Virtual Background

[piR]

Hello,

I am wondering if anyone could tell me more about how virtual backgrounds work? Are there any risk that people get "erased" when using virtual backgrounds? And most importantly are specific backgrounds more difficult to used (for example backgrounds with lots of dark colours are harder to be used)? And similarly with people with different skin tones, are people of colour more likely to be erased by the virtual background?

Thank you very much,

piR. 

[jaustria · Accepted solution]

Hello piR! Welcome to the Zoom Community! The Virtual Background feature allows you to display an image or video as your background during a Zoom Meeting. You can upload your own images or videos as a virtual background, or use nothing and just blur the background instead.

Here's some tips in order to get the best results:

• Use bright even lighting
• Higher quality cameras yield better results
• Use our resolution guides for images and videos for best results
• Do not wear clothing that is the same color as your backdrop
• Use a solid color backdrop

We also need to check if your computer meets the system requirement for Virtual Background.

Here's an article if you want to know how to get started with virtual background and enable yours as well

[piR]

Thank you for your reply?

Are there any inclusivity problems with virtual backgrounds? Such as, do virtual backgrounds work better for certain skin tones? 

Or what are other problems that one might encounter with virtual backgrounds?

Best,

piR.

[colegs]

piR,

There are no inclusivity issues with virtual backgrounds that have been reported.

The possible problems are related to not creating the best environment based on the recommendations jaustria posted above.  Other than inclusivity issues, was there something specific you were concerned about?

[piR]

I am referring to the racial bias that the Zoom algorithm has(/had?) as seen on the following articles:

https://onezero.medium.com/zooms-virtual-background-feature-isn-t-built-for-black-faces-e0a97b591955

https://gadgets.ndtv.com/social-networking/news/zoom-twitter-racial-bias-algorithms-image-cropping-v...

These articles clearly depict a problem which questions the inclusivity of the platform as certain features are not accessible to certain groups of people.

So my main interest was to know if Zoom reacted to this issue in any way/if Zoom holds any documentation about this problem?

[colegs]

Zoom is constantly updating the software with inclusivity being at the top of mind.  If there is a specific issue that you are seeing, feedback is welcome (using https://zoom.us/feed) so that the product can continue to improve.

[Onialekucdc]

Thank you 

I have a problem! 

I use the zoom at both on my computer and my phone Tecno KD6, because I serve virtual background On the computer, when using my phone it blocks me from using the video on phone. Because it tells me my settings on phone doesn't support virtual background. Even if a change the settings to remove virtual background, am blocked the video on my phone. What should I do?

[Yannis]

Hi piR,

basically, the use of a best quality green screen improves the quality of the person's image on screen no matter the color of the skin. It also becomes much easier to experiment with various backgrounds of different colors.

[andrekar]

Hello! The Virtual Background feature allows you to display an image or video as your background during a Zoom meeting. This feature works best with a physical green screen and uniform lighting to allow Zoom to detect the difference between you and your background, although a physical green screen is not required. 

Check out this article to learn more!

[02555402]

       how to use video filter

[Gourav_Mehta999]

In my phone I not have option of virtual background

[FlyDun]

I recommend a Zoom aid named FineCam. FineCam works with Unsplash to deliver you millions of stunning video background scenes.

FineCam launch both the iPhone's front and rare cameras at the same time, place the secondary picture frame everywhere, and, best of all, resize it to fit best for your video calls, live demos, streams and more. The biggest difference between FineCam and other similar software is its ability to support the plug-and-play method of using an iPhone as a webcam. Users can flexibly choose multiple angles, take full advantage of the iPhone's compelling 4K/12MP (Telephoto, Wide, Ultra Wide) camera, and high-efficiently remove unwanted background (even dust and hairs on your chair) in real-time.

Discover FineCam.