Weird webcam mod that enables eye-contact conversation on HackerTube: recommended by 5 Hacker News commenters across 3 separate months, 2020–2026.
tutorial · evergreen
DIY Perks builds a webcam mod using a two-way mirror in a box so the camera sits behind the screen image. This allows real eye contact on video calls.
Whenever eye contact in video calls comes up, commenters point to this as the cheap homemade teleprompter-style solution.
“it's a really interesting DIY solution to ensuring eye contact when video conferencing.”
11 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.
This video shows a project to create a one-way mirror that allows a person to view their monitor while 'looking at' the camera. ▶ this video If I was planning to do any interviews I would definitely build and use this. It also makes me wonder, when people are staring into the camera if they are looking at a photo instead of the camera lens.
in “The Fatiguing Effects of Camera Use in Virtual Meetings [pdf]” · View on HN
The 'DIY Perks' channel on YouTube has a nice solution to maintain eye contact: ▶ this video You can't mount a webcam in the middle of your laptop display, as even a small camera and thin cable would get in the way of looking at the screen. But using a two-way mirror, you can be looking at both the screen and the webcam at the same time, without the webcam being visible to you.
in “Cheap and simple way to mount a smartphone directly above a laptop display” · View on HN
I agree! I particularly liked the one using a two-way plastic mirror and webcam, so that you can maintain eye contact when you're video calling someone. Similar principal to a teleprompter. ▶ this video
in “DIY True 4K Projector” · View on HN
I don't think I'll be trying this, but it's a really interesting DIY solution to ensuring eye contact when video conferencing. ▶ this video
in “Video chats short-circuit a brain function essential for trust?” · View on HN
There's a neat DIY project to try to overcome this: ▶ this video TL;DW - use some cardboard a two way mirror and an external webcam to make a box you place over your laptop so that it lines up the camera + your eyes.
in “Video chats short-circuit a brain function essential for trust?” · View on HN
External USB C monitors are getting cheap enough to make a dedicated 2-way mirror teleprompter style webcam setup reasonable. ▶ this video
in “Building a custom mount for a telescoping webcam” · View on HN
DIY Perks' Interrotron[0] Btw "Tron" the movies are a reference to the BASIC debugging command TRON/TROFF for trace on/off. [0] ▶ this video
in “Why did words that end in "tron" once sound so futuristic? (2017)” · View on HN
The Youtube channel DIY Perks has a video making essentially a homemade teleprompter mod for a laptop with very cheap materials.[1] I've thought about getting a proper teleprompter but my issue there would be screen space and lighting. Has this worked well with a decently inexpensive webcam or do you use a full-on streaming/production type camera setup? [1]: ▶ this video
in “Using a "proper" camera as a webcam” · View on HN
There are devices you can buy for a few hundred that place the image of the person you're talking to directly in front of the camera. That way you can look at who you're talking to while also looking directly into the camera. [link] There are also a lot of homebrew DIY versions of the same device: ▶ this video
in “Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter” · View on HN
It really isn't a minor point. Lack of eye contact is really important. I pulled out a gooseneck webcam mount I had bought and never used from years ago. I can position it almost right in front of the Zoom window and achieve almost direct eye contact, though it is tricky if I need to see detail behind the webcam itself. Multiple monitors with extra area reduce that problem. I ran across a video that showed how to create an actual direct eye to eye contact effect, using a half-silvered mirror and parts from a laptop webcam[0]. I started shopping for a used laptop webcam part, and then realized I have never seen laptops rated by their webcams, so it is almost a shot in the dark to get something good. [0] ▶ this video
in “Why webcams aren’t good enough” · View on HN
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] ▶ this video
in “Ask HN: Is there a camera that is aligned with a screen?” · View on HN