How far are you from the camera? Is your angle alright? Does your audio make you sound like you’re in an echo chamber or is it muffled? Maybe your microphone is accidentally muted? Is your lighting okay? Figuring out how you come across or sound during a video meeting can be quite the struggle.
Checking your tech and appearance before a video conference has been made more convenient with Google’s new “Green Room” feature. As you prepare to join a meeting, in the “Ready to join?” window that appears first. In the “Ready to join” window you will see a tiny button below your video that has “Check your audio and video”. Simply click on that tiny button, then a pop-up window will appear, showing your video image. The pop-up window also allows you to see and make adjustments with your live speaker, microphone and camera.
The pop-up window’s “Next” button then lets you record a 6-second video sample. The 6-second video will let you see how you will sound and look to the others in your video meeting. Google says, the clip will be private to you and will not be saved. Your speaker, mic , camera and connection will also be checked by the system and will get green check marks if they seem to be running smoothly.
While previously you can see how you appeared in the “Ready to Join?” window, Google Meet’s “green room” can be much more accommodating. As an example, you can test whether your laptop’s audio is better or worse than that in your headset’s. This new update also enables you to test all types of lighting and make sure that you look good in the right angle before your video meeting-with your friends, family or colleagues-begins.
Google Meet’s “Green Room” feature is available now.
