{"video_id":"fp_bMSXCsrLSN","title":"TQ: Why Your Webcam Still SUCKS","channel":"Techquickie","show":"Techquickie","published_at":"2020-02-12T17:53:15.069Z","duration_s":245,"segments":[{"start_s":0.0,"end_s":3.6,"text":"Phone cameras are absolutely amazing when you think about it.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":3.6,"end_s":9.6,"text":"They have tiny lenses and tiny sensors yet can still produce great images in a pinch.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":9.6,"end_s":16.16,"text":"And you can learn more about how they work right up here. But what about those little webcams built into our laptops?","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":16.16,"end_s":21.12,"text":"Compared to nice flagship phones, laptop webcams can often look like horrible,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":21.12,"end_s":24.4,"text":"grainy, gas station robbery footage.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":24.4,"end_s":29.44,"text":"Even though laptops have more space than phones to put a nice camera in.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":30.24,"end_s":33.6,"text":"What gives? To find out, we reached out to our friends at Logitech,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":33.6,"end_s":38.08,"text":"well-known makers of desktop webcams. And so we'd like to thank Guillaume Borelli,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":38.08,"end_s":41.6,"text":"their head of video creation and communication for his contributions.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":41.6,"end_s":49.12,"text":"So to understand the difference here, it's important to realize that although a laptop webcam and the camera on the back of your phone","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":49.12,"end_s":55.76,"text":"look similar, they work very differently beyond having light enter through a lens and hit a sensor.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":55.84,"end_s":60.48,"text":"A high quality phone camera can achieve impressive image quality by doing","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":60.48,"end_s":66.08,"text":"lots of post-processing and taking a computational approach to photography.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":66.08,"end_s":70.16,"text":"And what we specifically mean by this is a phone will often take multiple shots","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":70.16,"end_s":73.28,"text":"and rapid succession when you press the shutter button.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":73.28,"end_s":77.92,"text":"Using some fancy algorithms, they get re-combosed into one image","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":77.92,"end_s":82.96,"text":"that uses data from all those individual shots so the finished product can look its best.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":82.96,"end_s":87.6,"text":"Phones get away with this though because their sensor is often uploading image data","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":87.6,"end_s":90.8,"text":"directly to the phone's high-speed main memory.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":90.8,"end_s":96.4,"text":"But laptops don't work this way. Instead, webcams are connected over USB.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":96.4,"end_s":101.6,"text":"Even a webcam built into the frame of a laptop uses an internal USB connection.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":101.6,"end_s":107.04,"text":"And it simply isn't as fast or capacitous as a phone camera's direct link to memory.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":107.04,"end_s":110.88,"text":"So what happens is that the image gets encoded and compressed,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":110.88,"end_s":114.56,"text":"sent over USB, and processed before it hits your screen.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":114.56,"end_s":118.96,"text":"Not only does this mean that both videos and still images don't look as nice due to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":118.96,"end_s":122.8,"text":"high compression rates, but further complicating the issue is that laptop","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":122.8,"end_s":127.68,"text":"webcams are much more often used for video than they are for still images.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":127.68,"end_s":131.6,"text":"And video is harder for your machine to deal with in a timely manner.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":131.6,"end_s":140.4,"text":"Because your machine is trying to spit out 30 frames per second, it simply doesn't have the time to make all these images look good without introducing lag.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":140.4,"end_s":144.0,"text":"And the fact that the USB connection from the webcam to your computer's motherboard","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":144.0,"end_s":147.04,"text":"is relatively slow doesn't help matters.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":147.04,"end_s":150.32,"text":"Although you can see this phenomenon with phone video as well,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":150.32,"end_s":154.0,"text":"the more direct memory connection and better processing algorithms mean","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":154.0,"end_s":157.92,"text":"that phone video still often looks better than what you get from a laptop.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":157.92,"end_s":161.44,"text":"But it isn't just inferior technology that holds back webcams.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":161.44,"end_s":164.48,"text":"No, there are also economic reasons.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":164.48,"end_s":169.68,"text":"Laptop manufacturers simply don't invest the same time, money, and resources","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":169.68,"end_s":176.96,"text":"into their camera technology that phone manufacturers do. When you think about it, a phone is supposed to be a go anywhere, do anything device,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":176.96,"end_s":182.32,"text":"meaning that the ability to snap a good looking photo is a major selling point for nearly all","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":182.32,"end_s":189.52,"text":"mid-range to high-end phones these days. On the other hand, you basically only use laptop webcams for a quick Skype call.