It's the spring of 2020, and we are all quarantined. Video conferencing tools, like Zoom, are being used daily for work and play. Family chats, games nights, and parties are a regular occurrence in the Cross family.

One of the challenges with family video conferences is when you have multiple people in the same home using separate devices. People scatter to different areas of the house so they can be seen and heard without echos and feedback, which defeats the purpose of gathering together. In the business world, people sit around a conference table and use a conference phone. Everyone uses a single microphone and speaker placed in the center of the table. You can setup the same configuration using a USB conference microphone.

At my home, we all sit at the dining room table with our computers or iPads connected to the Zoom call, and one computer connects to the audio on the Zoom call. All others connect to Zoom video-only. The audio designated computer connects to a USB conference microphone and uses that as the microphone.

I have a mic from MXL, the AC404 USB Conference Mic. It's one of those things you don't use often, but it's very handy when the time comes, such as, a Football Fantasy Draft and Quarantine Party. There are a variety USB Conference mics available from $30 to $100.