Zoom, Skype Technical Q&A here:

[.Ivan.]

For a 2 months now i am on meeting via zoom but on android tv. Have no cam and mic.
I got a little lazy, I don't comment. i have to go back to the pc and turn on the camera.

[jwhess]

Not all of our Zoom operators are Elders or MS.  We found out last night that information is not equally distributed.  The change of our Local Needs required a video that was not included in the weeks media assigned to the meeting.  Our Bible Study conductor began the review by asking for last weeks pictures to review and the Zoom operator had not queued them up prior to this request.

 

So we have been asked to coordinate the needs and changes to the A/V operators to ensure a smooth and timely media display.  Words to the wise.

 

[AH173]

I'm glad that my cobe / video organizer has arranged that we meet about 45 mins prior to meeting an avs video/audio check every meeting (from following principles of zoominst and s-179).

[Tortuga]

1 hour ago, jwhess said:

Not all of our Zoom operators are Elders or MS.  We found out last night that information is not equally distributed.  The change of our Local Needs required a video that was not included in the weeks media assigned to the meeting.  Our Bible Study conductor began the review by asking for last weeks pictures to review and the Zoom operator had not queued them up prior to this request.

 

So we have been asked to coordinate the needs and changes to the A/V operators to ensure a smooth and timely media display.  Words to the wise.

 

I'm surprised the meeting chairman didn't ensure the video was ready to be shown.

[More4me2do]

4 hours ago, jwhess said:

Not all of our Zoom operators are Elders or MS.  We found out last night that information is not equally distributed.  The change of our Local Needs required a video that was not included in the weeks media assigned to the meeting.  Our Bible Study conductor began the review by asking for last weeks pictures to review and the Zoom operator had not queued them up prior to this request.

 

So we have been asked to coordinate the needs and changes to the A/V operators to ensure a smooth and timely media display.  Words to the wise.

 

Since I do all the media for our meetings I always watch the branch provided meetings the day before our meeting so I am in the position to share with the participants what the branch has done. In this week's CLM meeting the GB update #3 was played back so got it from jw.org. In addition the brother conducting the CBS reviewed the last week's 3 portions from the box 9A. So before we started the meeting I just asked in the AV Check room for all meeting participants if he will review the opening 3 points of Box 9A, job done. In addition I asked the brother who handled the 10 minute part "Increase Your Joy in the Ministry" will you be using the opening image and yes he wanted to, the branch provided meeting did not.

 

So to make the meeting very fluent and professional it would be best to know how did the branch handle it and in our congregation ALL meeting participants including the one saying the closing prayer have to join the AV Check breakout room at least 15 minutes before the meeting starts for last minute coordination. Just trying to follow through on what I believe it says somewhere in the Bible let all things take place decently and by arrangement 🤔

[Old]

4 hours ago, Tortuga said:

I'm surprised the meeting chairman didn't ensure the video was ready to be shown.

There are chairman and there are chairman. 

We did not have the reading of June Announcements and reminders  #4. Posting Material on Websites and Social Media."  We had the reading of the June 4th nnouncement last Sunday, but not the second reading at our mid week mtg.  

[jwhess]

The reason i posted was to remind us all of the work the AV brothers do for us and the cooperation that they need to make it look good.  We have had some sickness and parts get switched around.  When there are major changes (like the Enjoy Life parts, it is good to be proactive.  Our brothers were able to work through the glitches in a timely manner (slight delay) and it shows the skills these brothers have and use to support our meetings.

 

I think that some watching the program wondered why "that zoom brother couldn't get that video playing instantly".  He was locating and downloading it on the spot...💗

[jwhess]

2 hours ago, More4me2do said:

Since I do all the media for our meetings I always watch the branch provided meetings the day before our meeting so I am in the position to share with the participants what the branch has done. I

That may be nice for you but we have a core group of about 8-10 brothers doing their share in the work.  Not all of them have the same skill, most of them are not servants with access to the elders instructions, not all have the same equipment and internet access and the vary in age and experience (18-50 and some baptized only a couple of years).

