Welcome back everyone to another fantastic Tech Connect brought to you by the Vision Forward Association! Today, Cory and Luke are excited to showcase the Merlin Mini! This foldable video magnifier provides much more than basic magnification! Stick around and our Assistive Technology Experts will teach you everything you want to know!
0:00 Start
0:36 Introduction
2:10 Basic Uses, Brightness, Filters and Controls
5:00 Distance Viewing and Line Markers
6:50 Self View, camera adjustments,
9:17 What / who is this device best for?
11:24 Summary, Upcoming Live Show and Events
13:55 Ending
The Merlin Mini provides robust low vision customization options for its user. Various contrast controls and color filter options give you the tools to tailor text to your particular needs! There are additional options for adding line markers, black borders and other tools used to reduce visual clutter.
The device's camera can be tilted upward, enabling its use at great distances. This distance view is perfect for students and young professionals in the workplace who may be expected to follow along with presentations made at a distance. Not to fear! Merlin Mini is here to help! This sturdy device can fold down flat so as to be easily packed in a backpack. Its five hour battery life can endure most presentations and classes, but it also can be used by plugging it into a wall outlet for continuous use.
And finally, the camera can be turned all the way around so as to point at the user themselves. This self-view is designed to help the user check their hair and face, whether that is for the purposes of hygiene, shaving or applying makeup.
Join us next time on Tech Connect, and be sure to leave your thoughts down in the comments below and ask plenty of questions!
Vision Forward's Tech Connect continues to bring you the information you need to make the most out of your devices. Our experts know there are many factors to consider, so if you have any follow up questions please post them in the comments and we will help you find the assistive tech that's best for you.
Join us, find the schedule by visiting out website:
https://vision-forward.org/techconnect
Contact Vision Forward Association:
Call us: (414-615-0103)
Email us: infocus@vision-forward.org
Visit us online: https://www.vision-forward.org
Online Store: https://www.vision-forward.org/store
Want more Tech Connect in your life? Try us Live! Be sure to join us for the upcoming YouTube Live! show on March 28th at 11am CST.
Looking for the full playlist? https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdZ61dAGaL_k3I-_LcTPozan9upCqY8Yc
Most Recent!
Apple Vision Pro with Sam Seavey and Carrie Morales!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JClDdhD3WBM&list=PLdZ61dAGaL_k3I-_LcTPozan9upCqY8Yc
CSUN 2024 Wrap Up!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F31GaOc47w
Still New!
How to Host Your Own Zoom Meeting!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPuoGAarJsk
Before that:
Accessible Cooking with Vision Loss!
https://www
0:00 Start
0:36 Introduction
2:10 Basic Uses, Brightness, Filters and Controls
5:00 Distance Viewing and Line Markers
6:50 Self View, camera adjustments,
9:17 What / who is this device best for?
11:24 Summary, Upcoming Live Show and Events
13:55 Ending
The Merlin Mini provides robust low vision customization options for its user. Various contrast controls and color filter options give you the tools to tailor text to your particular needs! There are additional options for adding line markers, black borders and other tools used to reduce visual clutter.
The device's camera can be tilted upward, enabling its use at great distances. This distance view is perfect for students and young professionals in the workplace who may be expected to follow along with presentations made at a distance. Not to fear! Merlin Mini is here to help! This sturdy device can fold down flat so as to be easily packed in a backpack. Its five hour battery life can endure most presentations and classes, but it also can be used by plugging it into a wall outlet for continuous use.
And finally, the camera can be turned all the way around so as to point at the user themselves. This self-view is designed to help the user check their hair and face, whether that is for the purposes of hygiene, shaving or applying makeup.
Join us next time on Tech Connect, and be sure to leave your thoughts down in the comments below and ask plenty of questions!
Vision Forward's Tech Connect continues to bring you the information you need to make the most out of your devices. Our experts know there are many factors to consider, so if you have any follow up questions please post them in the comments and we will help you find the assistive tech that's best for you.
Join us, find the schedule by visiting out website:
https://vision-forward.org/techconnect
Contact Vision Forward Association:
Call us: (414-615-0103)
Email us: infocus@vision-forward.org
Visit us online: https://www.vision-forward.org
Online Store: https://www.vision-forward.org/store
Want more Tech Connect in your life? Try us Live! Be sure to join us for the upcoming YouTube Live! show on March 28th at 11am CST.
Looking for the full playlist? https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdZ61dAGaL_k3I-_LcTPozan9upCqY8Yc
Most Recent!
