REVIEW Ive been following ClearOne, Inc. and its predecessor companies for over 20 years (back when they supplied both Oprah! and The White House with switchboard / call management hardware and software), so when I was offered the chance to review one of their Unite 20 web / conference cameras, I jumped at the chance to see how their new desktop-level cameras would work in our new work-from-home reality (well, not really new to me, Ive been working from home for many years).

The ClearOne Unite 20 Camera is a USB 2.0 web / desktop conferencing camera. The Unite 20 differs from many other cameras in the it offers not just 1920 x 1080 resolution, but a 120 degree horizontal field of view. This wide angle capability allows the camera to serve as both a personal conferencing camera and conferencing camera for small meeting rooms.

As the Unite 20 is targeted for business-to-business sales or through integrators, the packaging is utilitarian: a simple brown box with the product name, part number, and serial number on a small sticker.

Once you open the box, you are greeted with a packing system that values function over flash.

The Unite 20 camera ships as just a camera with integrated USB cable, a removable monitor grip / friction mount, a tethered lens cover, and a quick start card.

The ClearOne Unite 20 cameras hardware specifications are (lifted from the technical datasheet on ClearOnes website.

Setting up the Unite 20 involves nothing more than

The Unite 20 camera has performed flawlessly over the past month. I have run into intermittent problems with certain video conferencing solutions not wanting to recognize the camera and instead trying to use the camera integrated into my 4-year-old Thinkpad. This problem has been limited to web-based solutions, such as Jitsi and the online classrooms of Wyzant. Both of Jitsi and Wyzant have caused me problems in the past and often switching browsers from Firefox to Chrome or vice-versa will solve the problem. I have had no problems with either WebEx or Zoom.

I have been able to record some instructional video for some of my tutoring students using the Unite 20 and a whiteboard (Im an old-school engineer, I have to draw things out) for times when my students platform of choice didnt support live annotations or have a digital white-board. These videos are too dull to share with a wider audience for safety reasons (I dont want people nodding off and falling out of their chairs), but I did record a brief video showing the low-light capabilities of the Unite 20.

Unfortunately, my computer / software combination doesnt support recording from this camera at full 1920 x 1080 resolution. he Unite 20. I apologize for my presentation in the video. I dont regularly appear on camera, so my delivery is a bit uneven.

Because of my current monitor / speaker setup, it was not practical to mount the Unite 20 on the top of my monitor, so I removed the monitor bracket from the bottom of the camera (one screw) which reveals a standard receiver screw for a small tripod / other mount. I could have used the screw receive on the bottom of the bracket, but I didnt care for the aesthetics.

The ClearOne Unite 20 camera is an excellent addition to my home office communications suite. Both the audio and video features for web conferencing are the best that Ive encountered for a device at this price point. I did have to dial the wide angle settings back for video conferencing so I didnt have to de-clutter so much of my workspace.

My wife was an employee of one of ClearOnes predecessor companies, and she still holds ClearOne stock. She does not hold a significant amount of stock, nor is she involved in either tactical or strategic planning for ClearOne.

Price: $ 129.99 MSRPWhere to buy: AmazonSource: The sample of this product was provided by ClearOne.

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ClearOne Unite 20 Pro Webcam review The Gadgeteer - The Gadgeteer