Remote customer service - lag?
- @david
Hello! My wife works works remotely and has a company laptop. She wants to leave her computer at home.
Thinking about whether something like this TinyPilot could work as a way for her to access her computer (mouse/keyboard/monitor) to work from another state or even another country.
Am I thinking about this correctly that this can work in that way and does not require software added to her computer? She uses an HP hub dock today and plugs one USB C into her laptop to access her monitors / keyboard / mouse / headphones / webcam.
Would a headphone / mic / webcamera also work from her remote location?
How bad would the lag be? She is in customer service and so would need to be able to talk to customers.
Also she uses dual monitors today. Would there be a way to replicate that on the remote computer? That is probably a more nice to have so no problem if not.
Thanks,
DM
David @david2023-12-11 15:39:26.301ZHi @bearcat45202, thanks for your questions!
Am I thinking about this correctly that this can work in that way and does not require software added to her computer?
That's correct - you don't need to install any additional software to use TinyPilot.
Would a headphone / mic / webcamera also work from her remote location?
TinyPilot allows you to control your target computer remotely - so you can see the screen, hear the sound, and use the mouse and keyboard. Unfortunately, TinyPilot isn't able to forward a microphone or a webcam feed to the target computer.
How bad would the lag be?
There are a lot of factors that influence the amount of lag, so it's difficult to give a great estimate. The distance from your target computer, network quality, screen resolution, and screen content all affect lag. We currently advertise <140ms latency locally at default settings.
Lots of TinyPilot customers use their TinyPilot remotely over the internet (across states and countries). And they're happy with the latency they see. In my own experience, I've been able to access a remote computer approximately 5,000 miles away with a usable latency - though it also depends on the type of work you're doing. Writing an email is much more forgiving than real-time communication when it comes to lag.
Also she uses dual monitors today. Would there be a way to replicate that on the remote computer?
Right now, TinyPilot has a single HDMI input for capturing the display, so there isn't a way to replicate dual monitors with TinyPilot, unfortunately.
Based on the type of work you've described, I'm not sure if TinyPilot is the right product here. If you require webcam and microphone forwarding, that's not something TinyPilot is designed to do right now.
I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions.
- GIn reply tobearcat45202⬆:GettingStarted.app @gettingstarted.app
What software does she use for communicate with customers? Sometimes the app is available on her smart phone. So she can connect to her PC with TinyPilot but use her phone for all verbal/video communication