Movo is back with a new product, this time an all-in-one webcam solution called the Movo WebMic HD Pro. This new webcam features a bundle of product options squeezed into a single device, eliminating the need for a complicated setup for zoom conversations or streaming via online platforms like Twitch, Discord, YouTube, and more.
It can support a resolution of up to 1080@30p and offers a plug-n-play experience to any modern system. Along with the ability to provide video, it has a built-in microphone and ring-light, covering you for audio and lighting as well.
Of course, every webcam solution features a microphone of some sort, else it would simply be a “camera” and not a webcam. However, this one features a built-in cardioid condenser microphone, which kind of sets it apart from most of the other options.
This is the first of its kind that we have seen thus far. You can find webcams with built-in LED lights. In fact, there are all sorts of options out there. However, we haven’t run into a webcam with a built-in cardioid condenser microphone as well.
Imagine slapping a camera and LED light into the Blue Snowball microphone and selling it as an all-in-one solution. The result, would be the Movo WebMic series. A series that will also (eventually) include a 4K option as well.
The overall design of the microphone is fantastic. It is very appealing to the eyes and well-constructed. It comes with a durable/weighted stand, along with a monitor bracket in case you opt to mount it to the top of your monitor instead. It can also be mounted to a boom arm if you have one (they will also be selling one in the future as an optional accessory).
All of its features can easily be seen from the front, with the camera lens in the middle, surrounded by a massive cardioid condenser mic, finished with a LED ring-light running around that.
The LED light has three modes to choose from (low, medium, high), which can be controlled from the back of the camera.
You have the ability to control the volume (gain) of the microphone via a dial on one side, while the other side of the webcam offers a dial that controls your headphone volume for monitoring the audio live. That dial can also be pressed in to mute the microphone (which is confirmed with a red LED light on top of the unit).
The back side of the unit contains the button to control the three lighting intensities, as well as a button to disable the camera. When you disable the camera, it freezes the image so that others watching can still see you vs a blackened screen.
The headphone jack is where you’d connected your headphones to for monitoring the audio (as mentioned), and a USB Type-C port for connecting it to any computer or laptop.
Installation
As mentioned, it is plug-n-play. So there is no need for drivers or software to get it working. All you need is the software or website that you’d be streaming (ie, Facebook, YouTube, OBS, vMix, etc) or conferencing (ie, Zoom, Teams, etc) from.
Within the software or website, you’d simply choose the webcam for both your audio and camera and you are ready to us it.
Performance
This is where we really dig into everything and you might find us being a little hard to get along with due to the stubborn standards that we may have at times. We can be a bit hard on webcam models, and this is normally the case with most models that we come across. . All of the following can be seen in the video that is available below, after the conclusion/score information.
That being said, we do like this webcam. We like the idea of having an all-in-one solution and it looks (as mentioned) fantastic to the eyes. However, it isn’t perfect.
Starting with video, it offers a fixed focus experience. Since it is a webcam, this isn’t much of a loss aas in most cases, you can get away with not having auto or adjustable focus capabilities. You are typically around the same distance from the camera every time you make use of it, and webcams without adjustable focus are typically dialed into an “average” distance you’d find someone sitting at. However, the downside of having an “average” focus is a loss in detail and sometimes depth. This results in a softer image with a bit of blue here and there instead of having a crisp image that focuses directly on the subject.
This is a little more user-friendly as you don’t have to worry about playing with focus or watching the auto-focus randomly adjust the image in the middle of streaming (which can be distracting). However, it is nice to have the “option” so that you can dial focus manually and disable auto-focus on cameras that support it so it remains in place.
There is also noticable compression in the image. We prefer leaving quality settings to the user, this way you can get the most out of a “1080p” resolution and dumb it down only if one absolutely has to (ie, internet connection can’t handle it). You can simply bring the resolution down of a webcam to 720p via most software applications out there, which can look a bit similar to 1080p when it is as compressed as it is here. Instead, it appears it is quite compressed by default, so this is the quality you are stuck with.
Because of the fixed focus and compression, the image quality doesn’t fully compare to other popular models like the Logitech C920/C922 or Razer Kiyo Pro, which causes a light off-balance to the over-all price (in our opinion).
Some may also say that it’s too bad when a webcam isn’t 60fps when it comes to discussing a 1080p or 4K solution. However, webcams are meant for streaming, therefore 30fps is much easier on a (average) connection than 60fps is. 60fps is better for direct recording scenarios as you aren’t worrying about having to compress and stream it anyone. At least, until the average internet speeds increase. ISPs are still dragging this out and are also notorious for heavily throttling upload speeds (which are typically much lower than your download speed). However, some regions are experiencing better averages and 60fps models are starting to pop up into the market (ie, like the before-mentioned Razer). So although 60fps isn’t necessary, it is the future.
When it comes to color, brightness, darks, and everything else in the image, it seems to be fine. It is a webcam and not a camera meant to capture high-res video. Also, many software applications used for streaming will offer some form of settings window/section where some of these variables can be adjusted.
As for the condenser microphone, it does offer a crisp performance that beats out most of the webcams in the market. Of course, this is because none of them offer such an intense microphone built-in. It isn’t perfect and it mostly compares to sub-$100 condenser mics. So you can’t expect studio or professional podcast performance from it, but it will be noticeably better than what’s out there (webcam-wise). noticeably.
The LED ring light is a bit hard to score out due to its size. We can’t really compare it to full-size ring lights or any other serious lighting solutions. It’s best to compare it to the built-in LED lights found in other webcams. In comparison to these, this ring light offers a superior performance as it is larger and can provide much more coverage. Setting it to its brightest mode was too much for us in normal conditions, so there is plenty of light to go around.
Although we do prefer using a larger and more adjustable light-source in order to create a balanced lit environment, this makes for a great user-friendly solution that is also something you can take with you without having drag a bunch of equipment around.
Our Conclusion
As mentioned, we can be a bit hard on webcam models. There are a few really good and well-placed models out there that really throw off the balance within the competition. In the end though, this one still walked away with a positive score from us since it does offer a good level of user-friendliness and convenience of having such a unique all-in-one solution. We will be keeping an eye on Movo as it continues to grow its webcam series and compete with everything else in the market.
We’d would like to see a crisper/clearer image with some focus capabilities. This would allow it to heavily compete with what’s out there already. The LED light is fine, and the microphone is good enough for what it is trying to achieve. Again, it is for streaming and not studio recording.
At the moment, we’d say it competes with a $60-$70 1080@30p webcam, mixed with a $60-$80 condenser mic. Add in the cost of the ring light, and accessories (stand, monitor bracket, etc), and that is the value we’d rank it into. It doesn’t exact pan out to the MSRP cost of this one.
However, it does pan out a bit better to the current sale price that it is at (at the time of writing this). It is currently going for $169 via the links below. So this does help add value to the product.
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