Whether you have a couple people in the Greenroom or over a dozen presenters, there are ways a Producer can optimize the video quality of feeds within Greenroom, including the Presenter's experience with their own feeds. In this article, we'll show you how to manage your video resolution,
Video Resolution Management
Within the Settings of your Greenroom (Cog Wheel > Settings), there is a toggle called Video Resolution Management, which is defaulted to ON.
This toggle lets the Greenroom intuitively manage how much bandwidth it receives from each participant. When Presenters are within the canvas, their maximum resolution (720p) is being pulled into their feed. When a user is backstage, just enough bandwidth is pulled to produce the thumbnail.
The process of increasing each user's resolution takes time, so the Greenroom will request maximum bandwidth from users that are on deck to appear in the NEXT shot in the Showboard. (This is managed behind the scenes; there is no actual request made to a user). This way, by the time the Presenters' shot is on the canvas, they will not appear blurry. With this toggle set to off, all participants are treated equally, meaning every feed that appears backstage will be pulling 720p resolution. This has the potential to diminish the overall experience in Greenroom.
Considerations
It should be used with very careful considerations and testing beforehand to make sure ALL computers that are slated to be used to enter Greenroom are capable of handling the bandwidth requirements. There might be other scenarios in which the feature may need to be turned off as well. Consult with your CSM to see if this setting is best for you to use.
Optimizing When Building a Shot
If you're not using the Showboard and prefer to live-switch your Greenroom show, building your shot in advance will assist with loading up the full resolution of the next shot. "Building a shot" refers to the process of clicking on the particular feeds that will be in your shot, then clicking the "Start Shot" button.
As soon as you click a particular feed, and you see either the "Start Shot" or "Change Shot" button turn red, the Greenroom will begin receiving the full resolution possible from the feed. Be sure to wait a few moments in this state before taking your shot live, to allow for the highest quality output.
Presenter Tips
If you're looking to conserve your own bandwidth when presenting in the Greenroom, you have the ability to turn off your camera when you're not presenting in a shot. This will enable a better experience visually within Greenroom if you're struggling with a low internet bandwidth locally.
Closing the feeds tab and only referencing it during your presenting sections can also help. Instead, any Presenters like to use the Greenroom chat feature to communicate with other presenters and the Producer during a show.