Zoom, Skype Technical Q&A here:

[Myew]

15 hours ago, Qapla said:

My CPU doesn't have graphics built in so I need a graphics card ... the one I have only feeds 3 monitors and they are all in use already - I would need a second video card or an update to one that has more connections to add monitors

It's true that DisplayPort over USB-C on the motherboard itself normally routes through the integrated graphics. I am running a similar setup to yours, a main monitor, a graphics pen display/monitor, and an old HDTV, with a Ryzen CPU and RTX GPU. Unfortunately I got a version of my GPU that didn't include a USB C port in addition to the display connections. Yet there are alternative methods to the standard USB/USB C monitor. One that comes with many Chromebooks is called Duet Display, it might be useful to try such with a tablet if you really want to add a 4th monitor. Performance is so-so. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kairos.duet&hl=en_US&gl=US Personally, 3 is plenty for me. One for personal use/study material, one for zoom main window, one for zoom spotlight & screen sharing.

Edited August 9, 2021 by Myew

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

I had an old VGA monitor, but no VGA port on my laptop. So on ebay I found a 'USB to VGA' adapter for $1.99. I used it for quite a while to drive my second monitor. It worked well on zoom.
I now have a HDMI TV as my second monitor.
At this point I can cope with 2 monitors.

Old (Downunder) Tone

[Manwithnoname]

On 8/8/2021 at 6:54 PM, More4me2do said:

Thanks for the tip on the Green Screen mine just got delivered, set it up and it will work just fine for the Pioneer meeting using JW Studio. Love it when someone else is the Guinea Pig for a techie toy

 

same green screen as I have. 🙂

Just be aware that JW stream studio has no facility for using a green screen or virtual background.

So if you have an item on the program  and plan to use it you will need to use an external program, eg OBS.

 

Also it's worth mentioning this is the guidence given to brothers with parts on JW stream studio.....

 

" If possible, use a blank wall for your background. Avoid backgrounds with very bright lighting or distracting objects. Do not use a virtual background."

 

But In reality as long as your virtual background doesn't look like a virtual background to those viewing, and your lighting is really good, the tech team might be fine with it, but just be prepared you may be asked to remove it if it's causing problems or is distracting, so have a plan B in mind.

 

[On the huh]

Focus Mode

I found this feature, I think it may be new

 

Focus mode – Zoom Help Center

 

Focus mode is designed with the digital learning environment in mind, allowing students to stay attentive or work on their tasks while under supervision, without being distracted by others and their tasks. This feature gives the host and co-hosts view of all participants’ videos without other participants seeing each other. This extends into screen sharing, as the host and co-host can view and switch between each participant’s shared screen, while the participants can only view their own content. If the host finds a participant’s content should be shared with others, they can easily begin sharing the participant’s screen with others.

Besides the host, co-hosts, and participants spotlighted by the host, participants in focus mode can still see their own video but only see other participants' names, their nonverbal feedback or reactions, and hear them when unmuted.

 

Not sure if it would be useful or not in the context of our meetings.

[jwhess]

My zoom app updated to version 5.7.5 (on my Windows PC) when I started it for the meeting tonight.

 

Has not updated on Iphone or Ipad yet

Has not updated on my Android device yet either.

 

Edited August 13, 2021 by jwhess

[Qapla]

 

 

 

Edited August 13, 2021 by Qapla

[Hinata]

Does anyone know if there is a way to disable “active speaker view” when I screen share? On mobile, when sharing videos, the speaker view is quite large and obscures the portion of the video.

 

[bigvince]

Is it possible to host a zoom meeting and not actually be on? Like could I set up a zoom meeting and have it launch itself and stay open without having my device turned on?

[TylerD]

3 hours ago, bigvince said:

Is it possible to host a zoom meeting and not actually be on? Like could I set up a zoom meeting and have it launch itself and stay open without having my device turned on?

For congregation meetings, no. A host has to always be in the meeting. A setting which would allow no host would be Allow participants to join before host, but the branch requires this option to be off.

[bigvince]

Just now, TylerD said:

For congregation meetings, no. A host has to always be in the meeting. A setting which would allow no host would be Allow participants to join before host, but the branch requires this option to be off.

Thanks, I'm asking because I host meetings for field service for my group, but am not always available and it is proving more difficult for me to host. Unfortunately I'm the only one in the group capable of doing that due to various factors. If I could have others join without my being there, that would be great.

[TylerD]

Received an email about the new Zoom update for August 22.

 

Here are a few changes and fixes that will relate for our congregation meetings.

 

For full notes including version numbers, please see the operating system release notes. 
Windows | macOS | Linux | Android | iOS*  

*The iOS release requires Apple approval and may take a few additional days to appear in the App Store.

 

Meeting features

 

Optimize for video auto-detect - Windows
When Optimize for video clip is enabled but no video is detected, the client will automatically disable this feature to provide better visual quality of the shared content, then automatically re-enable when video is detected again.

 

Here's a cool one for iPad.

 

Automatic reactions from gesture recognition - iOS (iPad only)
Allows for visual gestures, such as a raised hand, to automatically use a corresponding meeting reaction, Raise hand. Currently, this is supported for Raise Hand and Thumbs Up reactions.

