How video layouts work

You can flexibly adjust the placement of participant video windows both during the conference TrueConf and before it starts. To assist you in selecting the most convenient video layout, we will delve into how it is formed and the types of video windows that can be included.

To optimize screen space usage, the mobile client applications of TrueConf ignore the video layout settings specified when creating/editing conferences and during their management by the moderator. Video windows are always divided across multiple scrollable screens. You can read more about this here.

Types of video layouts and windows

There can be three types of video layouts:

for all participants
for SIP/H.323 devices and WebRTC (browser connections)
individual video layout for a participant.

All video windows (slots) in each layout can be one of the following types:

Fixed — a specific conference participant is displayed.
Random — the first participant not occupied in the video layout will be displayed in the slot. This is the default type for all layouts except for the smart meeting.
Time-based shuffling - Participants not occupied in the video layout are displayed in turn at a specified interval.
Active speaker In the video window, the participant who is speaking or sharing content is displayed. If several participants speak simultaneously, the one speaking louder takes precedence. These are the default slots for all video windows in smart meeting mode. If the moderator has not created a video layout in smart meeting mode (the default layout is used), the moderator can pin speakers in these slots so that they do not change when they stop speaking. For more details, see the client application documentation. If a participant in this type of window mutes their microphone, they will not be replaced by a new speaker until they begin speaking again; that is, participants are not automatically removed from the layout just because they mute their microphone.
Content — displays content being shared by a participant both in their window and as a separate stream. This slot can only appear once in the video layout.

Unique Video Windows and Limitations

The number of unique slots for a conference cannot be greater than the number of podiums for the selected conference mode (for example, 16, if a moderated role-based conference with 16 speakers is selected). The following rules apply:

Each slot, except for an empty one, is unique. For example, if you assign participant Smith to a slot in the video layout, that slot becomes unique. If you select a new participant Jones in another layout, that slot will also become unique as it hasn't been used anywhere else before. As a result, you'll have 2 unique slots used across all layouts.
The same slot will be reused in different video layouts, for example, the content slot. This approach ensures more optimal use of server resources without increasing the number of media streams.
If a slot of a certain type is already in use in one video layout (for example, in the common one) and is specified in another, it will be reused. In this case, even if it is not a fixed type slot, the same video stream will be displayed in both layouts. For instance, if a random slot is created in two layouts, the video stream will be reused, and the same participant will appear in both layouts.

Let us consider some examples.

Example 1

We are scheduling a conference in "all on screen" mode with 49 speakers and this event is expected to have 49 participants. This means that there can be a total of 49 unique (different) slots in all video layouts, for example:

One common layout for all participants with 40 fixed slots (participants were explicitly selected from the list for each video window); besides, there is a content window and 8 slots with participants who are rotated (alternated) at a certain interval.

One common layout for all participants with 20 fixed slots and one layout for SIP/H.323/WebRTC with 29 fixed slots.

One common layout with a content window and two individual layouts with 24 different fixed slots for each.

Example 2

A “moderated role-based conference” with 16 speakers (podiums) is scheduled and 20 participants are invited in total. This means that in all video layouts, there can be a total of 16 unique (different) slots, for example:

One common layout for all participants with 10 fixed slots (participants were explicitly selected from the list for each video window); in addition, there is a layout for the moderator with 6 slots where participants are alternated (rotated).

One common layout for all participants with 10 fixed slots and one layout for SIP/H.323/WebRTC with 6 fixed slots.

One common layout with a content window and one layout for SIP/H.323/WebRTC with a content window and 15 slots with alternating participants. In this case, there will be a total of 17 slots (15 with alternating participants and 2 with content), but in total, 16 slots will be unique because the content slot is reused in the second layout.

Limitations for Modes

For smart meeting mode:

all video windows are set to type Active speaker when creating the default video layout;
There are no other restrictions: it is possible to change the number of video windows (which starts from 1) as well as the type of each slot.

For moderated role-based conference mode:

it is not possible to select Time-based shuffling and Active speaker types for the slot.

In video lecture mode layout customization is not available because the layout is generated according to a fixed rule: the lecturer (speaker) sees all participants, while each participant sees only the lecturer.

Settings of video windows with alternating participants

For slots of type Time-based shuffling, you can change the participant switching settings (general settings for all slots and the video layout for each specific conference):

The order of shuffling (rotation): from the first participant available in the video layout to the last one, or vice versa
The interval at which participants will be shuffled in the slots
Alternation type:
- Replace — a participant is replaced by another participant not in the video layout;
- Move — participants are moved from their slot to the nearest one with the same Time-based shuffling type.

Changing Slot Types When Switching Modes

If the conference mode is changed, and some layouts have already been created, certain slots will change their type due to the restrictions described above:

when switching to a moderated role-based conference (from any mode), all slots Time-based shuffling and Active speaker are replaced with Random;
When switching to smart meeting (from any other mode):
- if the video layout includes slots of type Random, then the first one changes its type to Active speaker;
- If there are no slots of type Random, another slot is randomly selected to change to type Active speaker.