Apple Vision Pro with Sam Seavey and Carrie Morales!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JClDdhD3WBM&list=PLdZ61dAGaL_k3I-_LcTPozan9upCqY8Yc
CSUN 2024 Wrap Up!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F31GaOc47w
Still New!
How to Host Your Own Zoom Meeting!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPuoGAarJsk
Before that:
Accessible Cooking with Vision Loss!
https://www
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00 (snoring)
00:02 I gotta start this video.
00:05 I wonder where the heck Luke is.
00:07 Oh, wait a minute.
00:08 I recognize that snoring from anywhere.
00:12 This is perfect.
00:13 John and I got this fake mustache.
00:14 I want you to put this on him.
00:15 This'll be great.
00:16 (snoring)
00:20 Perfect, let's go.
00:24 (snoring)
00:27 (door slams)
00:29 (snoring)
00:32 Hi all, welcome back to another Tech Connect video.
00:39 On this channel, we cover assistive technology devices
00:43 for people who are blind or visually impaired.
00:45 So if that interests you,
00:45 go ahead and subscribe to the channel.
00:48 Today, we are taking a look at a foldable video magnifier
00:52 or CCTV, the Mini Merlin or Merlin Mini,
00:56 depending on which way you want to say it around.
00:58 - It depends whether you read from the left
00:59 or the right, Corey.
01:00 - That is very true, but whatever you want to call it,
01:02 it is magical.
01:04 - Is it?
01:05 Oh, wow.
01:06 - Get it Merlin?
01:07 Yeah, yeah.
01:08 All right, so it does come in two different sizes,
01:09 a 15.6 inch or a 17.3.
01:14 There you go, in screen.
01:17 It is, I guess we could say it is somewhat portable, right?
01:21 It does fold down.
01:21 - I would say it's pretty portable, yeah.
01:22 - What would you guess?
01:23 What do you think the weight is?
01:24 It should have probably looked--
01:25 - 57 pounds.
01:26 - I don't know if it's exactly 57 pounds,
01:29 but it does fold down onto itself.
01:33 But when it's expanded on the table,
01:36 it looks like a traditional video magnifier
01:39 or kind of an inline desktop CCTV,
01:42 but it obviously is made to be a bit more portable
01:45 than those are.
01:46 So today we are going to look at the features
01:49 and there's a few of them, right?
01:50 We've got three different viewing modes,
01:52 distance, close up and self.
01:55 So we're going to take a look at all three of those
01:57 and Luke will be our tour guide
02:00 on this magical mystery tour.
02:02 - Let's get touring.
02:04 Corey, it's time to pull Excalibur out the stone.
02:07 (laughing)
02:10 - Chef Luke, I'm glad I caught you in the kitchen
02:14 'cause I'm hoping that I can get you
02:16 to make my well-balanced lunch that I brought from home.
02:19 - That'd be my pleasure.
02:20 I'm guessing salad.
02:21 I'm thinking a salmon or something like that.
02:23 - All of that.
02:24 Yep, here you go.
02:25 Thank you.
02:26 I appreciate if you can make that for me.
02:27 - This is it.
02:28 - That is it.
02:29 - You realize this is a super moist cake mix?
02:31 - Yes.
02:31 What do you have?
02:33 Let me guess.
02:33 You have regular moist cake for lunch, don't you?
02:37 - Sure, sure.
02:38 Well, anyway, Corey,
02:40 the trouble is the instructions on this
02:41 were a little bit small.
02:42 - Okay.
02:43 - So, but luckily for you,
02:43 I do have the Merlin Mini here.
02:46 Isn't that good?
02:47 - It's pretty lucky.
02:47 - Perfect.
02:48 So let's go ahead and unfold this thing.
02:50 It is a little bit stiff to unfold.
02:52 Oh, you're really gonna put some effort into it.
02:55 And I'm not even joking.
02:56 It is kind of stiff.
02:57 So that would be one downside here.
02:58 But let's fold it out.
02:59 I'm gonna turn it on.
03:00 Now, Corey, do you know what the Merlin Mini is?
03:02 Any experience with this?
03:03 - I do know what the Merlin Mini is.
03:05 - Okay, good.
03:06 - We did talk about it at the intro of the video.
03:08 (laughing)
03:09 - I can't say I was there.
03:10 I don't know anything about that.
03:11 Okay, so we've unfolded it
03:13 and we're gonna go ahead
03:14 and we're going to put our cake mix underneath here.
03:17 Now that is magnified,
03:18 but I think I need it a little bit higher.