 

So it is not reasonable that the 18 year old will be able to access and do the work of the 50 year old elder.  But he is being trained and encouraged to reach out.

 

Edit:  what was the elder school motto...?  Efficiency is not a fruit of the spirit, patience is....🙂

 

 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2021 by jwhess

[AH173]

3 hours ago, More4me2do said:

So to make the meeting very fluent and professional it would be best to know how did the branch handle it

That's a nice thing you do. 

 

Since my meetings are on the day the branch puts them out (Monday and Saturday), we make do with what we are provided. 

[More4me2do]

Depending on what time zone you are in IIRC by 4 to 5pm EST they are available, should give you enough time to check any parts which may be unclear. In addition one of the chairman's parts had an excellent format by using images put together in a collage which he used for his opening comments and then again for the concluding comments a repeat of the collage from the opening comments for the review of the meeting plus a collage of images from next weeks meetings for what to expect next week, very impressive and effective but haven't seen it again neither the chairman 😮

[Qapla]

 

Since we have sisters helping with the A/V they do not have access to any of the jw.org access that some of the brothers do.

 

This past week we had several "glitches" ... but not due to lack of preparation. We had a storm blow through shorty before the meeting. Many in our Congregation have less than stellar Internet when conditions are good so this fast-moving, hard-rain, lightning-striking, wind-blowing fast-moving storm left additional Internet problems in it's wake.

 

No real problem - we just adjusted on-the-fly as various problems presented themselves.

 

Here is a short summary of some of what took place:

• Our meeting starts at 7 PM and the host launches Zoom at 6:30 - due to the storm the Zoom did not start until 6:45
• The brother with the opening prayer could not get connected on time - the brother with the closing prayer gave the opening and the other brother was able to give the closing prayer
• The sister doing A/V had her computer freeze (due to power problems in the area) and the attendant brother showed the opening song
• One of the images had a problem showing due to Internet problems so one of the Elders jumped in and shared the image even though he had "bandwidth problems" that he usually does not have
• The brother giving the Bible Reading had his device freeze about 3/4 through the reading - the chairman just gave gave his comments as thought the reading had been completed and we moved on to the next part
• Several who normally operate with their cameras on comment with cameras off due to bandwidth issues

All-in-all, the meeting was fine and we all enjoyed it. After the meeting, during the usual socializing, no one mentioned the Internet issues - we just talked about what we enjoyed and had interchange as usual.

 

While it is preferred to be fully prepared for the meeting with all the "checks" in place - at times there are circumstances beyond our control so we just deal with them and "let it go" ... Holy Spirit takes care of the meeting even when things aren't all perfect.

 

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

...
Edit:  what was the elder school motto...? 
Efficiency is not a fruit of the spirit, patience is....

I have some thoughts on this, as it might seem true on the surface, it is in fact a little misleading.
I don't want to hijack this thread... however, if you are interested - open a thread and I will share my musings...
(Reminds me of the Bus driver sticking to the schedule story... also misapplied to the wrong scenario...)

Old (Downunder) Tone

[jwhess]

1 hour ago, ➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone said:

 

 

I have some thoughts on this, as it might seem true on the surface, it is in fact a little misleading.
I don't want to hijack this thread... however, if you are interested - open a thread and I will share my musings...
(Reminds me of the Bus driver sticking to the schedule story... also misapplied to the wrong scenario...)

Old (Downunder) Tone
 

 

Actually, this quote was one of the exact applications from the school.  We have a tendency to just do things ourselves ("if you want it done right, do it yourself").  We were encouraged to use the newer, younger and less skilled in these non-critical duties to help them grow.  It encourages them to "reach out".  Put aside our inner-reach for 'perfection' in these areas and look to expand the opportunities for growth with guidance for others.  We need more patience.

 

The other application was the old RBC vs LDC discussions....🙂

[Tortuga]

4 minutes ago, jwhess said:

We were encouraged to use the newer, younger and less skilled in these non-critical duties to help them grow. 

The older (and pre-old) overseers in LDC are being strongly encouraged to train younger brothers too.

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

Yes. Oft used in the wrong context...

