How to Use the Meeting Owl Cameras

The Meeting Owl Camera can be used to have a more interactive Zoom experience that offers 360 views of the room you are in.  The camera can follow the speaker, shift between multiple speakers in the room, or provide a panoramic view of the entire space.

  • There are slight differences between Meeting Owl 3 (light gray) and Meeting Owl 4 (charcoal). Most functions are utilized the same, however they have different button placements and ports for plugs are slightly different. Because of this, you will see two images when there are images of a device.


TABLE OF CONTENTS


Connecting the Device

Inside the carrying case of the Meeting Owl, you will find the Meeting Owl device, a power cord, a cord to connect the device to the computer, an extension microphone, and a cord to connect the device and the extension microphone.


  • Start by plugging the Meeting Owl into the power cord and the computer cord. Both the power and connection ports are on the bottom of the device. It should automatically light up, indicating that it's powered on.

bottom side of Meeting Owl 4 where power and connection ports are locatedbottom side of Meeting Owl 3 where power and connection ports are located

  • The device will make a "hoot" sound once it is fully connected to the computer.
  • (Optional) Connect the extension microphone to the device using the provided cord.

side of Meeting Owl 4 and extension microphone showing their connection ports

side of Meeting Owl 3 and extension microphone showing their connection ports

  • The device should automatically connect to the computer. No additional software is required to be downloaded.


Device Appearance

  • The device will have two white circles at the top of it that have the appearance of owl eyes when the camera is in use.
  • The device will have a red light at the bottom turn on when muted.

Meeting Owl 4 with lights on. Two circle lights indicate camera use and red light on microphone button and around the bottom indicating microphone is mutedMeeting Owl 3 with lights on. Two circle lights indicate camera use and red light on the bottom indicating microphone is muted


Using the Device with Zoom

Below are the details for the basic use of the Meeting Owl. To have more options while using the device, continue reading.


  • Open Zoom on your computer.
  • Click join with computer audio.
  • Select the “Audio” arrow pointing up to choose which microphone to use. You should see an option labeled “Echo Cancelling (Meeting Owl).” Select this option.

audio options on Zoom with "Echo Cancelling Speakerphone (Meeting Owl 4 Plus)" highlighted

  • Select the “Video” arrow pointing up to choose which camera to use. You should see an option labeled “Owl Camera.” Select this option.

video options on zoom with "Owl Camera" highlighted


How to Have More Options During Use

You can have more control of the device including limiting the space the camera shows and instructing the device to follow or stay focused on a particular spot in the room.


  • Download the Meeting Owl app to your smartphone or tablet.

screenshot of Meeting Owl app. Logo of app is purple with the outline of an owl

  • Once downloaded, open the app. It will automatically search for nearby devices.
  • Select the device you are using.

screenshot of nearby devices page on meeting owl app with red arrow pointing to the device that is going to be selected (Owl 4 (2))


  • Options to control include:
    • Lock and zoom
    • Presenter enhance
    • Pano view
    • Ignore zone
    • Mute and volume up and down

screenshot of meeting owl app that displays different meeting controls available including "Lock and Zoom," "Presenter Enhance," "Pano View," and "Ignore Zone." There are mute and volume buttons indicated by icons at the bottom.

  • To use lock and zoom:
    • Tap on "Lock and Zoom."
    • The switch at the top should automatically move to the "on" position (switch to the right, with a blue background).
    • Tap and drag the blue box in the gray box to focus the camera on the desired spot in the room.
    • Drag the black circle underneath “Zoom” to the right to zoom in on the selected area. To zoom out, drag the circle to the left.
    • To turn off this feature, tap the switch in the top right corner so it moves to the left, and the background will turn gray.

screenshot of "Lock and Zoom" page on meeting owl app. Options available are turning this setting on, moving the position, zoom level, and selecting the active camera

  • To use presenter enhance:
    • Tap the switch next to "Presenter Enhance" so that it moves to the right, and the background becomes blue. This feature makes the camera follow the speaker more closely than the basic settings.
  • To use pano view:
    • Tap the switch next to "Pano View" so that it moves to the right, and the background becomes blue. This gives a panoramic view of the entire room at the top of your Zoom meeting.
  • To use ignore zone:
    • Tap on “Ignore Zone.”
    • The switch at the top should automatically move to the "on" position (switch to the right, with a blue background).
    • Tap and drag the blue box in the gray “Position” box to the left and right until you have selected the area of the room you want the camera to ignore when using auto-focus. You can see the selected ignore zone on your Zoom camera view. A panoramic view will appear at the top of the screen with a blue box sliding along it. The blue box represents the selected “ignore zone.”
    • Drag the black circle underneath “Width” to control the size of your ignore zone. Slide the circle to the right to make the zone wider, or to the left to narrow it.
    • To turn off this feature, tap the switch in the top right corner so that the switch moves to the left, and the background will turn gray.

screenshot of "Ignore Zone" options. These include selecting between devices, turning this setting on, moving position, and choosing the width of space to be ignored

  • To mute:
    • Tap on the gray microphone button at the bottom of the screen (the button further to the left). It will turn red with a slash through it when muted.
  • To adjust volume:
    • Tap the speaker button at the bottom of the screen. The button has two parts:
    • The left side with a single sound wave line will lower the volume.
    • The right side with two sound wave lines will increase the volume.