Zoom fun for everyone but me
May 5, 2020 1:42 PM Subscribe
How do I use a Zoom virtual background WITHOUT a green screen?
So like everyone else these days, I'm suddenly spending a lot of time on zoom calls. Everyone else can use these virtual backgrounds and its so silly and fun. I want to use them too, but I cant get them to work on my stupid computer. Help!
When I choose a virtual background, either my own or one that comes with zoom, my face and body disappear. You see the background and then you see the outline of me like I'm 95% invisible. My friends think its hilarious.
If I uncheck the "I have a green screen" box, it says "Your computer doesn't meet the minimum requirements to use this feature without a green screen background." Come onnnnnn. Who just has a green screen lying around! How is it that everyone I know can do this but me!
Buying a green screen somewhere is not really an option. Is there some hack or trick I can do to make this work? I"m on an Acer all-in-one, about 4 years old. Can give specs if needed.
So like everyone else these days, I'm suddenly spending a lot of time on zoom calls. Everyone else can use these virtual backgrounds and its so silly and fun. I want to use them too, but I cant get them to work on my stupid computer. Help!
When I choose a virtual background, either my own or one that comes with zoom, my face and body disappear. You see the background and then you see the outline of me like I'm 95% invisible. My friends think its hilarious.
If I uncheck the "I have a green screen" box, it says "Your computer doesn't meet the minimum requirements to use this feature without a green screen background." Come onnnnnn. Who just has a green screen lying around! How is it that everyone I know can do this but me!
Buying a green screen somewhere is not really an option. Is there some hack or trick I can do to make this work? I"m on an Acer all-in-one, about 4 years old. Can give specs if needed.
The short answer: I think it probably has to do with the contrast of the background and how you look on camera (lighting wise).
The long answer: download a light meter on your app and read this Zoom instruction page, to read about the details
posted by ouke at 1:47 PM on May 5, 2020
The long answer: download a light meter on your app and read this Zoom instruction page, to read about the details
posted by ouke at 1:47 PM on May 5, 2020
I hung a big teal bedsheet off of the china cabinet behind my computer and it totally worked.
posted by selfmedicating at 1:53 PM on May 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by selfmedicating at 1:53 PM on May 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
You can't do it on an older computer, period. You're SOL. My computer is 4 years old too, and no dice.
I tried using it on a white background wall and it almost worked except for my shadow causing problems.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:02 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I tried using it on a white background wall and it almost worked except for my shadow causing problems.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:02 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I tried hanging a green bedsheet behind me and that just created an incredibly creepy effect where you see my head and body, but my hair is see-through and SO ARE MY EYES. So basically I look like a bald demon.
posted by silverstatue at 2:03 PM on May 5, 2020 [26 favorites]
posted by silverstatue at 2:03 PM on May 5, 2020 [26 favorites]
Yeah, the sysreqs for Zoom backgrounds are kind of stiff, especially for home users.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:03 PM on May 5, 2020
posted by Thorzdad at 2:03 PM on May 5, 2020
If it's any consolation there is as much, if not more, silly fun to be had from failed green screen. I was on a social Zoom with someone the other day who had gone to the trouble to hang a sheet behind her to try and facilitate green screen and no matter what she tried, the sheet was literally the ONLY thing we could see of her room in every single shot. Hilarity and weeping ensued as she tried to get rid of the bloody sheet, to no avail.
Bald demons with see through eyes are also very entertaining when they're attempting to have a normal conversation.
posted by penguin pie at 2:11 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Bald demons with see through eyes are also very entertaining when they're attempting to have a normal conversation.
posted by penguin pie at 2:11 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Have you tried Snapcamera with Zoom yet? It works on my MacBook Pro from 2017. It’s almost as good as a greenscreen.
posted by oxisos at 2:24 PM on May 5, 2020
posted by oxisos at 2:24 PM on May 5, 2020
If you have a green sheet or towel that would work. Really any solid colored background. Zoom should allow you to select the color of the background.
