Introduction

The key factor to effective video conferencing is making the technology as transparent as possible. This allows the user to focus on the people they are speaking to, and forget that their interactions are being mediated by a lot of sophisticated technology. One way to increase this transparency is by carefully designing rooms, paying attention to details which can otherwise impact this experience.

When designing a room to be used with Video Conferencing systems, there a many things to consider in order to optimise the environment for its users. 

General Information - on this page

1. Colours and Decor
2. Lighting
3. Sound
4. Seating
5. Displays

Model Rooms

Click on an image to be taken to a page with specfic considerations for each environment

Colours and Decor

Wall Colours

When selecting colours, the best rule is to use neutral, non white colours, such as light green, grey, blue etc. These provide a low contrast backdrop for people to sit in front of, making the image projected easier on the eyes of other viewers.

Extremely dark colours, or pure white can provide high contrast images which can fatigue people when they have to view them for long periods of time. These colours can also cause cameras to over or under expose making users faces harder to identify.

Extremely vibrant colours can cause 'bleeding' on camera against paler colours.

When choosing a wall colour, it is important to consider the indirect light that yours walls will cast. Indirect light is caused by light reflecting off the walls surface and will be coloured by the walls. If for example, you have a bright green room, users will be illuminated in a shade of green.

For the above reasons, the most ideal colour for a video conferencing room is a shade of grey, although other slightly shaded colours will be adequate.

Patterns

Avoid walls or other furnishings with patterns at all costs. Patterns such as houndstooth or stripes often create what is known as a moiré pattern (seen left) when broadcast onto a pixelated medium. This is a result of the VC system down sampling the image, creating what is commonly known as 'strobing'. Additionally, patterned surfaces make video compression less efficient. As video data is transmitted at the same bandwidth regardless of the image, more complex images require greater compression. The result is a transmitted image that is of less quality overall (example on right).

The video below further illustrates the moiré pattern caused by stripes and other patterns when pixelated.

Clutter

For similar reason as avoiding patterns, keep your room as minimalist as possible. Avoid excessive posters, plants, equipment etc. as these all require more processing, and lead to reduced image quality. Additionally, less clutter in a room makes it easier for users at other sites to concentrate on the people in the room.

Lighting

Most importantly, design a room so that it is evenly lit, thus reducing strong shadows. In ideal conditions, diffuse fluorescent lights with a colour of 3500 Kelvin are best for providing pleasing skin tones, and minimal shadows.

Avoid having open, exposed windows in rooms if possible, as these make it difficult to provide consistent, controlled lighting. Windows are in some cases painted over, and in others simply covered with heavy curtains or blinds.

Avoid having exposed windows behind areas where users will be sitting. Bright backdrops caused by open windows will 'trick' cameras into automatically underexposing the rest of the scene resulting in users faces being hard to define. This is demonstrated in the image to the right.

Sound

Even in video conferences, sound quality is still the primary concern for effective conferencing, and good room design will contribute greatly to a good audio transmission sent to other Endpoints.

Reverberation & Insulation

The biggest problem for audio is created by reverberation, which is the echo effect heard in certain environments. This can be reduced by covering walls and floors with sound absorbing materials, such as, carpet, insulation, and optionally, heavy curtains. There are many other ways to help reduce reverberation, such as using sound absorbing paints.

Microphones

Microphones used with VC equipment are generally extremely sensitive; therefore avoid placing them near fans, including those in computers or any other sources of noise, such as air conditioning vents. Speakers that are too close to microphones can create feedback, making these another thing to avoid.

Generally, commercial conferencing microphones have a good audio capture range up to about 6-8 feet, so design your room layout so that no participant wishing to speak will be further than this distance away from a microphone. Ideally, arrange your microphone/s so they will not have to be moved across the table while in a meeting. If moved during a meeting, unless the user has muted it first, microphones create an unpleasant noise broadcast to all other endpoints.

Seating

Sight Lines

In an ideal room for video conferencing, ensure that every seated person has full visibility to all screens where other endpoints are displayed. Ideally this mean in a meeting room environment, the table should be approximately as wide as the screen/s. Users also need an unobstructed view to the camera.

These factors ensure they can be easily identified when speaking, and ensures they can see all other participants.

Layout

The most effective ways to lay out seating for VC are either in a panel or U/horseshoe shape formation, as these ensure the previous suggestions are met. Often, people find the U shape more pleasing than the panel, as it allows them to see the participants in their own room face to face, as well as seeing far-end participants simultaneously.

Which is best?

Potentially, the ideal seating arrangement will vary depending on the requirements of the meeting, so consideration as to what type of meetings the room is likely to most often facilitate may be prudent before designing it to be inflexible.

While the U is more often ideal, certain situations such as teaching/lecturing where communication is typically more 1 way from presenter to listeners, may make a panel arrangement a better option for large audience Endpoints.

Displays

When designing a VC room, you have the option of using either data projectors or flat screens, such as LCDs or plasmas.