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Audio and Video

Last updated: September 12, 2022.

Turn your audio and video on

After you set up your audio and video, turn on both your camera and microphone to be seen and heard.

Tip: Moderators can mute attendees anytime during the session. You are notified if a moderator has muted you. A good practice is to leave your video on and turn off your microphone when you’re not speaking. Learn more tips in Session Best Practices.

Use the microphone and camera icons at the bottom of the main stage or content presentation area. With your keyboard, press Alt + M to turn your microphone on and off. Press Alt + C to turn your camera on and off.

 

The microphone is active after you turn it on, but you get to preview your video before others can see you.

Your video will appear backwards to you. This is normal. You’ll appear correctly to others in the session and in recordings. You won’t appear backwards to other attendees or in recordings. Video is only mirrored in your preview window.

When your video is on, you’ll see yourself in a thumbnail along the bottom of the main content area.

 

How to view others

Collaborate offers a personalized learning experience that adapts to your needs and preference. You decide how many videos you want to see and how prominent those videos should be with Gallery view, Tiled view, and Speaker view.

Attention: Gallery view isn’t available in Safari® on iOS or iPadOS at this time.

Note: The number of videos you see depends on the support for your browser, device, and session size. You’ll also see fewer videos, if you have the Session menu or Collaborate panel open.

      

                           Gallery view                                                     Speaker view                                                      Tiled view

Speaker view is the default view when you join. Select the Change view button in the upper right of the screen to switch between views.

 

 

 

 

 

Tip: If attendees don’t have their video on, their profile picture appears in their video space instead.

Gallery view

Attention:Captions typed by a live captioner aren’t visible to attendees using Gallery view at the moment. Live captions will be visible in a future release. If you need captions, switch to the Speaker view.

Attention: Gallery view isn’t available in Safari® on iOS or iPadOS at this time.

Gallery view lets you see the most people at one time. With this view you can see up to 25 attendees on a page.

Note: The number of videos you see depends on the support for your browser, device, and session size. Firefox® only shows 2 videos at a time. You’ll also see fewer videos, if you have the Session menu or Collaborate panel open.

Attendee videos are in alphabetical order. Moderators appear at the start of the list on the first page.

Gallery view tools

Use the arrows on either side of the gallery to see more videos. As you move between pages, the speaker’s video appears as a thumbnail in the bottom right corner of the main content area.

Use the zoom controls on the left of the screen to see fewer and larger videos at a time or vice versa.

Point to an attendee and select the Attendee Controls to send them a private chat.

Turn Gallery view off or on

Streaming videos can demand a lot from your network connection or system. 25 videos is a lot of streaming videos. Collaborate may turn off Gallery view when the load is too much to improve your experience. You can also turn Gallery view off, if you want.

Go to My Settings, open the Audio and Video Settings, and uncheck the Auto (recommended) check box under Video Quality Experience.

Check the Auto (recommended) check box any time you want to turn Gallery view back on.

Tiled and Speaker views

Attention: Tiled view isn’t available in Safari® on iOS or iPadOS at this time.

Tiled and Speaker views emphasize who is speaking. These views show up to 4 videos with one video larger than the others. This larger video shows who is speaking so you can see them more clearly. As the discussion unfolds, the larger video changes to match the active speaker.

In either view, point to an attendee and select the Attendee Controls to send them a private chat.

The only difference between Tiled and Speaker views is layout. Try each one and see which you prefer.

   

                              Speaker view                                                                    Tiled view

Pin videos

We know it’s important for you to choose who you want to focus on in a session.  You may want to follow a sign language interpreter, stay focused on the instructor, or see their study buddies. Pin videos so they are always in view.

When you pin a video, it moves the video to the top of the list and pins, or anchors, it there. It doesn’t change the number of videos you see, just the order you see them in.

Tip: Use the zoom controls if you want to narrow your focus even more.

You can pin more than one video. Pinned videos appear in the order they were pinned. The first video you pin will always be the first video you see. Active speaker videos follow pinned videos.

Only you know who you pinned. Videos are only pinned in your view. Nobody else sees who you pinned and the people you pin aren’t notified.

Pinned videos stay pinned until you unpin them or leave the session. Pinned videos are pinned even when you go into breakout groups.

Use the Attendee controls in the Attendees list or in the lower right corner of a video to pin and unpin videos.

Presentations with video on

No matter how many people are using video, when someone is presenting that shared content fills the screen. A thumbnail of whoever is speaking appears below the content. Use the thumbnail to switch between the content and videos.

Select the video thumbnail to fill the screen with attendee videos. The shared content is now in the thumbnail. The videos appear in the view you selected: Gallery, Tiled, or Speaker.  Select the content thumbnail to return to the shared content.

Attention: Gallery view isn’t available in Safari® on iOS or iPadOS at this time.

Tip: If you are in Gallery view, use the zoom controls to see speakers clearer.

Set up your audio and video

You must give your browser permission to use your microphone and camera to use them in a session.

Note: Some browsers need access to your microphone to play audio, even if you don’t plan to speak. To hear others in the session, give the browser permission to access the microphone.

You are asked to do this when you first join a session or when you first turn on your audio and video. Follow these steps to run the audio and video set up any time:

  1. Open My Settings. Select your profile pictures and select your name. Or open the Collaborate panel and select My Settings.
  2. Select Set Up your Camera and Microphone.
  3. Choose the microphone you want to use. Collaborate tells you that you sound great when it is receiving your audio. Select Yes, it’s working to proceed.
  4. Choose the camera you want to use. Collaborate tells you that you look great when it is receiving your video. Select Yes, it’s working to proceed. Your video will appear backwards to you. This is normal.

Your video will appear correctly to others in the session and in recordings. You won’t appear backwards to other attendees or in recordings. Video is only mirrored in your preview window.

By default, you are hidden and muted after you complete the setup. Turn your video on when you are ready.

Having trouble setting up your audio and video with JAWS and VoiceOver? Jump to Troubleshooting and find the support page for your browser.

Audio and video issues

If you are having issues with your audio or video, please check your session and browser settings.

  • Try the audio and video set up again.
  • Use Tiled or Speaker view instead of Gallery view. You can also turn Gallery view off to reduce the demand on your network.
  • Check that the browser has permission to access your microphone and camera. Visit the troubleshooting page for your browser to learn more.
  • Close all programs on your computer except for the browser you are using for your Collaborate session.
  • Use a hard-wired (Ethernet) connection, if available. If not available, use a Wifi connection.
  • Only use up-to-date internet browsers that are supported by Collaborate.
  • Use video during the session only when necessary.
  • Use the Collaborate Support chatbot to help troubleshoot your issue.

If your issue continues, contact your institution administrator, or your institution’s help desk, for help.

Dynamic adjustments

Collaborate dynamically adjusts to sending and receiving connection bandwidth changes in the quality of your internet connection. As your connection improves or degrades, the bandwidth use for video is adjusted up and down.

Some situations may require additional adjustment. Collaborate adds explicit experience changes to accommodate a wider range of connectivity blips.

When the experience changes, you are notified and told why.