Audio issues with videos played over Direct Share

[jv-UBM]

We've somewhat consistently been experiencing issues with audio from a video being very choppy, lagging behind the visual content, or just not playing at all when playing via Direct Share off of a laptop. Even weirder, the sound will often be split between the Room speakers and the laptop's speakers, but just barely audible on the laptop. This issue has occurred in multiple rooms at multiple sites, all using the same model laptop and speakers. However, some rooms have played the same video without issue, and others are a 50/50 shot of working or not. And while I haven't heard it in a while, sharing the video would produce a high pitched whine/buzz that would stop when the share disconnected. Everything is up to date, and screen share options are set to optimize for video clip. Is there something that I'm missing here?

[Frank_TB]

Hello,

What file formats / codecs are your videos in?

Regards

[jv-UBM]

The first looks to be MPEG-1/2 Video (mpgv), unsure about the second as it's a newer thing that uses a DRM-protected player - but seeing as they're from the same series of training videos I'd assume it's the same. We use VLC to play the first.

[Frank_TB]

Hi,

Zoom has a built in video playback ability, but it expects mp4 h.264 or  .mov files.

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360051673592-Sharing-a-recorded-video-with-sound-during-yo... 

You can also select optimize a shared video clip; 

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/202954249-Optimizing-a-shared-video-clip-in-full-screen 

Videos should be 1080P or below otherwise Zoom will down sample the video playback.

How video sharing compares to other sharing options
"When using the option to share your desktop or an application, the video resolution is dependent upon CPU usage, screen resolution, graphics card, and OS graphic system capabilities. Additionally, when a video is larger than 1080p, Zoom automatically downgrades the resolution to 1080p (or 720p), in order to optimize the content while minimizing the required bandwidth. Depending on how the video is shared, such as sharing a specific application or sharing only a portion of your screen, it may require additional CPU resources, which can further affect the overall quality of both the video share and the meeting for the user who is sharing."

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360051673592-Sharing-a-recorded-video-with-sound-during-yo... 

Regards

If my reply helped, don't forget to click the accept as solution button!

[jv-UBM]

Alright so I just reencoded one of the videos into mp4 format and started another screen share. Same issue occurred, and the laptop used is more than capable of handling the task. You mention the built-in video player, which can be selected while in a normal Zoom meeting - however, the issue is with the Direct Share feature of Zoom Rooms, which allows devices to screenshare without actually being part of the meeting. The tab where the video player exists doesn't even appear on the source selection window. In the past we have gotten the video to work by creating an instant meeting and joining the laptop to the call, then sharing.

[Frank_TB]

Hi,

Could this be the whine you were asking about?

"Participants in Zoom Rooms can use one-click direct sharing from a Zoom Desktop Client (macOS or Windows). Ultrasonic sound proximity detection enables the Zoom Room controller to generate an ultrasonic signal that can be detected by the Zoom Desktop Client"

For your other issue is your video 720P?

Regards

 

 I suggest you submit a ticket with Zoom support (https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/requests/new)  as I don't have a huge amount of ZR experience. Maybe someone else will chip in?

I'll keep looking for some answers for you, but Zoom support will probably be faster.

Regards