posted by tman99 at 2:39 PM on May 5, 2020
posted by tman99 at 2:39 PM on May 5, 2020
After you put up the fake green screen, there is a little oval on the bottom right of the preview, click that and then click the fake green screen to tell it that’s the color to remove.
posted by advicepig at 2:52 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by advicepig at 2:52 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
You can try the color remove option, but none of my computers have sufficient hardware to actually work. Only my iPad can do it.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:19 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Lyn Never at 3:19 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Also, as people above are saying, it doesn't have to be green. It just has to be a color that is really distinct from your eyes, skin, hair and clothing. So try out a couple of different bedsheets. Also, my teal sheet didn't work at first, then I ducked out of the frame, ducked back in, and it started working. So you kind of have to play with it.
posted by selfmedicating at 3:58 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by selfmedicating at 3:58 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Make sure and force-update Zoom. For reasons I don't fully know, a lot of people got 'stuck' on a version of the client where the auto-update silently broke, and which predates an update they later put out loosening the system requirements.
Before that, I was exactly in your position, along with much of my workplace, with a computer about the same age as yours. Afterwards it was smooth sailing.
posted by CrystalDave at 4:21 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Before that, I was exactly in your position, along with much of my workplace, with a computer about the same age as yours. Afterwards it was smooth sailing.
posted by CrystalDave at 4:21 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Many teachers I know have made a green screen of neon poster board- it works well enough.
posted by charmedimsure at 5:21 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by charmedimsure at 5:21 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Just a counter point... I have a 5 year old MacBook Air and have no problem using Zoom virtual backgrounds without a green screen.
posted by kimdog at 6:17 PM on May 5, 2020
posted by kimdog at 6:17 PM on May 5, 2020
You can't do it on an older computer, period.
You very much can, unless your definition of "older computer" runs into decades. I did it from a mid-2012 Macbook Pro last week, messing around. This is not the problem. Make your background a consistent color and basic virtual backgrounds should work fine; the limitations appear to relate to the OS and camera as much as the actual computer AFAICT.
FWIW I loathe these animated backdrops, find them immensely distracting, and would far rather just have people do a modicum of front-lighting with a somewhat neutral background.
posted by aspersioncast at 10:01 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
You very much can, unless your definition of "older computer" runs into decades. I did it from a mid-2012 Macbook Pro last week, messing around. This is not the problem. Make your background a consistent color and basic virtual backgrounds should work fine; the limitations appear to relate to the OS and camera as much as the actual computer AFAICT.
FWIW I loathe these animated backdrops, find them immensely distracting, and would far rather just have people do a modicum of front-lighting with a somewhat neutral background.
posted by aspersioncast at 10:01 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Seconding any color. Green is the traditional color because it's not a color you find on human beings. Before green, there was blue which was used because of the relative primitive color-masking technology that existed at the time.
If you have a color printer, you can also just fake up a background by blowing up a high-rez image and printing it in sections. Easy to do with the help of a site like Blockposters. Cut and paste to a poster-board or similar. It's not flexible, but it shows effort.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:59 PM on May 5, 2020
If you have a color printer, you can also just fake up a background by blowing up a high-rez image and printing it in sections. Easy to do with the help of a site like Blockposters. Cut and paste to a poster-board or similar. It's not flexible, but it shows effort.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:59 PM on May 5, 2020
until yesterday i didn't even see the option to do this - so i manually uninstalled my old zoom client, downloaded the newest one (5.0.whatever) and sat in front of an off-white wall for my first call with a virtual background - and it all seemed to work reasonably well
there was some other thing that also downloaded itself when i selected my background - which i guess is an additional zoom feature or whatever
posted by rd45 at 2:30 AM on May 6, 2020
there was some other thing that also downloaded itself when i selected my background - which i guess is an additional zoom feature or whatever
posted by rd45 at 2:30 AM on May 6, 2020
You very much can, unless your definition of "older computer" runs into decades. I did it from a mid-2012 Macbook Pro last week
"An older PC", they meant. The problem is specs. Or at least, one of the problems.
