In this article, we will look at the various things you can do to improve your Zoom calls’ video and picture quality. Of course, the assumption is you have a robust and reliable internet connection. Read on to find out how to improve your Zoom video quality.
1. Enable HD
Using Zoom, the first thing that needs to be turned on is high-quality video. You can enable HD video if you want your meeting, lecture, or class to broadcast in 720p or 1080p as long as the host streams in high quality.
However, at the moment, this feature is only available to Pro account users and higher. While you can access and toggle it, it won’t work without a Pro account. Additionally, the number of participants should be two. 1080p quality is currently only applicable to “special-use cases,” a Zoom support page says, like large format broadcast events.
However, Zoom offers Group HD calling currently available under its Business and Enterprise plans. Due to its temporary inaccessibility, Group HD is even harder to find. Additionally, your Zoom support team will have to enable it if available, which can take up to 3 business days.
Although you can host a Zoom meeting on desktop, web, and mobile, this feature is not available across the board. You can only access the Enable HD feature on Zoom for macOS (version 5.2.0 build no. 42634.0805 or latest) and Windows (version 5.2.0 build no. 42619.0804 or latest).
If you can’t tell which version you’re running, check if there’s a new update and upgrade to the latest version. First, click your Zoom profile picture, then select Check for updates.
To activate HD video calling on Zoom, follow these steps:
Click on your Zoom profile picture at the top right. Next, select Settings by clicking the gear icon. Alternatively, click on the gear icon at the top right of Zoom’s desktop home page to launch the settings menu. Next, select Video from the left-side menu bar. Click on HD to enable it.
On mobile, calls will be adjusted automatically to high quality if the network is strong enough to meet Zoom’s HD calling bandwidth requirements.
2. Enable Zoom’s Low Light Adjustment Setting
If you’re in poor lighting conditions, your video call quality will take a big hit. Zoom counters this by using software optimization techniques to ensure your video quality is crisp in these conditions. The platform achieves this by automatically brightening your videos.
On Windows and Mac, click your Zoom profile picture, select Settings, and go to the Video tab. Next, toggle on Adjust for low light. Zoom will adjust for low light automatically with this setting on.
However, you can enable low light adjustment manually by selecting Manual. Manual gives you more control as you decide the amount of brightness the app applies to your video. Select Manual, and you’ll see a manual slider with which you can adjust brightness levels in your video to your liking.
3. Use Touch Up My Appearance
Another handy Zoom feature for improving video and picture quality is “Touch up my appearance”. It’s a built-in feature in Zoom that enhances your appearance.
To enable Touch my Appearance, follow these steps:
Tap your Zoom profile picture. Click Settings > Video and then toggle on Touch My Appearance.
On iOS, tap the Settings tab, select Meetings > Touch Up My Appearance, and toggle the feature. There’s no such option on Android at the time of writing.
4. Apply Studio Effects
Using Studio Effects might not be the best way to improve Zoom picture and video quality, but it might help. Zoom lets you apply different things to your appearance on video, like different lip colors, eyebrows, beards, etc.
To use Studio Effects, follow these steps:
Launch Zoom on your desktop. Click your profile picture at the top right. Select Settings. Click Background & Filters. Select Studio Effects at the bottom. Zoom will ask you to download Studio Effects. Click on Download. Once done, tap Studio Effects and select your effects of choice. To ensure a consistent look throughout your meetings, select Apply to all future meetings check box.
Studio Effects is currently only available on Zoom desktop clients for Windows (version 5.3.0 build no. 52670.0921 and latest) and macOS (5.3.0 build no. 52651.0920 and latest).
Get the Most Out of Zoom
For the best experience while on a Zoom call, ensure you use the best video and sound quality. For the best video quality on Zoom, it does take more than just paying for an account. You should also leverage all the features listed above to improve video quality.
Besides that, you can get the most out of Zoom by utilizing different built-in features that we haven’t touched in this article.
