Video Resolutions

[Auricia]

Hello! I need help understanding the video resolutions that are possible to obtain with zoom, with different plans and settings.

At the moment I have a free plan, and my video resolution, both sent and received is 640x360, 26fps (verified in the Statistics of the meeting).

My camera resolution is  1280×720 with 30 fps.

My goal is to have a better resolution for my one on one video calls (two people total in the meeting).

I've been told by the support that there was no way to obtain a higher resolution than 640x360 on one-on-one calls, independent of the plan.

However, I read in here https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/207347086:

"For the time being, standard video, not HD video, will be activated when 3 or more participants join a group meeting. HD video (720p) will be activated for 2 participants "

So it seems that, for free plans with no special settings, we can get 720 for 2 people, but it will be reduced to 640 x 480 if more people join. 

So I'm a bit confused with this contradicting information. Help! 

If I can get 720p, why don't I have it?

If I can't, is there a plan/setting that would allow me to have it for a one on one video call?

Thanks for reading! I'll appreciate any information you can provide, even if it's just your experience.

[jdott16]

Hello @Auricia 

Further down the article you posted there are prerequisites for Standard 720p HD:

For Standard HD (720p)

• Pro, Business, Education, or Enterprise account
• Viewing in Full Screen on Desktop client

If you are on a free account, then the highest resolution would be the 640x480 that you are experiencing. The only way to get a better video is to upgrade your plan to a pro account or higher. Unfortunately, there is no way to get Standard HD for 1:1 meetings with a free plan. I hope this helps!

[Auricia]

Hello @jdott16 , thank you very much for your reply! It did help!

I hadn't realized that part of the article in the beginning was like a correction to what the article stated 🙈 I thought it was an explanation of how video calls worked before enabling Group HD. With that out of the way... It makes more sense now! But there was still the 1:1 question..

I was told by support that I couldn't get higher resolution than 640x480 on 1-on-1 calls with ANY Plan. This is copy-paste from the transcript:

AGENT (): Kindly check the information or the things to consider about group HD.

USER: I read it. But I wasn't sure what was considered a group

AGENT (): Group means 3 participants above.

USER: And I needed the quality for calls with just 2 people

AGENT (): Obviously one on one is not a group.

USER: Okay, so just to make sure: there is No Plan and setting that will get the resolution higher than 640x360 for a one on one video call?

AGENT (): Yes.

That's also why I had doubts. But I noticed now that even further down the article it says:

Bandwidth requirements for group HD
Standard HD (720p)
1-on-1 video calls: 1.2Mbps (up/down)

So it is indeed possible! 😄

I will still try to confirm this before buying the Pro membership. So, if this stays open, I'll give feedback on that.

[jdott16]

@Auricia You are welcome for the information!

Remember, Zoom is in charge of it's software, so when you said:

"Bandwidth requirements for group HD
Standard HD (720p)
1-on-1 video calls: 1.2Mbps (up/down)

So it is indeed possible! 😄"

You are not wrong, as that it solely covering the bandwidth requirement needed to transmit Standard HD, but you missed the prerequisite I mentioned earlier, which was:

For Standard HD (720p)

• Pro, Business, Education, or Enterprise account

Meaning, for you to even achieve Standard 720p HD, you need to have at minimum a pro account first. Your point is mentioning solely bandwidth, but not the other aspect, that to even enable this feature you have to have a pro account. It's not that your device or network isn't capable of sending and receiving standard HD, it's that due to the restraints Zoom has faced they are limiting this feature. The only way to get 720p is to upgrade to a pro account and then ask support to enable this feature on the back end 🙂 I hope this clarifies and assists!

[Auricia]

In my previous reply, I was Not saying I could get 720p for free. 

I was showing that the article did mention we could get 720p on 1:1 calls. I know it was about the paid plans. I wanted to highlight that part because Costumer Service told me I couldn't get 720p resolution for 1:1 calls with ANY Plan. 

I will still need to confirm this though, since what the article says and what costumer support said is different. I already sent a ticket.

[jdott16 · Accepted solution]

@Auricia 

Ahhh I gotcha. You are correct. If you are on a Pro plan, guaranteed if you meet the bandwidth and hardware requirements, you can get 720p on a 1:1 call if you have at least 1.2 Mbps uplink/downlink. You can get 720p on a pro plan for a group call if the users on the meeting have at least 1.8 Mbps uplink/downlink. I apologize for any misunderstanding or miscommunication with Customer Service. I can guarantee that if you are on a pro plan and meet those bandwidth requirements you will achieve 720p (as well as making sure the feature has been enabled by support on the backend). I hope that helps and I apologize for my misunderstanding!

[Auricia]

Thank you very much for your answer, and no problem, I didn't make myself clear in the other post.

Okay, it's great that you could confirm this 👍🏼 I'll still wait for the ticket reply, but now that I know I can achieve the 720p, I can move on with my plans 😊 Thanks!