Vidyo video conferencing

Owned by Anastasia Cheetham
Last updated: Apr 12, 2017 by Giovanni Tirloni
4 min read

About

The Fluid community uses the Inclusive Design Institute's Vidyo infrastructure for meetings, which allows participants to call in remotely over the Internet using voice and / or video. Participants can also start / join a meeting using one of the conference rooms in the IDI.

Joining a Meeting Remotely

The Fluid project typically uses the fluid_standup Vidyo room for meetings.

If you are using a recent version of Firefox, Chrome or Safari that support WebRTC, you will be joined to the meeting automatically without any extra software required.

You can also choose to run VidyoDesktop instead of using your browser (specially if you have a Vidyo account). To do so, visit https://conf.inclusivedesign.ca and download the installer for your operating system. Once VidyoDesktop is installed, try to join the meeting again by following the fluid_standup link.

Configuring Your Audio

Some times Vidyo incorrectly configures your audio settings - you may not be able to hear anyone, and / or nobody is able to hear you. To resolve this issue:

  1. Disconnect from the Vidyo meeting if you are connected.
  2. In your computer's settings, make sure you are using the correct speakers and microphone. Check to make sure the volume is correct, and your microphone works.
  3. Connect to the Vidyo meeting you are attempting to join.
  4. Test your speakers and microphone with the participants. If everything works, then you are done. If you are still having issues, proceed to the next step.
  5. Open the Microphone menu by selecting the little upward arrow above the microphonein the Vidyo toolbar. Choose the gear icon.
  6. In the window that opens, choose "Same as System", save and then close the window.
  7. Open the Speaker menu by selecting the little upward arrow above the speaker icon in the Vidyo toolbar. Choose the gear icon.
  8. In the window that opens, choose "Same as System", save and then close the window.
  9. Test your speakers and microphone with the participants. If everything works, then you are done.
  10. If you are still having issues, contact one of the participants using another method to try to resolve the issue.

IDI Collaboration Room

The IDI Collaboration Room (Collab room) is located at 205 Richmond St W, Toronto on the second floor. There is a Crestron panel mounted on the wall near the room's door above all the light switches. The panel provides a user interface that controls which wall mounted displays are used to present content, or start audio or video calls.

iPads can also be made available that can be passed around and provide the same user interface as the one provided by the wall mounted panel. Any instances of 'Crestron panel' in this page can be substituted with the iPad application.

How to start up a meeting in the Collaboration Room

...still to come...

How to use the microphones in the Collaboration Room

...stil lto come...

How to join a Collaboration Room meeting from a remote location

...still to come...

Note: To join a meeting with multiple remote participants, be sure to connect with the Collaboration Room's Room, not directly.

How to share content using your computer in the Collaboration Room

  • Plug in the HDMI cable to your computer (from Table 1 or Table 2)
  • Assuming the Crestron panel is turned on, click the 'Share Content' option
  • Select 'Table 1' or 'Table 2' in the 'Source' column on the left
  • Then select 'Projector' or any of the displays in the 'Destination' column on the right
  • Your content should now be displayed
  • To stop sharing you will need to remove the cable and select 'stop all' in the 'Destination' column on the panel or iPad app

How to share content using your phone or tablet in the Collaboration Room

There is a Crestron AirMedia appliance accessible by anyone in the Collaboration Room. The appliance along with Crestron AirMedia Android and iOS applications allows one to wirelessly display documents on the wall mounted displays or projector from their devices.

  • Install the 'Creston AirMedia' Android or iOS app
  • Follow the 'How to share content using your computer' instructions above but select 'Remote' in the 'Source' column
  • The selected displays should present the AirMedia appliance's IP address and a four digit access code, please make a note of both
  • Enter the appliance's IP address in the app
  • Enter the access code
  • Your device should now be connected and ready for you to select content to share

How to share content from a remote location

...still to come...

Fluid Project Daily Stand-up Meeting

The Fluid community meets daily using the Inclusive Design Institute's Vidyo infrastructure where we sync-up and update each other on what we're working on:

Daily at 11:30 am ET
(Note: our project works in a number of time zones – use this as a guide for planning)

To join the meeting, visit the "fluid_standup" Vidyo room. You will be prompted to install either

  • a Vidyo client for your device (desktop, laptop, phone) or
  • a Vidyo browser plugin

How to set up for the daily standup

  • Your Vidyo account must be at the "Operator" level or above (the invitation to the Collaboration Room will simply fail silently if this is not the case)
  • Join the fluid_standup room
  • Invite the Collaboration Room to join the room
    • You (or someone else) will need to answer that invitation from the Collaboration Room, which will appear as an incoming call on the Crestron panel and iPad controls

Common End User Issues

  • Both the desktop and web plug-in Vidyo clients require a number of ports other than the HTTP/S ports (80 & 443) to be open to work. Port-blocking that commonly occurs on "public" wi-fi networks such as Eduroam may interfere with using Vidyo.
    • Enabling the VidyoProxy option in the client configuration should resolve this issue by routing all traffic through port 443, but it may degrade client performance (however, this is probably better than nothing if you otherwise can't connect...)