Yahoo Finance Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products.
NVIDIA Broadcast will maintain eye contact even if you're looking away from the camera
The livestreaming tool lets you read your chat without looking distracted.
NVIDIA may have a solution if you've ever caught yourself reading chat during a livestream, or distracted by your notes during a video presentation. The company has updated its Broadcast software with a beta Eye Contact feature that, like Apple's FaceTime, 'fixes' your gaze to keep it focused on your camera. It preserves your blinks and eye color, and will even transition between digital and real eyes when you look far enough off-center.
The developers caution that Eye Contact isn't completely ready, as there are "millions" of potential eye color and lighting scenarios they can't test. You're encouraged to send feedback videos if the technology misbehaves.
Broadcast also has a new vignetting effect that will darken the outer edges of the frame. Existing Blur, Replacement and Remove Virtual Background effects should also be more accurate and reliable thanks to the addition of temporal data that helps the AI make smarter choices. Errors will be subtler, too. NVIDIA is even adding some simple but heavily-requested options to mirror the camera and take screenshots of the webcam.
The tool requires at least a GeForce RTX 2060 video card (or its Quadro equivalent) and 8GB of RAM. NVIDIA recommends at least a Core i5-8600 or Ryzen 5 2600 processor. The Eye Contact function may be uncanny at times — even the best presenters tend to look away now and then, so a constant gaze might be unsettling. This could improve your connection with your audience, though, and may be particularly helpful if you're uncomfortable staring directly at the camera.