New Video Conferencing Features

Lync Server 2013 introduces the capability to have HD video in conferences, as well as the capability to view up to five active speaker video streams. However, there are other new features in Lync Server 2013 that should be called out:

• Gallery View—In video conferences, users can see video of up to five participants at once. If the conference has more than five users, video of the most active five users is shown, and a photo appears for the rest of the users.

• HD Video—In video conferences, users can now send and receive HD video streams.

• Face Detection—In video conferences, Lync 2013 automatically tracks and frames the participants’ faces. This helps users stay focused on the center of the video stream being sent by other users. Additionally, these framed video streams are used in the Gallery View to provide a consistent video experience in conferences.

• Split Audio and Video—With Lync 2013, participants can add their video stream to a conference but join audio through another endpoint.

• Video Spotlight—Presenters are able to “pin” the video spotlight on a participant during a conference. When this is done, every participant sees that video stream in the main window, and this stream will be a full frame and resolution of the video stream, up to HD quality.