How many video signals can be connected at the same time to a Dell Zoom computer?

[gadget_muc]

Hello there,

does anyone know reliably, how many video signals can be connected to a Zoom PC (Dell) in order to provide online lessons to students (hybrid)? Particularly there are...

...two Poly e70 cameras, connected via USB-Extender,

...a teacher's notebook (over HDMI-USB capture card and subject to be connected and disconnected on a daily basis, since the teachers each bring their own device),

...a document camera (connected to the Dell Zoom-PC via Ethernet) and

...a whiteboard camera (also connected with the computer via Ethernet).

Feel free to drop me a line if I missed something. 😉

Thanks in advance, have a good one - and wherever applicable: happy holidays! 😉

gadget_muc

[bstrelko]

It would be best to know the exact model an specs - "Dell Zoom Computer" could mean anything.

In any case, most modern computers (dating back a few years) should be able to handle all devices listed concurrently if the host computer has the available USB power and data bandwidth to support them. CPU/Graphics/RAM-wise, these should all be fine.

[gadget_muc1]

Hello bstrelko,

the Zoom PC is a Dell Optiplex 7080 which was purchased mid 2024. In this I agree with you that the used hardware probably is not part of the problem. 🙂 And actually it's not one room but four right next to each other, each with a slightly different setup. 🙂 (In one of the setup, we use an Android-based Poly G62 though.) Thus we are also quite sure that it's not a bandwidth issue.

However, recently I found an article somewhere within the Zoom knowledge database that says that if more than two cameras (each via USB), a notebook and one (sic) USB video capture device (we are using the recommended brand/device btw), the overall behaviour might be unpredictable. IMHO this might also apply to two more devices connected via CAT-cables (tbh I'm not sure by which protocol is used here), but I couldn't find any confirmation yet. Hence I wrote this post, hoping that someone else might also have dealt with this kind of issue - while deliberately not  mentioning the said article nor the link to avoid any bias upfront. 😉

As of the symptoms which we encounter: At times (somewhere between once a day and once every other week) the "camera image" of usually the primary e70 in any of the four respective rooms spontaneously goes black, whereas the "name" of the camera is still shown (although the semi-opaque frame around the name seems to be gone).

That being said, I presume that the zoom software might not be able to deal with this "exceeded" amount of signals. 

Thank you for your time and have a good one.