 

Resolved Issues

• Minor bug fixes
• Security enhancements
• Resolved an issue for a subset of users regarding rotating the Surface Pro and the user’s video not rotating as well - Windows
• Resolved an issues for a subset of users regarding the client crashing when no camera is detected - Windows
• Resolved an issue for a subset of users regarding the sharing toolbar being difficult to move when multiple screens are arranged above one another - Windows

 

[On the huh]

6 hours ago, TylerD said:

Automatic reactions from gesture recognition - iOS (iPad only)
Allows for visual gestures, such as a raised hand, to automatically use a corresponding meeting reaction, Raise hand. Currently, this is supported for Raise Hand and Thumbs Up reactions.

Oh this is going to very useful.  We have ones who struggle with the digital raise hand, so raise their physical hand.  

With the digital raise hand, you can instantly see who wants to comment and it so easy to miss those who raise their physical hand.  I do that a lot with meeting parts, and miss some hands.

[Intercore]

2 hours ago, On the huh said:

Oh this is going to very useful.  We have ones who struggle with the digital raise hand, so raise their physical hand.  

With the digital raise hand, you can instantly see who wants to comment and it so easy to miss those who raise their physical hand.  I do that a lot with meeting parts, and miss some hands.

Sadly, for now this function would work only on iOS devices... Waiting for Android compatibility.

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

I wonder how it works if you change your mind - or if your point was covered - and you put your hand down... will this feature keep pace...?

Old (Downunder) Tone

[bigvince]

And when the person puts the physical hand down, does it lower their digital hand?

[Qapla]

Having automatic doors on grocery stores and DIY centers is nice - but how many homes and KH's have them?

 

Imagine having an automatic door on the KH and having it open at inopportune times like often happens at grocery stores and DIY centers when someone is just walking by.

 

There are motion sensitive switches used on lights that allow the lights to come on when a person enters a room. I have seen these used in many commercial settings and even in some homes. But, I have never seen them installed in the main auditorium of a KH. Can you imagine ... when the first one who gets to the KH enters the main auditorium and the lights just come on how "convenient" that would be   However, when all take their seats and sit still, especially if the seating areas is not within the sensor range, having the lights turn off during the meeting because the switch is not detecting motion   leaving the attendant or someone to have to keep waving their hands in the air each time the lights blip out so they will come back on  

 

Just because something is a "good idea" in some cases does not mean it is a good idea in all cases. While it may seem like the automatic hand raising feature may be good it does not mean it would be good for some who are already struggling with technology. There could well be more "wrongly raised hands" than here are now, like those who forget to lower their hands or mute/unmute.

 

 

Edited August 14, 2021 by Qapla

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

You scratch your nose and the hand goes up...

Old (Downunder) Tone

[jwhess]

On 8/12/2021 at 9:27 PM, jwhess said:

My zoom app updated to version 5.7.5 (on my Windows PC) when I started it for the meeting tonight.

 

Has not updated on Iphone or Ipad yet

Has not updated on my Android device yet either.

 

My Apple products just updated to Zoom version 5.7.5 but the Android devices have not.

[Floyd]

14 hours ago, ➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone said:

You scratch your nose and the hand goes up...

Old (Downunder) Tone
 

The brothers already call on people when they do that. This would make it worse.

 

[On the huh]

 

On 8/14/2021 at 3:43 PM, Qapla said:

There are motion sensitive switches used on lights that allow the lights to come on when a person enters a room. I have seen these used in many commercial settings and even in some homes. But, I have never seen them installed in the main auditorium of a KH. Can you imagine ... when the first one who gets to the KH enters the main auditorium and the lights just come on how "convenient" that would be

We have such a light at the entrance of the KH.  It comes on when the first person arrives and approaches the Hall, and after the last person leaves.  Also we have one in the disabled WC.  My point is, if the technology works well, this new zoom feature may well prove very useful.  Wait and see.

[AH173]

This new update on my windows 10 pro 64 bit zoom seems to be using more computer resources by monitoring my task manager app. While being simply a participant for my fsg convention review/ field service I was using at times 30% of my system's resources. More that normal. I think it was somewhere around 15-20% prior.

 

I wish they would offer a simple strip down/ bare bones version without all the bells and whistles as they are constantly coming out with.

[Qapla]

25 minutes ago, On the huh said:

My point is, if the technology works well, this new zoom feature may well prove very useful.  Wait and see.

 

Arsenic works very well for some things, too - but I don't want it in my cake frosting like it was once used.

 

Just because something can be done does not always mean it should be done. Like @AH173says, why can't we have a version that works well without all the unneeded cells and whistles.

 

While Zoom is a wonderful app and I have really enjoyed using it (still do) there are some very simple fixes/features that would make much more common sense than the added bells and whistles they have added while ignoring some of the more basic improvements.

 

A simple example of this is the "Join Meeting" history. You either have a ever-growing list of one-time meetings that you will never use again mixed in along with the recurring ones you want to keep in the list ... or you have to delete the entire list (Clear History) and start over to clean it up. This suggestion was made to Zoom nearly 2 years ago and they have made no attempt to fix such an obvious and simple thing while they added much more complex "fixes" that are not needed in the course of most meetings.

 

[jwhess]

23 hours ago, jwhess said:

My Apple products just updated to Zoom version 5.7.5 but the Android devices have not.

My Android device just updated to version 5.7.5 so now all my digital devices use the same version.

[On the huh]

Zoom is a commercial app with other apps competing against it, like Teams.  So they are going to add more bells and whistles to make it more appealing and to draw others away from using a competitive app.  It is not tailored made for our meetings, but many features do make it useful for the meetings.

 

Often, unless many people suggesting the same thing, or they get many complaints about something, its not going to get implemented or get fixed. 

[Qapla]