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":189.52,"end_s":192.64,"text":"You're not liking around your whole laptop to get Instagram shots, right?","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":192.64,"end_s":196.8,"text":"Although there are those people that use iPads to take photos. Ugh, I just want to slap them.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":196.8,"end_s":201.76,"text":"So many companies simply don't have an economic incentive to add nice webcams","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":201.76,"end_s":206.08,"text":"to their laptops, which would cost both the manufacturer and the consumer more money.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":206.08,"end_s":211.76,"text":"However, there's obviously a market for good external webcams with higher quality lenses,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":211.76,"end_s":216.24,"text":"sensors, and processing chips, as well as better algorithms so you can actually","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":216.24,"end_s":219.92,"text":"look impressive during a business conference call or a Twitch stream.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":219.92,"end_s":224.4,"text":"You can even rig up a DSLR to your computer and use that as a webcam if you want to look","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":224.4,"end_s":229.84,"text":"your very best, or if you're just really self-conscious on your eDates with your long","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":229.84,"end_s":235.84,"text":"distance love interest. Just kidding, I fill myself with a potato so that they can't tell what I really look like.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":235.84,"end_s":239.12,"text":"So thanks for watching guys. If you liked this video, give it a thumbs up, hit subscribe,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":239.12,"end_s":243.2,"text":"and be sure to hit us up in the comment section with your suggestions for topics","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":243.2,"end_s":244.96,"text":"that we should cover in the future.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"Phone cameras are absolutely amazing when you think about it. They have tiny lenses and tiny sensors yet can still produce great images in a pinch. And you can learn more about how they work right up here. But what about those little webcams built into our laptops? Compared to nice flagship phones, laptop webcams can often look like horrible, grainy, gas station robbery footage. Even though laptops have more space than phones to put a nice camera in. What gives? To find out, we reached out to our friends at Logitech, well-known makers of desktop webcams. And so we'd like to thank Guillaume Borelli, their head of video creation and communication for his contributions. So to understand the difference here, it's important to realize that although a laptop webcam and the camera on the back of your phone look similar, they work very differently beyond having light enter through a lens and hit a sensor. A high quality phone camera can achieve impressive image quality by doing lots of post-processing and taking a computational approach to photography. And what we specifically mean by this is a phone will often take multiple shots and rapid succession when you press the shutter button. Using some fancy algorithms, they get re-combosed into one image that uses data from all those individual shots so the finished product can look its best. Phones get away with this though because their sensor is often uploading image data directly to the phone's high-speed main memory. But laptops don't work this way. Instead, webcams are connected over USB. Even a webcam built into the frame of a laptop uses an internal USB connection. And it simply isn't as fast or capacitous as a phone camera's direct link to memory. So what happens is that the image gets encoded and compressed, sent over USB, and processed before it hits your screen. Not only does this mean that both videos and still images don't look as nice due to high compression rates, but further complicating the issue is that laptop webcams are much more often used for video than they are for still images. And video is harder for your machine to deal with in a timely manner. Because your machine is trying to spit out 30 frames per second, it simply doesn't have the time to make all these images look good without introducing lag. And the fact that the USB connection from the webcam to your computer's motherboard is relatively slow doesn't help matters. Although you can see this phenomenon with phone video as well, the more direct memory connection and better processing algorithms mean that phone video still often looks better than what you get from a laptop. But it isn't just inferior technology that holds back webcams. No, there are also economic reasons. Laptop manufacturers simply don't invest the same time, money, and resources into their camera technology that phone manufacturers do. When you think about it, a phone is supposed to be a go anywhere, do anything device, meaning that the ability to snap a good looking photo is a major selling point for nearly all mid-range to high-end phones these days. On the other hand, you basically only use laptop webcams for a quick Skype call. You're not liking around your whole laptop to get Instagram shots, right? Although there are those people that use iPads to take photos. Ugh, I just want to slap them. So many companies simply don't have an economic incentive to add nice webcams to their laptops, which would cost both the manufacturer and the consumer more money. However, there's obviously a market for good external webcams with higher quality lenses, sensors, and processing chips, as well as better algorithms so you can actually look impressive during a business conference call or a Twitch stream. You can even rig up a DSLR to your computer and use that as a webcam if you want to look your very best, or if you're just really self-conscious on your eDates with your long distance love interest. Just kidding, I fill myself with a potato so that they can't tell what I really look like. So thanks for watching guys. If you liked this video, give it a thumbs up, hit subscribe, and be sure to hit us up in the comment section with your suggestions for topics that we should cover in the future."}