Zoom VDI Media Synchronization Problems: Mac-to-Windows 365 Cloud PC Configuration

[Prabh768]

Problem Statement

We're experiencing media desynchronization when conducting Zoom meetings through a Windows 365 Cloud PC environment accessed from Mac endpoints. The primary symptom is audio-video timing misalignment during video conferences, suggesting potential issues with media processing pipeline optimization.

Technical Configuration

• Client Hardware: Mac Mini (macOS Sonoma 14.5/14.6 & 15)
• Virtual Environment: Windows 365 Cloud PC with Zoom VDI client
• Zoom Architecture:
  • Zoom VDI Client (Windows 365 cloud PC)
  • Zoom VDI Plugin for Mac (local endpoint)
• Network Infrastructure: Consistent high-bandwidth connection verified
• Software Versions: Latest software releases of both VDI components

Symptom Analysis

• Primary Issue: Persistent audio-video desynchronization with noticeable camera feed latency
• Secondary Effects: Intermittent echo artifacts requiring session restart
• Configuration Impact: Mac-side Zoom adjustments yield no improvement
• Plugin Effectiveness: No observable performance differential with/without VDI plugin
• Comparative Baseline: Identical Windows 11 endpoint configurations operate without synchronization issues

Technical Investigation Areas

1. Plugin Integration Verification

• What diagnostic methods can confirm successful VDI plugin initialization and client-server handshake?
• Which logging mechanisms or system indicators validate media redirection engagement?

2. Mac Plugin Capability Assessment

• Does the current Mac VDI plugin implement equivalent media optimization compared to Windows counterparts?
• What is the media processing architecture—hardware acceleration vs. software fallback rendering?

3. Platform-Specific Constraints

• Are there documented macOS compatibility issues affecting VDI plugin performance?
• What is Zoom's development timeline for achieving feature parity between Mac and Windows VDI implementations?

[bstrelko · Accepted solution]

To the best of my knowledge, MacOS cannot use AVD (including W365) for Zoom VDI - the installer will actually fail (tested as recently as a few weeks back) if Citrix/VMware is not found on the local endpoint.

So curious to hear what Zoom has to say on this, as we've got a ton of Mac users who can't use Zoom VDI based almost entirely on documentation from Zoom. SO much conflicting data, see below:

https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0058417

[tommy]

Hello @Prabh768 , @bstrelko ,

Good news, we are in the process of rolling out support for Zoom VDI for AVD / Windows 365 on macOS. I will share the documentation when it is published.

Best,

Tommy

[Prabh768]

@tommy Nice to hear from you after a long time. Could you please let me know the timeline for when this will be published and rolled out?

[tommy]

@Prabh768 , it is published now, here is the documentation. Please let me know if you have any questions or need to have it be enabled for your account:

https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0082954

Best,

Tommy

[Prabh768]

@tommy Great!, Thank you for sharing the link. One question — will this work on Windows 365 when accessed from macOS?

[Prabh768]

@tommy , Great! Thank you for sharing the link. One question — will this work on Windows 365 when accessed from macOS?

[tommy]

Yes!

[Prabh768]

@tommy , Thanks, just want to confirm, could you help me understand what caused the lag and distortion and what steps fixed it for AVD and Windows 365 Cloud PCs?