
Ask HN: Is there a camera that is aligned with a screen? - kerkeslager
I was watching a YouTube video[1] where Trevor Noah, as a random aside about 42 seconds in, says something I thought was a great idea: a web camera that aligns with your screen, so that when you&#x27;re video conferencing, you can look at the person you&#x27;re talking to, and on the other end it looks like you&#x27;re looking them in the eye.<p>I think this would make a big difference in people&#x27;s lives, as eye contact is a pretty psychologically important way to connect with other human beings.<p>Does this already exist? Is anyone working on this?<p>[1] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=3OC4CIfZ_1A
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numpad0
I don't think that's optically possible without either a teleprompter or a
"punch-hole" display. "Teleprompter" sounds sophisticated but basically a
pepper's ghost box for cameras, there are plenty of amateur YouTubers building
it "in zero dollars from home waste" manners. Half-silvered glass or polarized
filter is nice but not necessary from what I understand.

Somewhat tangentially, what I find from sudden rise in stay-home
teleconferencing is that TV hosts as well as corporate teleconferencing users
are almost completely clueless about teleconferencing compared to YouTubers
and streamers, people think a superwide Logitech webcam and a laptop on your
lap in a bathroom is all it takes. YouTubers run Sony Alphas all day with nice
primes, some even REDs ARRIs, large dia condenser mics, Shure is entry-
midrange there ... So a lot is there to learn from them, especially on budget.

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karmakaze
Yes, there's multiple ways of doing it. DIY-Perks has a webcam mod[0] using
2-way mirror.

The other way is using a microLED display. A microLED is so compact/bright
that you can leave spaces between elements and can be 50% transparent or more
looking from behind. Alternatively Optical/sensor elements could be
interspersed with the microLED elements giving as good an image quality as can
be achieved based on the area used.

[0]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AecAXinars](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AecAXinars)

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speedgoose
The old Microsoft Surface 2, renamed later PixelSense when the Microsoft
marketing department decided to launch a new product with the exact same name
than an existing product, had a display which was an infrared camera. Each
pixel was also an infrared light sensor.

