ZenRigs.com) and recording videos and it works great. No latency or audio lag at all. All via Zoom.

I’m putting something together to show folks how this all works and how to set it up, as I can see it would be useful to a lot of online teaching and consultancy applications right now.

Sukh
 
Hello mate. I’ve been down the same path (including OBS) so I understand your pain! I’m a Mac user and ended up using Loopback to manage the audio (all sources), using a separate usb mic for voice, axe fx in via usb and the camera for video only. I found OBS flaky on Mac and went with a solution called Ecamm live for the production side of things.

I’ve been using this setup for delivering online lessons, Axe FX III preset consultancy (through ZenRigs.com) and recording videos and it works great. No latency or audio lag at all. All via Zoom.

I’m putting something together to show folks how this all works and how to set it up, as I can see it would be useful to a lot of online teaching and consultancy applications right now.

Sukh

Thanks for sharing this, Sukh.
What Mac do you have? Mine is a late 2012 Mac-Mini. I was told by Elgato/CamLink support that my graphics card is on the older side but should still be ok.
 
Thanks for sharing this, Sukh.
What Mac do you have? Mine is a late 2012 Mac-Mini. I was told by Elgato/CamLink support that my graphics card is on the older side but should still be ok.

Mine‘s a 2016 MacBook Pro. Make sure nothing superfluous is running and keep an eye on cpu temp and cpu utilisation. If either go too high, you’ll get performance issues. I found out the hard way!
 
A webcam can handle the rapid video better than a the Elgato and a 4k digital camera

Logitech 4k is finally back in stock in a few places and i picked up one today

It can really really keep up unlike DSLR's
 
A webcam can handle the rapid video better than a the Elgato and a 4k digital camera

Logitech 4k is finally back in stock in a few places and i picked up one today

It can really really keep up unlike DSLR's


I have the 4k brio (since March) and recently got a Canon EOS M50. The Brio is good, but has some annoying niggles. On Mac, their software is just plain bollocks - it's in beta and has all kinds of reported issues (google them if you want to know more). However, it does the job!

The Canon, on the other hand, provides a super clean, professional and consistent image - way better than the Logitech. I'm not sure if it will just show up as an available camera on Zoom on its own (I'll test later) as I use a 'virtual cam' facility on the Ecamm streaming software. No need for a capture card with that - it's just straight USB into my Mac. Using the virtual cam output from Ecamm, I can switch display output between the Canon, the Logitech and my iPad, all of which are seen as a single camera by Zoom.

I'll make a little vid later - a bit hectic with a few things right now but will do something this weekend
 
I have the 4k brio (since March) and recently got a Canon EOS M50. The Brio is good, but has some annoying niggles. On Mac, their software is just plain bollocks - it's in beta and has all kinds of reported issues (google them if you want to know more). However, it does the job!

The Canon, on the other hand, provides a super clean, professional and consistent image - way better than the Logitech. I'm not sure if it will just show up as an available camera on Zoom on its own (I'll test later) as I use a 'virtual cam' facility on the Ecamm streaming software. No need for a capture card with that - it's just straight USB into my Mac. Using the virtual cam output from Ecamm, I can switch display output between the Canon, the Logitech and my iPad, all of which are seen as a single camera by Zoom.

I'll make a little vid later - a bit hectic with a few things right now but will do something this weekend

Looking forward to seeing this! Appreciate all the help.
 
That's great, thanks.
I've downloaded Ecamm and Loopback trial versions for now and I'm experimenting with them.
Do you use the "Standard" or "Pro" version of Ecamm?

I’ve got the Pro version mate - I think you need that for the virtual cam function so you can use it as a camera source in Zoom.
 
I've been teaching (and helping program AxeFX Rigs) remotely with good results using a combination of Zoom, The AxeFX3, an apollo interface (for my drums) and loopback. As for cameras, I use a couple Canon cameras all routed using CameraLive and CamTwist. CameraLive allows you to select the camera source and loopback allows you to select the audio source(s) and then you use both pieces of software as the sources that Zoom "sees". I found OBS generally clunky, but YMMV.

The main camera I would recommend for your use is the canon EOS M50, as mentioned above. If you can get a SIgma 16mm 1.4 lens as well, it works really great for lessons because it will have more of you in frame and will have a shallow depth of field for the background. Looks super professional for all web-related stuff, integrates really well with computers and is designed for content-creators and web related stuff. Doubles as a sufficiently decent "DSLR". Technically it's mirrorless.

I have one camera on my face at my desk, one on my hands/guitar and then also one on my drum kit (I teach drums as well). It takes a little practice to learn how to switch the audio sources and cameras quickly in a lesson but you can get the hang of it. Everything is routed into a MacBook Pro.
 
The Canon M50 /Sigma 16mm sounds like a fantastic rig. I’m hoping to get by with my Panasonic G85, iPhone 11 Pro & Logitech webcam until I can save for the Canon.

I still notice latency in my video using my G85 via CamLink 4K with Ecamm when viewing in real-time. Haven’t tested yet to see how this would look from the other end of a Zoom meeting.
 
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