03:20 Let me go ahead and turn the magnification dial
03:22 in the middle here.
03:23 And we're getting higher, but you know what, Corey?
03:25 I think I need it even higher still.
03:27 Luckily for me, if I hold down the magnification dial,
03:30 it's gonna put me in the menu.
03:31 And I'm gonna go ahead and go to zoom ratio here.
03:34 And if I click on that,
03:35 I can actually change the available magnification
03:38 all the way up to 60 times.
03:39 So I'm gonna go ahead and click on that
03:41 and we will zoom up even bigger.
03:44 Okay, I'm starting to see what we need to do here.
03:48 It involves eggs.
03:49 It involves the oven.
03:51 It involves the cake mix, you know?
03:53 - Okay, so here's the question.
03:54 - Yeah.
03:55 - What happens if you don't have eggs or an oven?
03:57 Is there, can we still make it?
03:59 - I'm pretty sure we can find substitutes.
04:00 - Good.
04:01 - Yeah, so let's not worry about it too much.
04:02 Now, I'm still not seeing this quite as clear as I would like
04:05 so I'm just gonna go ahead and hit the button
04:07 to the right of the magnification dial
04:09 and that's gonna change the color.
04:10 And let's see here.
04:12 Oh yeah, we've got a nicer black text
04:14 on a dark blue background.
04:15 Perfect contrast.
04:17 - Doesn't seem like it.
04:18 (laughing)
04:19 - Well, it's good enough for now.
04:20 So I'm starting to understand what we need to do here.
04:23 Let me just mess with this brightness dial here
04:25 which is on the left side and we'll adjust the brightness.
04:29 Okay, yeah, I'm starting to get a good idea here
04:31 but one more thing we're gonna do here, Corey,
04:33 just to make it even clearer,
04:35 is we are going to press the picture button
04:37 to the left of the magnification dial
04:39 and that's frozen the image on the screen
04:41 and now I can zoom in on it
04:42 and use the joystick on the right side to pan around.
04:46 And okay, here we go.
04:48 Pretty sure I've got a good idea
04:49 of what we need to do with this cake.
04:51 We're gonna give it a try and Corey, I hope you're excited.
04:54 - I am very excited.
04:55 Thanks, Marlon.
04:57 (laughing)
04:59 Good morning, everybody.
05:01 Thank you for joining us in this presentation
05:04 where we're talking about Chromebook accessibility.
05:07 We have a packed room.
05:08 We almost needed a bigger room.
05:11 I'm really thankful that all of you have come today.
05:15 Corey has got me attending this very boring presentation
05:18 and the screen's kind of a long way away
05:21 but luckily I've got my Merlin Mini with me
05:23 and we can do distance magnification.
05:25 So let's see what we've got here.
05:27 We're gonna go ahead and turn it on.
05:29 And at the moment, by default,
05:30 the camera's gonna be looking down toward the base.
05:33 So we need to rotate the camera.
05:35 There's a handy little dial on the right side here.
05:37 So I'm gonna find that dial and rotate the camera here
05:40 and we shall see what this is all about.
05:42 Oh, vision accessibility in Chromebooks.
05:45 Wow, this is going to be very exciting, I'm sure.
05:48 Next slide.
05:49 Great, now we're gonna talk about the objectives
05:51 of today's presentation.
05:53 The fun continues.
05:54 I'm having a little trouble keeping track
05:56 of the things on this slide.
05:57 So I think what I'm gonna do is use my line markers.
06:00 Luckily, I can press a button on the right side
06:03 and that should bring up my line markers here.
06:05 And once we have those up,
06:06 then we can move them by rotating that dial.
06:10 And we can also change them by clicking the dial
06:13 to the right and left.
06:14 So if I press right and left here,
06:16 I can move between horizontal, vertical,
06:19 and the windowing options as well.
06:20 And if I go up and down,
06:22 I can change the width of the lines or the windowing.
06:25 Very handy stuff indeed.
06:26 And now I can see these objectives.
06:28 Why don't we go ahead and change the color of them
06:30 for a bit more contrast.
06:32 There we go, a nice black and green.
06:35 Looks like it's gonna be a very, very long day.
06:38 Excuse me, sir, is there a reason you're talking
06:40 during my presentation?
06:41 It's worse than having a cell phone on.
06:44 - My apologies, I was just really bored.
06:45 - I said quiet.
06:46 Next slide.
06:48 - All right, so we are on to the third camera
06:54 placement option and this will be the self-view.