Old (Downunder) Tone

[Floyd]

On 6/11/2021 at 2:59 PM, jwhess said:

what was the elder school motto...?  Efficiency is not a fruit of the spirit, patience is....🙂

 

I agree but some use it as an excuse for not keeping up with the organization.

 

[jwhess]

2 hours ago, Floyd said:

I agree but some use it as an excuse for not keeping up with the organization.

 

Some misquote the scriptures (which is even worse).  We can only work with improving our own attitudes.  If others use loopholes and excuses to do less in God's work it is not because we told them to read the fruitage of the spirit...💗

[More4me2do]

Back on topic about Zoom and Technical matters. Tried today various ways to reduce any crackling or interference. Here are my findings with 140 connections.

 

1. I made a change in the audio device driver of the laptop. Since I don't use in Zoom the audio stream, for speakers and mike but rather from the share screen just tick the "Share Computer Audio" and the "Optimize Video" boxes it possibly had to do with the audio driver in the laptop. So I unchecked the box for "Enhance Audio" in the driver. 

The result was that it improved it slightly and since the interference only happened at the start of the song it could be that it takes a short time for Zoom to reach the song's 1280x720 resolution and 30fps playback format. It starts at a lower resolution and lower frame rate and this could be the cause for the interference in the opening moments.

 

2. I changed the audio to AC3 sampled at 48'000Hz and put it into a MKV container but it made no difference. Still the crackling at the opening moments of the song. Once the lyrics appear it plays without crackling or interference.

 

One final test would be to use the internal video player, however I can't seem to get this option to show in the advanced tab of the screen sharing when I am co-host it only appears when being the host.

[jayrtom]

On 6/11/2021 at 6:50 PM, Old said:

There are chairman and there are chairman. 

We did not have the reading of June Announcements and reminders  #4. Posting Material on Websites and Social Media."  We had the reading of the June 4th nnouncement last Sunday, but not the second reading at our mid week mtg.  

At our congregation it's the coordinator responsibility to guaranty that the correct announcements are all read. He usually phones the chairman for the week to check on this

 

 

 

I recently have a bug on zoom that I can't use the shortcut key to raise hand. It stopped working all of a sudden and I can't get it to work no matter what (I changed it to every kind of key combinations and still it doesn't work)

All other functions work ok

 

Any one experiencing the same?

 

 

 

[DarinS]

yes - i had this on the desktop

 

and i had an issue on iPad for raise hand if i had multiple screens open 

 

the update fixed the desktop issue

 

and using gallery view and the raise hand at upper right resolved iPad issue

 

so it seems there are few bugs out there

 

[jwhess]

I have the "reaction" button turned off and it only shows the "raise hand" option at the bottom of the screen.  I checked the settings box for the "ALT-Y" keyboard shortcut and it works for me, even with the updates.

[AH173]

I use Alt y also, no problems. 

[Skye]

On 6/14/2021 at 7:21 PM, jwhess said:

I have the "reaction" button turned off and it only shows the "raise hand" option at the bottom of the screen.  I checked the settings box for the "ALT-Y" keyboard shortcut and it works for me, even with the updates.

I also noted that the last couple of meetings, that we can no longer have the reactions button. Empty-looking bar we have with mute/unmute, turn video on/off and raise hand (did I see share screen??) That's all we need, anyway.

[jwhess]

3 hours ago, Skye said:

I also noted that the last couple of meetings, that we can no longer have the reactions button. Empty-looking bar we have with mute/unmute, turn video on/off and raise hand (did I see share screen??) That's all we need, anyway.

We were missing comments from newer ones, less tech skilled ones and older ones who weren't able to navigate to the "reaction" button and then press again after they found the "raise hand" button.

 

Now they just choose "raise hand".

[Qapla]

Next Zoom update is scheduled for Monday (June 21) 

 

Quote

June 21, 2021 version TBD

New and enhanced features

• General features
  • Support for gender pronouns 
    If enabled by account admins and added to their profile by either the user directly or through SAML mapping, a user’s gender pronouns are displayed in their contact card and as part of their display name in meetings and webinars.

 

 

🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