posted by lokta at 4:11 AM on May 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
"An older PC", they meant. The problem is specs. Or at least, one of the problems.
posted by lokta at 4:11 AM on May 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
My company uses Surfaces as our computers. I was one of the earlier people to get one about 2 1/2 years ago and I cannot do the Zoom backgrounds. Some of my colleagues with newer Surfaces can. It really is a specs thing - in my case it is exactly the issue noted in the help center article linked in the first comment: Due to issues with compatibility with Intel CPUs using the HD 620 graphics processor, devices using those processors, must use a physical green screen. (GOD that errant comma bugs me so much. Someone needs to proofread the Zoom help pages.)
The same computer CAN do a virtual background on Teams quite successfully, but Zoom for whatever reason just requires more processing power to do them.
posted by misskaz at 5:22 AM on May 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
The same computer CAN do a virtual background on Teams quite successfully, but Zoom for whatever reason just requires more processing power to do them.
posted by misskaz at 5:22 AM on May 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
Another data point is that it works better if you are brighter than your background (ie: front lit) and also if there is no variation in the light behind you. I can make it work when my overhead lights are off, but not when they're on.
posted by anastasiav at 10:34 AM on May 6, 2020
posted by anastasiav at 10:34 AM on May 6, 2020
Coming to this a few days late, but just wanted to share my solution. I had the same problem - Zoom just won't cooperate with older or lower-spec computers for virtual backgrounds. That doesn't mean that it can't be done, or that you need to buy hardware though.
I took some inspiration from Twitch streamers and have been using Xsplit Vcam. It's a single-purpose piece of software that only removes your background, and it's much less expensive than the full Xsplit license. It's been working perfectly so far, which makes me wonder why Zoom can't make it work on the same machine. Basically, once installed it's selectable as your camera when choosing a video source, so you'd pick Vcam rather than your actual hardware camera. You can then adjust your background in the software itself. A little bit of setup required, but it works wonderfully once you get it going.
I also like that Vcam lets me use the same virtual backgrounds in Microsoft Teams, Gotomeeting, Skype, or whatever other video software you need to use.
posted by owls at 9:08 AM on May 7, 2020
I took some inspiration from Twitch streamers and have been using Xsplit Vcam. It's a single-purpose piece of software that only removes your background, and it's much less expensive than the full Xsplit license. It's been working perfectly so far, which makes me wonder why Zoom can't make it work on the same machine. Basically, once installed it's selectable as your camera when choosing a video source, so you'd pick Vcam rather than your actual hardware camera. You can then adjust your background in the software itself. A little bit of setup required, but it works wonderfully once you get it going.
I also like that Vcam lets me use the same virtual backgrounds in Microsoft Teams, Gotomeeting, Skype, or whatever other video software you need to use.
posted by owls at 9:08 AM on May 7, 2020
Response by poster: Thanks everyone. So far none of these suggestions have worked (though I have not tried owls's yet).
I upgraded to the newest version. I tried using Snapcamera, but apparently Snapcamera doesn work with the newest version. Ive tried different lighting, different covered sheets behind me, nothing works. I tried on my Ipad mini but apparently that's an obsolete model too (and it's only a year old!)
I think I am doomed to just not have fun zoom chats :(
posted by silverstatue at 9:29 AM on May 7, 2020
I upgraded to the newest version. I tried using Snapcamera, but apparently Snapcamera doesn work with the newest version. Ive tried different lighting, different covered sheets behind me, nothing works. I tried on my Ipad mini but apparently that's an obsolete model too (and it's only a year old!)
I think I am doomed to just not have fun zoom chats :(
posted by silverstatue at 9:29 AM on May 7, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
I have a less-than-two-year-old Macbook Air and I can't use Virtual Backgrounds on my machine. It apparently takes some horsepower.
posted by GuyZero at 1:46 PM on May 5, 2020 [4 favorites]