Lync 2013 – Video Conferencing Feature-Functionality
Lync 2013 – Video Conferencing Feature-Functionality by Paul Robinson
Lync 2013, the upcoming new release of Microsoft Lync 2010, has added feature/functionality in four key areas, says Microsoft, that combined drive deeper connections among diverse and distributed workforces. These are: Multiparty HD video and content sharing; Modern communication experience accessible from almost any device; Integration across Office apps; and Federation with Skype. This UCStrategies View focuses on what’s anticipated in the video conferencing area.
There are several anticipated key features to Lync 2013 Video Conferencing. These are:
- Meeting View Options
- H.264 SVC support
- Lync Web App
- Other video enhancements
Meeting View Options
Meeting view options are designed to bring content and people together while optimizing the Lync Meeting experience for every individual participant’s needs. The meeting view is selected by the participant and visible only to them – each participant has control of their meeting view.
Gallery View shows all the participants’ photos or videos. Speaker View shows the meeting content with the presenter’s video or photo in the lower right corner of the meeting window. Presentation View shows only the meeting content. You get a full view of the content, but you won’t see the participants. Compact View shows only the participants’ pictures. Just hover over a picture to see their contact information.
The new Gallery View simultaneously displays up to five active speakers’ video streams at the same time, so you can observe each person’s reaction during the meeting (and keep an eye on your own). If their video isn’t available, a picture is shown instead. By default, the new Gallery View leverages the traditional active speaker technology. This means that during the conference you see video of the most relevant people in the meeting at all times by bringing the five dominant speaker’s video “into focus” to the standing row (the top row shown in the view below), and displaying the thumbnail photos of less active participants in the sitting rows (shown just below that). When a new person speaks, his video is promoted to the gallery and the person who hasn’t spoken for the longest period of time is demoted to the thumbnail picture gallery.
You can tell who is actively speaking by looking for the blue bar below each user’s tile. You can also see who might be muted or on hold by looking for the icons in the upper left-hand corner of each person’s picture.
Video Pinning and Video Spotlight allow further customization of the video conferencing experience.
Video Pinning allows individual meeting participants to pin select video feeds to make them visible at all times so that their reactions can be viewed, even if they are not the most active speakers in the conference. One quick and easy way to do this is to hover over their tile and click on the “Pin to Gallery” icon.
To unpin, simply click on the “Pin” icon again.
Video Spotlight allows meeting presenters to change the video layout from Gallery View to a single video feed of a single participant selected by a presenter. Everyone in the meeting then sees only the feed of that participant.
H.264 SVC Support
Lync uses industry standards including H.264 SVC to enable the multiparty HD video (resolution 1280 x 720; aspect ratio 16:9) experience across a range of devices. The investment in H.264 SVC support enables each participant to receive a video stream that is optimized, in terms of quality, for their endpoint and network conditions.
Lync Web App
The Lync Web App (LWA) allows PC and Mac users to join a Lync Meeting from within an HTML5-based browser, and delivers a full Lync Meeting experience, including multiparty HD video, VoIP, instant messaging, desktop, application, and PowerPoint sharing. LWA eliminates the need to install client software, although audio, video, and sharing features require installation of a plug-in during first use.
Other Video Enhancements
Video is enhanced with face detection and smart framing, so that a participant’s video moves to help keep him or her centered in the frame. In addition, with split audio and video, participants can add their video stream in a conference, but dial into the meeting audio.
Summary
Video Conferencing improvements include:
- Video is enhanced with face detection and smart framing, so that a participant’s video moves to help keep him or her centered in the frame.
- Lync uses industry standards including H.264 SVC to enable the multiparty HD video (resolution 1280 x 720; aspect ratio 16:9) experience across a range of devices.
- Participants can select from different meeting layouts: Gallery View shows all participants’ photos or videos; Speaker View shows the meeting content and only the presenter’s video or photo; Presentation View shows meeting content only; Compact View shows only the participants’ pictures.
- With the new Gallery feature, participants can see multiple video feeds at the same time. If the conference has more than five participants, video feeds of only the most active participants appear in the top row, and photos appear for the other participants.
- Participants can use video pinning to select one or more of the available video feeds to be visible at all times.
- Presenters can use the “video spotlight” feature to select one person’s video feed so that every participant in the meeting sees that participant only.
- With split audio and video, participants can add their video stream in a conference but dial into the meeting audio.
- The Lync Web App permits external clients, partners and customers using a PC or Mac to join Lync meetings – no local client installation is required, although audio, video, and sharing features require installation of a plug-in during first use.