Videoconferencing Meetings

How to Videoconference a Meeting

Basic Requirements

You need two things to videoconference a meeting and post a video later:

1. A teleconferencing utility, and
2. A desktop video recorder utility.

Video quality key issues include, but are not limited to

• Lighting — Make sure your face is well-lit and not too bright or dark relative to the background. The most common problem in videoconferencing is poorly lit faces.
• Resolution — Your webcam must be able to provide HDTV video at 30 frames per second, and focus on the subject.
• Perspective — Set the camera at about eye level and far enough back to provide your image with good perspective. A zoom webcam will help you do this while maintaining the subject as the largest object in the image.

Audio quality key issues include, but are not limited to

• Microphone position — The microphone should be close to the mouth of the speaker. A headset or a lapel mike designed for public speaking works best. This prevents booming, echoes, and feedback from your computer's speakers.
• Loudspeaker-Microphone separation — You may need a directional microphone to keep your loudspeakers out of your microphone's input to avoid echoing and feedback whistles or booming, particularly if your speaking subject is close to his/her loudspeakers. If separation isn't possible, the speaking subject can use a headset or headphones for their sound and turn off the loudspeakers.

Teleconferencing Utilities

There are a lot of utilities out there, many of them free. A few of the best ones are

• ZOOM, the most popular, is a free (with available paid "professional" enhancements useful to those hosting large meetings, or meetings over 40 minutes) online teleconferencing capability that is particularly appealing to nonprofits. Attendees need a free account and participate through Zoom.
• Cisco Webex Meetings is used by many organizations for business meetings and webinars.
• Microsoft Teams is a leader in features and cost, comparable to Zoom and Cisco Webex.

There are a number of others that are useful and free, from Google, Adobe, and a number of other companies including start-ups. Some of these are:

• Google Hangouts can be used by anyone with a Google account (a gmail account, an Android phone, etc.). Attendees need only to respond to a link in an email message to view with a web browser. NOTE: Google Hangouts is being replaced by Google Chat.
• Skype, the popular video telephone application, can be used for videoconferencing. It comes pre-installed on Windows, too. You will have to set up an account, and it is not entirely free. Attendees participate through their own Skype accounts.
• Facebook Live works for some people of every single one of the attendees has a Facebook account. Full disclosure: I don't have a Facebook account.

Desktop Video Recorders

• Most Videoconferencing Utilities offer a built-in video recording option.
• Windows 10 has a Game DVR that you can use; Settings -> Gaming -> [turn on game bar]; <Alt>G turns on the Game Bar, then click the Start icon in the Capture window. Click <Esc> to close the game bar.
• NVIDIA graphics cards GFX 650 or higher come with ShadowPlay (Windows only); if you have ShadowPlay and it's enabled through GEForce Experience, <Alt>F7 will bring up its start screen.
• If you don't have a desktop video recorder installed or you need something better, you will need a third-party application such as the free, popular VideoLan Video Player.  A YouTube video below shows how to use the VLC player to record your video conference.
• Kazam , RecordMyDesktop, CamStudio, etc. are available on SourceForge, often for multiple platforms; some are offered as part of many Linux distributions

Test More Than One of Each Before You Go Live

If you have one of each of these on your computer, try out at least two and see if you are comfortable with using them. If you feel that you need more capability or a simpler utility, try the others. Do a web search yourself to find others so that you aren't limited by the above examples.

Hosting a Videoconference

Your Device

You can use a computer (Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook, etc.), laptop or notebook, tablet, or a smartphone. The principal requirements are that you have

1. A good Internet connection that supports video streaming data rates,
2. A webcam and microphone, and
3. A screen that has enough resolution for you to be able to see the videoconference main screen, the thumbnails of the attendees, and the controls for the host of the videoconference.

Note that the host device does not have to be operated by the presenter or the host of the meeting. A third party can operate the videoconferencing utility, and he/she can host the meeting from a computer separate from that of the presenter, freeing up the presenter for full focus on the meeting itself, full-figure images of the presenter, etc.

Hosting is best done on a real computer with a decent screen, because most videoconferencing software shows the attendees as thumbnails at the bottom or side of your screen. You will need to ensure that the higher data rates of hosting computers are supported by you Internet connection.

