If you've ever had a video meeting on short notice with a cluttered home office or in a less-than-ideal workspace, you can appreciate the benefits of a virtual Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet background. You may have found a background you love and have been using for a while, but is it time for a change of scenery? Keep reading for helpful pointers you can use for your virtual meeting space.
How Do Virtual Backgrounds Work?
Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams all support virtual backgrounds. While each app offers slightly different features and controls, they mainly operate on similar principles and technologies. Virtual backgrounds are possible because of portrait segmentation, using machine learning and advanced neural networks to separate the subject in a video from their surroundings.
Portrait segmentation is a little like chroma keying, except it doesn't rely on color, and you don't need a green screen. By isolating a person's face and body in a video feed, their surroundings can be replaced by another image — and that's where the magic happens. Choose a virtual backdrop from your videoconference app's gallery, or upload your own! Your physical setting disappears, and you have a professional image in its place.
What Is the Best Office Background?
There are only a few basic requirements for Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet backgrounds. Any image you upload should measure 1920 x 1080 pixels. These images have an aspect ratio of 16:9, the international standard format for films, streaming digital video, and broadcast television. Technically speaking, high-quality images meeting these specs are ideal to use as backgrounds.
Recommended specs are one thing, but you must also consider the type of image you use for a virtual backdrop. In theory, you could use nearly any image: Nyan Cat, the Simpsons' living room, the Grand Canyon, or...well, you get the idea. However, some images may be distracting to other meeting attendees. These images may also not make the best impression when meeting clients.
An ideal background should look clean and attractive while reducing visual distractions. Custom Virtual Office offers a substantial collection of backdrops featuring minimalist modern office settings. From conference rooms to simple office spaces, these images add visual interest and professional touches to virtual meetings. They're also easy to customize with your organization's logo.
How Often Should You Change Your Background?
It's hard to pinpoint precisely how often you should switch out your digital backdrop. If you don't frequently have virtual meetings, you could use the same background for a while. If you attend meetings more often — a couple of times per week, for instance — you may want to consider switching your background periodically. Try changing yours every few weeks or whenever your current one feels stale. To make this easier, choose one of our packages with 24 backgrounds ready to personalize with your company logo.
How To Change Your Office Background
Changing to your new background requires just a few simple steps. You can do this in Zoom by clicking on your profile icon, selecting Settings, and then Backgrounds and Filters. From there, you can upload your chosen image. Google Meet lets you upload your image with the Change Background option on the page for your upcoming meeting.
Virtual backdrops can add a professional touch while allowing you to work from almost anywhere. Changing your Microsoft Teams, Google Meet or Zoom meeting background regularly keeps things fresh and relevant for your video meetings. Teams also let you change it just before a meeting: Click the three dots on your control bar, select Background effects, and then Add New to upload your backdrop.