I experimented a bit with using a Tablet PC with an external monitor in a live stream. It works OK, but I need a bigger monitor I think :-).
In this setup I'm writing on a Tablet PC using Journal and cloning the Tablet's display on an external monitor so everyone can see what I'm writing while I'm on the webcam. I'm also using WebcamMax so that I can switch between a webcam feed and a live view of the desktop, which is useful for providing higher quality views of the display.

A couple takeaways:
* An external webcam is better than a built-in one on the Tablet PC for recording because otherwise the webcam shakes when you draw on the display (if the display is in "notebook" mode).
* Likewise an external microphone is a good idea so that when you write on the display the internal microphone doesn't pick up any writing noise.
* Writing with light ink on dark "paper" seems to work better with at least the webcams I have.
* Thicker ink seems to work better--particulary when the video is scaled down in size.
* I used Mogulus for recording, but unfortunately the service doesn't let me download the video so I can back it up or upload it to other services, such as YouTube. I wish I'd recorded the video to UStream instead and then moved it to Mogulus. Similarly, Mogulus doesn't have a way to play video on demand, so I've taken all my other videos off of my Mogulus channel instead so that for right now all that plays is this recording in a loop. I'll restore the other videos later.
* I "minimized" the WebcamMax application by setting View to "No Preview" and "Always on top".
By the way, I'm using a trial version of WebcamMax in the video because my licensed copy got lost when I switched from the Toshiba M400 to the M700. I've looked around for my license key, but haven't found it yet. I guess I need to email the WebcamMax folks.
Note: This blog has moved to http://www.lorenheiny.com.


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