How to use virtual background on Airmeet social lounge tables & on live session?

Modified on Wed, 4 Oct, 2023 at 3:21 PM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Overview

2. Basic technical requirements for using Airmeet Virtual background

2.1. Enable Hardware acceleration

3. Applying Virtual Background

4. Apply virtual background after joining the social lounge table or live stage/backstage

4.1. Upload your own Virtual Background

5. Things to Keep in Mind

6. Best practices while using a Virtual Background

7. Third-party virtual background applications compatible with Airmeet.

7.1. How to change camera or mic input in Airmeet?

1. Overview

The Virtual Background feature allows you to display an image or video as your background during your virtual event.

Don’t let that cluttered lounge ruin your remote team’s sales demo, pitch, or marketing huddle. Here’s the deal, virtual backgrounds can provide a great sense of privacy while showing brand loyalty and personality on video.

2. Basic technical requirements for using Airmeet Virtual background

To access the virtual background on your desktop/laptop, you may need to meet the following requirements:

Browser version supported
- Chrome Browser version (>= 84),
- Brave Browser version(>= 84),
- Edge Browser version(>= 85) are supported.
In Chrome OS(Chromebook),
- Chrome(>=86),
- Brave(>=86),
- Edge(>=85) are supported.
HardwareConcurrency >= 4 is required. This is not checked in Brave.
A webGL-supported browser is required. Check here if your browser supports WebGL
Hardware acceleration of the browser needs to be enabled. Check below how to enable hardware acceleration on google chrome.
WebAssembly is required.
Disclaimer: Firefox and Safari do not support filters due to the lack of support of offscreen canvas.

Note: Systems with a minimum FPS of 15 is required to use virtual backgrounds.

2.1. Enable Hardware acceleration

To Turn on hardware acceleration on Windows or Mac:

On the top right of a Chrome window, click Menu More and Settings.
On the left, next to Advanced, click the Down arrow.
Click System button
Turn on "Use hardware acceleration when available."
Restart Chrome.

3. Applying Virtual Background

Apply virtual background while joining the event.

Step 1: Enter the event from the event link provided by the organizer.

Step 2: While entering the event, enable your camera & mic by clicking on the "Enable camera & mic" button and providing relevant browser-level permission.

Step 3: Under the "Select a background" section, do the following:

To completely blur your background, click on the "Blur" option.
Upload your own virtual backdrop by clicking on the "+" icon and selecting the background.

File format: jpg/png only
File size: <= 5MB
Preferred Resolution: 1280x720 or any square-shaped images.
Select a pre-uploaded background by clicking on any background shown in the preview.

Note: Guest users (Attendees joining without registration when event entry "Anyone can enter without sign-in" is selected by event organizers) can't upload the custom background.

Step 4: After finalizing your camera & mic checks and virtual background preview, click "Join event".

Step 1: Join any social lounge table at your event.

Step 2: Click on the "Audio & video settings" button.

Step 3: Under the "Select a background" section, do the following:

To completely blur your background, click on the "Blur" option.

4.1. Upload your own Virtual Background

Upload your own virtual backdrop by clicking on the "+" icon and selecting the background.

File format: jpg/png only

File size: <= 5MB

Preferred Resolution: 1280x720 or any square-shaped images

Select a pre-uploaded background by clicking on any background shown in the preview.

Step 4: After finalizing your camera & mic checks and virtual background preview, click "Save."

5. Things to Keep in Mind

Virtual backgrounds are currently not supported on Airmeet mobile application.
While changing the background (on Social table or live session), you would be on mute, and the camera would be turned off by default.

6. Best practices while using a Virtual Background

To achieve the best virtual background effect, Airmeet recommends using a solid color background, preferably green.
Higher-quality cameras result in a better virtual background.
Use uniform lighting and color.
Do not wear clothing that is the same color as the virtual background.

7. Third-party virtual background applications compatible with Airmeet.

Airmeet also supports multiple third parties virtual backgrounds available online.

ChromaCam (https://www.chromacam.me/)
ChromaCam is a simple but powerful virtual background desktop application for Windows and Macs.
Snap Camera (https://snapcamera.snapchat.com/)
When turned on during a conference call, Snap Camera replaces the input of your webcam with your selected lens or virtual background and streams the augmented video to call participants in real time. Compatible with Windows and Mac.
ManyCam (https://manycam.com/)
ManyCam is an app for Windows and Mac that allows users to add multiple video sources, including webcams, pre-recorded videos, images, smartphones, and tablets, to live streams and video calls.
CamTwist (http://camtwiststudio.com/)
CamTwist is an application that lets you add special effects and filters to live video feeds. Currently available to Mac users only, CamTwist acts as a broadcast-quality video switcher, enabling you to create distinct setups or scenes that can be easily changed during a live call.
XSplit VCam (https://www.xsplit.com/vcam)
XSplit VCam is a webcam background removal software for Windows only. XSplit VCam supports JPEGs, GIFs, PNGs, and even full web pages, giving you unlimited personalization options for background replacement.
OBS Virtual camera (https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/obs-virtualcam.539/)
OBS virtual camera act as a webcam plugin in the browser and can replace the display content with media on Airmeet. Kindly refer to the below article to check how OBS virtual camera can be used in the windows & mac operating systems.
- How to use OBS Studio to host high-quality virtual events in Airmeet for Mac OS?
- How to use OBS Studio virtual camera to host high-quality virtual events in Airmeet for Windows users?

And many more third-party applications which can support webcam output.

After installing any of the above recommended third party virtual background application, Kindly go back to the Airmeet event and change the camera input for the Virtual background application to reflect.

7.1. How to change camera or mic input in Airmeet?

Step 1: End-users need to ensure proper permissions between the operating system and Google chrome on the hardware level & Google chrome and Airmeet at the browser level to ensure a seamless experience.

Step 2: Camera & Mic input can be changed in 3 ways:

a) Changing your camera & mic input while entering the event after allowing relevant permission to the browser.

b) Lounge Tables: When in the lounge, you can change your input by clicking on the 2-lines icon, selecting Audio & Video settings, and selecting your relevant camera & mic input.

c) Backstage/Stage: When backstage or on the live stage, you can change your input by clicking on the three dots, selecting Audio & Video settings, and selecting your relevant camera & mic input.
You can also test your output, and once done, click "Done" to save the changes.

Note: When in Lounge or Backstage/Stage while changing the input, another participant won't be able to hear you, but you will be able to hear their conversations, and as soon as your changes are done, then unmute yourself and talk to them.

Note: Guest users (Attendees joining without registration when event entry "Anyone can enter without sign-in" is selected by event organizers) can't upload the custom background.

Need more help? Contact support@airmeet.com or visit our 24*7 Support Lounge.