How to Set Up an Affordable Hybrid Zoom Meeting

[roc856]

What meetings work as hybrids, what equipment to buy, and how to use it. Mostly for non-profits or small companies with very limited budgets who don't control their own space.

In the attached PDF.

Enjoy!

[JepZoom]

Based on the PDF "Final Words" that I've read, I think just the regular Zoom meeting will fit your needs.

If you will have to use or make a physical room for Zoom meeting, then Zoom offers Zoom Room. 

Zoom Rooms is a software-based room system that provides an integrated experience for audio conferencing, wireless screen sharing, and video conferencing. Zoom Rooms can be used for room-only attendees, or remote attendees joining from another room, from their desktop, or from their mobile device.

You may check this Zoom support article that I found: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/207483343-Getting-started-with-Zoom-Rooms

Make sure to watch the short video clip attached so that you will have a better understanding.

Cheers!

[roc856]

Did you read my attachment? It's all about how I'm using regular meetings and not Zoom Rooms. I'm guessing you just sent along a stock answer.

[JepZoom]

That's not a stock answer, I am just trying to help. 

[Ellen_Schwartz]

Hey, I just found your post and read your PDF -- it's brilliant. I have some of the equipment, including a projector, and I'd love to try it.  I'm frustrated because I'm one of the people who doesn't actually want to attend in person meetings yet (ever?)  My group has a member who is a media professional; he managed one hybrid meeting, and said he would do others through the end of the year if we would buy him a projector that would belong to him.  Maybe not the best investment in the world because now we're having trouble finding a cheap venue that also has good wi-fi. 

ANYWAY I wanted to thank you for all the tips, and to mention that a few months ago I saw a video that I think Zoom itself put out on how to hold hybrid meetings.  It was quite daunting, with a big screen monitor (I know a projector can replace that but it was still scary) and several laptops performing different functions.  And of course now I can't find the video. But what looked like the most useful thing was, they had a tall tripod with, not a camera, but a smartphone perched on top, acting as the remote viewers' view of the room.  The smartphone then becomes a wireless camera. 

But all in all, your setup looks the most practical (given adequate wi-fi) and has me actually wanting to go out into a group, it looks like it would be so much fun to set up.

[Sancho]

Hi, thanks for the detailed document. what cables do you use for connecting the Donner audio mixer to the Fosi audio input? Thanks

[ts6]

There are some issues with this setup you could improve on --

1. You do not need a mixer for this case, the audio interface through the USB to the laptop is bi-directional, laptop sound comes out to the audio interface and you can direct that output to a speaker directly. Mixer is for events with multiple input sources and instruments. 

2. Don't use the microphone out on the audio interface for output, that's for monitoring the sound with a headphone. Use the outputs on the back instead.

3. Most smaller venues don't need an amplifier and passive speakers - get a powered PA speaker for easier setup

[atalbott]

I'm trying to set up hybrid zoom meetings and having trouble with the external speaker.   The people in the room can't hear the people who are remote.  It's a small group of 10 on either end.

I have a new ASUS laptop dedicated to this purpose and have no trouble setting up regular one-on-one meetings that don't use a camera for the 10 people in the room to be seen by the 10 people logging in remotely.  But as soon as I connect my jambox or JBL remote speaker to amplify the remote voices for the people in the room, no sound comes out of either the laptop speakers or the external speakers.  The speakers are paired with the laptop.  I've run the speaker test in the zoom meeting, selecting the remote speaker, and the test says the speakers work and I can hear the voice during the test.  But when the test closes, nothing is audible.  

Frustrated!  Can you help?

[PRog]

I have a simpler problem - a hybrid lecture.  Currently we have a Zoom-only solution or a classroom-only solution that work perfectly, but when we try to combine them, each with its own microphone, we get so much distortion that it is near impossible to hear the Zoom audio.  The classroom mike is fine in the hybrid system, so the live audience loud speaker system works OK.  The classroom mike is interfering with the Zoom audio. Do you have a subset of your documented solution that would work?

[oakmanii]

I would like a software solution for small groups of 4 or less, with other zoom participants. Problem is when you have four people around a laptop, the heads are small. Our family sits in a living room comfortably but others on zoom and hardly see our faces!

I would like the zoom camera on our living room laptop to divide up the video signal on the faces that are present, so we get a close up of each person in the zoom if we want!! Of course, there may be false participants, like pictures of people in the room! That we would want to kick out!

Of course the picture quality would be degraded, but that can solved with one better camera.

[LPCA-Pres]

Thank you for this information; it makes sense. 

[atalbott]

I'm trying to set up hybrid zoom meetings and am having trouble with the external speaker.  I hope you can help!

I have a new ASUS laptop dedicated to this purpose and have no trouble setting up regular one-on-one meetings that don't use a camera for the 10 people in the room to be seen by the 10 people logging in remotely.  But as soon as I connect my jambox or JBL remote speaker to amplify the remote voices for the people in the room, no sound comes out of either the laptop speakers or the external speakers.  The speakers are paired with the laptop.  I've run the speaker test in the zoom meeting, selecting the remote speaker, and the test says the speakers work and I can hear the voice during the test.  But when the test closes, nothing is audible.  

Frustrated!  Can you help?