Making Video Calls

Initiating a video call is as simple as right-clicking a contact and choosing Start a Video Call. Much as with the audio call, the recipient has the option to accept, decline, or redirect. Redirect gives the option to reply with an IM or to mark the recipient as Do Not Disturb.

When the call is accepted, the usual client window opens and is located on the Video tab. The recipient initially sees the caller, but the caller doesn’t see the recipient until after he clicks Start My Video in the window.

While in an active conversation, users can leverage the new Video Preview feature to check what their video will look like before initiating the call. Hover over the video icon to see a preview, and then click Start My Video to initiate the call.

By default, participants in a two-way call see themselves in a picture-in-picture window inside the main video window. You can hide this preview by hovering over the video and clicking the downward-facing arrow. Click the upward-facing arrow to restore the video preview.

The same audio controls for mute, hold, and devices discussed previously are still available within a video call. Clicking the video icon again stops the user from sending video, and another click resumes it once again.

Users can also detach the video content from the conversation window by hovering over the main video and clicking the arrow in the upper-right corner. This can be useful for users with multiple monitors, enabling them to maximize the video on one screen while continuing to use the other monitor for another purpose.