I was lucky enough to realize, a month into the pandemic, that I would be having all meetings on Zoom for at least 3-4 months. I did three things, which seemed a little excessive at the time, but turned out to be great investments, since I've been working for home for over a year since then.
1) I bought a reasonably nice Logitech C920 Webcam. At the time, it was a $100 on AliExpress, which seemed like a crazy markup over the MSRP of $70. This turned out to be a great investment, given how much higher the prices went. Most people will probably still be working from home for at least 3-5 months, and you can buy one now for $70!
2) I bought a cheap USB condenser mic with a boom arm. This was a $70 package deal, and from a cheap Chinese brand Fifine, but the audio quality is truly amazing, and having the mic close to your mouth makes a huge difference. Probably my best investment. Seriously. Go buy a podcast mic and a boom arm. Now. If you want something more portable, the same company also makes very decent lavalier mics (lapel mics) for ~$20. Those are more omnidirectional, so they pick up more background noise than condenser mics, but they are imminently more portable.
3) I wired my bedroom with Ethernet. This was a bit of a hassle, since I had to run the cable down the side of the house and then underneath, and it also required crimping my own cables. However, it was totally worth it, since I knew connection issues were never my problem. I don't understand how other people suffer through constant drops over WiFi. I guess they're just accustomed to dealing with it, and don't think of switching to Ethernet as an option.
@xiii1408 - just to add to this. I've went and bought the mic that you and others in this thread recommended. I've used it for a few hours now and compared it with BoseQ35 mic and of course it's amazing.
For anyone else reading: do it. Buy it. You'll sound more real on teleconference calls and.
As for (1), I'm not bothered about video too much so use 720p webcam.
1) I bought a reasonably nice Logitech C920 Webcam. At the time, it was a $100 on AliExpress, which seemed like a crazy markup over the MSRP of $70. This turned out to be a great investment, given how much higher the prices went. Most people will probably still be working from home for at least 3-5 months, and you can buy one now for $70!
2) I bought a cheap USB condenser mic with a boom arm. This was a $70 package deal, and from a cheap Chinese brand Fifine, but the audio quality is truly amazing, and having the mic close to your mouth makes a huge difference. Probably my best investment. Seriously. Go buy a podcast mic and a boom arm. Now. If you want something more portable, the same company also makes very decent lavalier mics (lapel mics) for ~$20. Those are more omnidirectional, so they pick up more background noise than condenser mics, but they are imminently more portable.
3) I wired my bedroom with Ethernet. This was a bit of a hassle, since I had to run the cable down the side of the house and then underneath, and it also required crimping my own cables. However, it was totally worth it, since I knew connection issues were never my problem. I don't understand how other people suffer through constant drops over WiFi. I guess they're just accustomed to dealing with it, and don't think of switching to Ethernet as an option.