# Getting Started for Video Conferences
# General video settings
In the Settings → Video → Streams section, you can configure the following parameters:
Default bitrate.
Bandwidth monitoring.
Set adaptive video quality control depending on the channel bandwidth.
Automatic lost packet recovery. This feature is beneficial for SIP calls in scenarios where there are regular network losses not due to data channel congestion. It allows for the recovery of up to 10% of lost packets (technology TrueConf FEC).
The encoding quality of the primary stream (video) and secondary stream (content) depends on the selected profile: the endpoint will find the best balance between the frame rate and video resolution.
Set the percentage of the channel bandwidth for additional streams (for content streaming).
# Layout settings
To configure the video layout settings, go to Settings → Video → Layout section, where you can:
In the Hide selfview section, configure whether you want to see your own camera image during the call.
enable the display of microphone volume level indicators in participants' video windows;
Choose the video scaling mode on the screen:
Auto – automatic scaling of windows of different sizes;
Scale to fit: scale the displayed layout while keeping proportions intact to make sure the video feed fits the screen
Crop to fill: display the layout so that the feed on the screen is aligned vertically
Enable the overlay layout mode, where one video window expands to cover the entire conference screen and other participants' slots are placed on top of it. Below, you can adjust the Overlap coefficient.
For the video layouts generated on TrueConf Group, refer to the user documentation "Managing Layouts".
# Call settings
In the Configuration → Call → Call settings section, you can set the general parameters for handling video calls:
Enable the use of SIP and H.323 protocols.
The order of protocols used during a call.
Permission to remotely control the camera connected to TrueConf Group.
Sharing slides with a button or upon connecting to the source.
In the menu, you can set specific parameters for receiving incoming calls:
Parameters for handling the first incoming point-to-point call: Auto, Ask user, or Do not disturb – in this case, the terminal will automatically reject the call.
Accept calls during a call – Auto, Ask user or Do not disturb.
Mute the microphone and disable the camera during incoming calls.
Accept calls only from contacts in the address book.
Protection against SIP spam.
Block incoming SIP calls.
Block all incoming calls when recording or streaming is active on the terminal.
# Enabling MCU Mode
By default, TrueConf Group operates in point-to-point mode. During the video call, both participants can see and hear each other. If another user calls the endpoint during the video call, this user will not be able to join the call; instead, a notification that the device is busy will be displayed.
At the customer's request, the terminal can be equipped with a built-in MCU server (not available for the TrueConf Group Silent version). When TrueConf Group operates in this mode, a video call is switched to a group conference mode. Consequently, users calling the terminal are automatically added to the ongoing conference (within the limits of external connections available according to the license).
Take the following steps to enable this feature:
Go to the Configuration → Call → MCU section.
Enable the MCU support setting.
If you do not want a new video window to be automatically created in the video layout for presentations or desktop sharing that participants broadcast in a separate window, enable the Reject incoming presentation option.
If necessary, enable the display of the volume indicator on each video window.
Indicate Mixing mode for video streams:
Video lecture – connected participants can only see the moderator, which is represented by the terminal, but they can all hear each other;
All on screen: All conference attendees can see and hear each other
Voice activated – all participants receive a layout similar to the "everyone on screen" mode, but the active speaker will be displayed in the priority video window.
# Codecs
Learn more about all codecs supported by the endpoint in the Supported protocols and codecs section.
Navigate to Configuration → Video → Codecs and enable only the video codecs that are supported by all devices participating in the conference.
Do the same with the audio codecs in the Configuration → Audio section.
# Stream Settings
To make sure that your conference can be viewed by larger audiences, you don’t need to add them as attendees. It is possible to configure streaming to third-party services via RTMP or SAP and to the local network via NDI:
Go to the Configuration → Recording and streaming section.
To configure RTMP streaming, go to the RTMP stream menu and set the required parameters: host server, RTMP application, stream name/key, username, and password. Additionally, you can configure delay, automate the start, and stop of the RTMP stream.
To configure streaming via the SAP protocol, go to the SAP stream menu. You can specify the streaming address and port, and enable automatic start and stop of the stream.
To stream an event via the NDI protocol, go to the NDI stream menu and specify the stream name.
For any of the streaming methods you can enable automatic start and ending of broadcasting (when the meeting starts and ends).
# Recording
In the Configuration → Recording and streaming → Current status section, you can view information about available storage space for recordings, including the number of hours available for recording.
To configure recording settings, go to the Configuration → Recording and streaming → Record settings section. If you enable the Cycle recording option, new recording files will be saved over the oldest ones once the space is exhausted. The recording process will be continuous, and you won’t need to worry about how much disk space is left.
By enabling Auto start, you can automatically start video call recording when it launches. Accordingly, Auto stop automatically stops recording when the call ends.
When the Space saving feature is activated, the video bitrate in the saved recording is reduced by approximately 40%. Consequently, the final file size is reduced at the expense of lower video quality.
In the Configuration → Recording and streaming → Layouts menu, you can specify:
The layout to be recorded: video windows of all participants according to the selected video layout, only incoming video streams, only video from the terminal camera, or a dynamic layout with voice activation.
Recording presentation: disabled, along with other video layouts in a separate window, or full screen instead of all video layouts.
Video resolution in the recording.
# Uploading Presentations
In the Media Files section, you can upload presentations in advance. Click Upload files and select the required files (supported formats) from the device connected to the web interface.
# Assigning PTZ Camera Presets
You can set typical PTZ camera presets to enable users to switch between them during a call by pressing one button. To that end:
Go to the Conference tab and select My Camera.
Click Select in the Views section.
Click Create a new view.
Select the camera position, enter the Name.
If necessary, specify the key in the Speed Dial section for quick preset switching using the remote control.
5. Click Create.