To provide higher quality video without also increasing bandwidth usage, Zoom is rolling out a new video codec to free accounts. This data is also available to account admins viewing a meeting participant’s network statistics in the Zoom Dashboard, allowing them to view connectivity issues and trends over the duration of the meeting. In short, Zoom's versatility, consistency, accessibility and continued improvements reflect why it's the best overall video chat software.Desktop client users can view their current WiFi connection statistics, such as RSSI level, noise, and more, through the Statistics tab in client settings.

Zoom also works on Amazon Echo Show devices, Google Nest smart displays and the Facebook Portal - positioning the app as more of an at-home service for connecting socially than just a workplace tool, or giving people who are still working from home another option for connecting to colleagues. And new Zoom Apps, coming by the end of the year, will live within the platform and let you access tools like Dropbox, Slack and Asana directly from video chats for easier workplace collaboration. OnZoom - though still in beta - is a platform for posting and finding quarantine-friendly virtual events ranging from concerts to cooking and fitness classes. The meeting software also added games like poker and Kahoot. Zoom has also added auto-generated captions for better accessibility, attendance status information for hosts, two-way chatting in the waiting room, more control to stop incoming video and optimization for the newer MacBook Pro. You don't have to deal with calendars or a difficult sign-up process. You're automatically placed into the meeting interface, which is minimalistic and easy to use - you'll see the buttons to turn your mic and camera on or off, and tabs for security, participants, chat, share screen, record, breakout rooms and reactions. Open the app and start a meeting, or join one through a link. (If you're curious, we've broken down how Zoom competes with Microsoft Teams, Skype and Messenger Rooms.) Easy to use and reliableĪ major reason for Zoom's success across businesses, schools and consumers is how easy it is to get started with the platform. Even Facebook got in on the action, releasing a new consumer video chat feature called Messenger Rooms, allowing for free video chats with up to 50 people. Google began offering a free version of its enterprise video chat service Meet. The company's consumer chat service Skype also got a new free video chat feature called Meet Now.

Soon after Zoom's rapid rise in the early days of the pandemic, Microsoft rolled out a change-your-background feature on its video chat service Teams.

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