The second year is coming to an end since we switched to total distance. The pandemic, however, does not think to retreat. MAXIM understands modern video conferencing applications and is ready to share the advantages and disadvantages of each in order to help you choose an application for yourself.
Discord
We decided to start the dive with the once popular Discord communication program among gamers. In its structure, it is similar to Telegram. There is the possibility of personal communication in dialogs, you can create general conversations on the servers and the servers themselves. But we are primarily interested in it as a program for video conferencing.
Pros
In conference mode, users can switch between different view modes. For example, you can select "Grid" to see everyone at once, or "Focus" to follow one person.
Discord allows multiple people to share their screen at once.
The application has a flexible volume setting: you can set different volumes on the microphones for different users.
Thanks to excellent optimization, the program will work stably even on weak machines with low Internet speeds.
Minuses
Discord has quite a few critical issues that detract from its title as an enterprise communications tool. First of all, this is a screen sharing only in 720p. Do you want more? Buy the paid version for $10 per month. Low quality is not so critical if you show motivational videos, but if the boss decides to show you an infographic explaining what exactly you did wrong, it will be problematic to see all the indicators.
The maximum number of participants is 10 people. This can be a problem if you work for a large firm.
Another "feature" is a complex and confusing interface, which is difficult to understand for an unprepared user. In addition, servers need admins (the most active employees) who will issue rights.
The weight limit for files that can be uploaded to the chat is no more than 8 MB. This is not a problem if your maximum is a couple of leaves in doc. However, if you work with heavy formats, you will have to fork out for a paid subscription.
What infuriates me is the inability to record the broadcast even on the paid version. If you decide to “grind” with colleagues, which bar to go to after work, that’s it. But for serious conferences is unlikely to fit.
Last and most important. Discord collects everything you send to it. So there is no question of any confidentiality. If privacy is important to you, it is better to look for it in other applications.
Zoom
If you have kids, you are probably familiar with Zoom. When the pandemic had just begun, it was this service that was used in Russian schools to conduct remote classes. If you don't have kids, you probably still know this app. Or at least heard about it. You can easy download Zoom for Mac OS instantly at install.download website.
Pros
The application was created specifically for video conferencing with many, many participants, so all the necessary functionality is in place. So, for example, you can schedule a conference in advance for a specific time, so as not to remind you once again in the chat about the start of the meeting.
It is convenient for the administrator to control all participants in the conversation using the control panel. With it, you can turn the microphone on and off for individual people. The waiting room should also be attributed to the pluses: with its help, you can prevent “extra” people from reaching the meeting.
For convenient demonstration, a screen display function has been implemented. It is important that you can configure the display of only a single application. This is useful if you're multitasking and don't want to show other apps to meeting participants. The application also has an interactive whiteboard, which is visible to all conference participants. And this is convenient if there is a need to draw or show something visually.
Each conference participant can customize the display of the conference, for example, focus on the speaker or see all participants in the conversation. You can record the conversation, but if the meeting is recorded, all meeting participants will receive a warning. If you do not have the opportunity to speak, you can send a written message to the chat. Moreover, you can designate all participants in the video conversation or an individual as a recipient.
For those who want to be in the frame, but do not want to show their room or the space around them, there is a function to blur the background or change it. We tested it in the editorial office, it works great. You can even put your photo at your desktop as a background, and exit the frame yourself (but I didn’t tell you about this).
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