Camera and Microphone

Of course, you will need a webcam. Phones, tablets and laptops nearly always come with a webcam, and many computers also have an included webcam. Under Widows 10, check Settings -> Privacy -> Camera to see what you have installed, and to make sure that it connects to your videoconferencing software. It should be capable of HD video at 30 frames per second.

If your computer does not have a suitable webcam, Logitech and others offer inexpensive USB webcams (as little as $25 on Amazon or at Staples, Best Buy, etc.) that come with software that lets you zoom and focus the webcam.

Many computers with webcams, nearly all laptops, and all tablets and phones have microphones. But, echo and feedback can be a problem with web based teleconferencing. This is best handled by using a headset for both speaker and microphone during teleconferencing.

Lighting and Echoes

Initial attempts often have difficulties such as echoes and shadowed faces. Tips:

• Add a light in front of the presenter to make the face front-lit. Shining a floodlight on a white wall in a spot just behind the webcam, just above the level of the presenters head will provide a soft lighting.
• Use a lapel microphone mounted close to the speaker's mouth, or a headset, so that echoes and loudspeaker sound are very faint compared to the voice of the speaker. Your computer or webcam built-in microphone will likely give a boomy sound that is susceptible to feedback from your loudspeakers.
• Test your setup and adjust things so that you get what you want when you go live.

Test to make sure that you like what your attendees see

You will need to make sure that your face is well lit to look good on the screen.  Good sound without echoes from your speaker will most likely require a headset, or a clip-on-the-lapel microphone and discreet Bluetooth earbuds for the hosting job (i.e., you).

To view a live videoconference, an attendee doesn't need either a camera or a microphone.

A Desktop Video Recorder

If you record a video of the conference, then you can post it where you like — Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, your web page, wherever. Try out more than one option to make sure that you are getting what you are comfortable with using.

If you don't have a desktop video recorder installed or you need something better, you will need a third-party application such as the free, popular, multiplatform (Windows, Mac, Linux) VideoLan Video Player.  This YouTube video shows how to use the VLC player to record your video conference:

 

Consumer Reports

From users, I have this feedback; your mileage may vary:

• Most aftermarket webcams feature a tripod mount. Some users with touchscreen devices need to mount their camera on a tripod for a steady picture.
• Among a Samsung Galaxy 20 phone, an iPhone, and a laptop, the Galaxy 20 gives the best results. Make sure that your device has HD video. I recommend an aftermarket USB webcam; they aren't expensive and they are intended for purposes such as Videoconferences.
• Zoom videoconferences require that all attendees have an account and be logged onto Zoom. Only the host must have a paid account, and then only if the meeting has more than 50 attendees or lasts longer than 40 minutes.

Videoconference Etiquette From Reader's Digest

Online Reader's Digest article HERE makes these points:

• Prepare for the meeting. People who attend "cold" handicap the meeting.
• Dress for the meeting. Your image heps set the tone — and if you must stand up or the camera moves, and you show your pajamas to the world?
• Mute yourself when you're not talking. Otherwise, dog barks and other unwanted background noises go out to the world.
• Be ready to take notes. Your DayTimer or PDA log is important in any meeting.
• Mute and blank video when you take a break. No one wants to view your bathroom wall and hear you flush during a meeting. The host may block video of some attendees if the host computer is having bandwidth issues.
• Eschew email and other chores. Unmuted keyboard clatter, in particular, is not good. If you join the meeting, you need to focus on the meeting.
• Set up with a good camera angle and lighting. Don't look like someone in witness protection, or a villain in a B movie. Control how you project your presence.
• Turn off notifications. Incoming emails, audible notices from your calendar, all are unwelcome distractions in a meeting.
• Make sure that your Ethernet or WiFi connection is strong, consistent, and secure before you join the meeting.
• Pause occasionally when you are speaking to hear questions and other feedback. Without that, you might as well prerecord a video and leave.
• Be aware of the time zones of all other attendees. You might want to consider local time of attendees when you schedule a teleconference, too.
• Be aware of your surroundings, as seen and heard by other attendees. Playing children and pets, people vacuuming the room, etc. are rarely welcome in a teleconference, even if the sound is muted.
• Pay attention and keep up. Zoning out and starting cold when it's your turn to speak interrupts and delays the meeting.
• Pick a quiet place with good WiFi to set up and join the meeting. Use a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door if that will help.
• Don't chew gum or snack during a teleconference.
• Check with the other attendees to make sure everyone is on the same page before you exit the meeting.

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Last updated Tuesday, September 28, 2021