A Resource for Hybrid Meetings: Portal+
by Peter Phillips
Cornwall Meeting
When our meeting decided to regather physically several months ago, we investigated various ways to continue to include Friends seeking to worship remotely by our Zoom account. We started with a laptop, linked to the internet by a Friend’s iPhone “hot spot,” but it was hard for those in the meeting house to hear vocal ministry offered by those online, through the shallow speaker of the laptop. A Friend offered a speaker attachment and that helped a bit, but it was still awkward.
We then connected the laptop to a projector with an internal speaker. The result looked a bit overwhelming, like a matinee at the local AMC theatre. And the laptop microphone was very limited—Friends offering vocal ministry in the meeting house would have to walk over to the table holding the computer and speak to the screen, rather than to the meeting at large, turning their backs to the rest of us instead of opening to us all.
Using a flat top TV instead of a projector helped a bit. Connecting an omnidirectional microphone helped a bit. But the meeting house was looking more like a living room with a Sunday football game than a place of worship.
Then a Friend brought in a Portal+. This is a very simple device —a column about 24” high with a screen about 18” across. It connects to the internet without need for a laptop. It has a built-in microphone and a built-in speaker. It has a built-in camera that shifts its focus as people move in the room. It was easy for us to set up and to connect to our Zoom account.
Our Portal+ sits discreetly in the corner of the room. The adjustable microphone is remarkably acute and picks up whatever people say. The speaker and the screen both have remarkable fidelity, and the speaker volume is also adjustable. It is manufactured by Facebook and is available for purchase for well less than $200 either through Facebook or through Amazon. The device does require a Facebook account to be set up, but a member volunteered their account for this use.
Our meeting is still feeling its way to unity with respect to hybrid worship. However, I believe that we have found, on occasions when we do worship both in person and remotely, that the Portal+ is a very effective solution. Meetings whose worship rooms are beginning to resemble the deck of the Starship Enterprise, or who offer vocal ministry to machines and microphones rather than to each other, may wish to investigate this resource.