06:57 So Corey, I know oftentimes you need to check
07:00 whether you put your makeup on properly.
07:02 - Yes, and shaving and all my facial type stuff.
07:06 - Exactly, and so that's where the self-view comes in.
07:09 You can rotate the camera,
07:10 you can take a look at yourself and you can zoom in.
07:13 Now, some people don't like doing this, Corey.
07:14 Oftentimes when I'm working with clients,
07:16 they get a bit surprised.
07:17 - You gotta be careful on how far you zoom in.
07:19 - Yeah, you really do.
07:20 If you wanna see how clogged your pores are,
07:22 then this might be the device for you.
07:23 Let's see how it works.
07:24 So first of all, we have to position the screen correctly.
07:27 Now, if we have the screen too high,
07:28 it's gonna block us from being able to rotate the camera
07:31 and look at ourselves.
07:32 So we do need to bring the screen down
07:34 underneath the camera and we can then angle it up
07:36 toward our face.
07:38 And the camera is kind of just behind where the screen is.
07:41 So at this point I can see the camera
07:43 and I can just rotate it with my hand
07:45 and it's gonna look straight toward me.
07:47 And I am now on the...
07:49 What?
07:50 For some strange reason, Corey,
07:54 I seem to have a large, hairy, black mustache
07:57 attached to my face.
07:58 - Are you sure it's not a caterpillar?
08:01 - Let me see if it moves if I touch it.
08:03 Nope, that's definitely a mustache, Corey.
08:05 Do you know anything about this mustache?
08:06 - No, no, I have no idea what you're speaking of.
08:08 There's no way that Jonathan and I put that on you
08:11 while you were sleeping.
08:12 I mean, that never happened.
08:15 - Okay, well, if that didn't happen,
08:16 then I'm assuming that during the course of this video,
08:18 I must have spontaneously grown a mustache.
08:20 - I do believe this video has taken about six weeks
08:22 to shoot, so there's a pretty good chance
08:25 that that actually happened.
08:26 - Okay, well, you know what, Corey?
08:28 - Yeah, well, let's just keep going.
08:31 Let's get the video done, keep going.
08:32 - Okay, I was gonna say I would be angry at you,
08:34 but I'm actually kind of liking the mustache at the moment.
08:36 So let's keep on going with the video here.
08:39 So here, as you can see, the self-view camera
08:41 has allowed me to find out
08:42 that I have a rather dapper mustache.
08:44 And if I wanted to, I could use this self-view camera
08:47 to shave the mustache as well,
08:49 but I'm not gonna do that 'cause it does look rather good.
08:51 While we're looking at ourselves,
08:53 we can also zoom in with the magnification dial,
08:55 as you might expect,
08:56 and the quality of the image is rather good.
08:58 So I can see all the imperfections with my skin,
09:00 and I think I need to start a new skincare regime.
09:03 And then we could also use some of the other buttons as well.
09:05 Like we could change the brightness
09:06 and we could change the color contrast and things like that,
09:10 but we probably wouldn't want to do that here.
09:12 But yeah, if you wanna check out how you're looking,
09:14 this is a great way to do it.
09:15 So why not give it a try?
09:16 - Luke, I do have to say you do look quite debonair
09:21 with that mustache, I'm glad you kept it.
09:23 - This is my new mustache,
09:24 and I want you to call me Sir Lucas Mustachio from now on.
09:29 - I like that.
09:30 You are the mustache-io prince.
09:32 - I really am.
09:33 - I'm not the king?
09:34 - Come on.
09:35 No, I'm the king, you should know that.
09:36 - Okay, fair enough.
09:36 (both laughing)
09:37 - All right, Merlin Mini, what are your thoughts?
09:41 Who is it good for?
09:43 - Absolutely nothing, say it again.
09:45 No, that's not true.
09:47 Yeah, it's really good for a lot of people.
09:48 I've noticed a lot of people
09:50 have been going toward these foldables recently
09:52 'cause they don't take up so much room
09:53 as your traditional desktop,
09:55 but you still get all the benefits of the desktop.
09:57 You've got that higher camera
09:58 so you can easily get your book underneath there,
09:59 you can write underneath it.
10:01 But if you kind of need the space back,
10:03 you can fold it away and then you can put it away
10:05 and it doesn't have to be set up all the time.
10:07 So yeah, I mean, I think a lot of people
10:09 could benefit from this type of design.
10:11 - The three cameras is nice, right?
10:13 They'd be able to do near distance and self-view,
10:16 that makes sense.
10:17 That's obviously something desktops can't provide
10:21 or at least aren't currently providing.
10:23 - Yeah, so you could get a camera, an arm unit
10:26 that's got a camera that you can rotate.
10:29 But yeah, and this type of form factor,
10:30 it's kind of nice to be able to rotate that camera.
10:32 You do get a nice crisp image as well.
10:34 So it is a 1080p, Corby.
10:37 - I think it's probably great for those
10:39 that might do some traveling.
10:41 Like I think if you need something super portable,
10:44 this type of video magnifier
10:47 is not really gonna be the best, in my opinion.
10:50 I think it's probably heavier than it needs to be.
10:53 But if you're somebody who maybe travels
10:55 to a warmer state during the winter time,
10:58 or you have a second home, whatever it might be,
11:02 this is kind of nice 'cause it gives you a larger screen,
11:05 gives you a little bit more like using a full desktop CCTV,
11:08 but it's much easier to take back and forth.
11:11 - You know, a lot of people as well these days,
11:13 they just don't want something big and bulky
11:15 that they have to leave in one place all the time.
11:17 And so with something like this,
11:18 you can set it up when you want it.
11:19 And then when you don't wanna use it,
11:20 you can fold it away and put it out of the way.
11:23 - Yeah, that makes sense.
11:25 Throw down in the comments
11:26 if you're using a video magnifier, what are you using?
11:29 Are you using something foldable like the Merlin Mini,
11:32 or are you using a full-size video magnifier,
11:35 maybe a portable like the Ruby or Optelec compact?
11:38 - Or are you just using your phone?
11:40 - That is very true.
11:41 If you're using your smartphone as your magnifier.
11:44 Throw down in the comments,
11:45 curious what brand you're using,
11:47 what are your thoughts of it,
11:48 help the community kind of decide
11:50 what might be a good fit for them as well.
11:53 Like the video, subscribe, all of that goes a long way
11:57 to helping us out and it's free for you
11:59 and takes exactly how many seconds
12:02 do you think it takes to like and subscribe?
12:05 - Five million. - Done already.
12:05 They should be done.
12:07 (laughing)
12:07 - Wow, that was fast.
12:09 - No, it does, we appreciate it.
12:10 It goes a long way.
12:11 - Oh, go ahead, my mustache is coming off.
12:13 - Oh, well, let's get the stapler and restaple it.
12:17 We've got a lot going on here at Vision Forward.
12:19 Obviously you're on our YouTube channel,
12:21 so you know we've got videos here,
12:23 but we also have a podcast.
12:24 Did you know that, Luke?
12:25 - I had absolutely no idea.
12:26 - Did you know we're podcasters?
12:29 - Are we number one in the Apple podcast charts?
12:32 - For Vision Forward Tech Connect, we are.
12:34 Go to your favorite podcast app of choice
12:37 and do a search for Vision Forward Tech Connect.
12:39 You'll find our podcast.
12:40 It's actually audio versions of our Tech Connect Live
12:44 that we do when, when do we do it?
12:46 - So we do that Thursdays, 11 a.m. Central.
12:49 Every other Thursday, next show is of course on April 11th
12:53 and we will have, do have, have had the people,
12:57 Sam Seavey and Cary Morales.
12:59 Sam, of course, from The Blind Life.
13:01 Cary Morales from Carry On Accessibility.
13:04 Both wonderful people we've had on the show before
13:06 and they have come on the show
13:07 to talk about the Apple Vision Pro, Corey.
13:11 - Yeah, both of them had it, got hands on,
13:13 so they're gonna come on,
13:14 talk to us what their thoughts of the device.
13:16 - No, they're not going to come on, Corey.
13:18 They have already come on.
13:19 - I'm talking both in present and past tense.
13:21 - We got time troubles.
13:22 - We got future at the same time.
13:24 We also have a learning management system
13:26 where you can go and get a bunch of great content.
13:28 Our videos are up there.
13:30 We also have a number of professional webinars
13:33 that have all free on-demand ACVR EP credits.
13:37 Head over to techconnect.vision-forward.org.
13:41 You can create a free account,
13:42 access all of our content for free
13:44 and get free on-demand ACVR EP.
13:47 - I'm on my way right there right now, Corey.
13:50 - Okay, hold on for two more seconds.
13:51 We're almost done.
13:53 So thanks again for joining us.
13:54 Stay tuned for our next video.
13:56 - Bye.
14:00 - Peace out.
14:02 (bell dings)
14:04 [Music]