How to Get the Most Out of Your Zoom Experience

Special thanks to Nia Teacher Jennifer Hicks for sharing this document with us!

Improving Your Experience of  Using Zoom For Nia Classes

In general, being part of a Zoom class is using a lot of your internet connection’s “bandwidth”. In other words, your internet “capacity” is being taxed.

Because of this, sometimes the audio or video in Zoom becomes choppy or distorted.

But there are things you can do to enhance your experience and to help your internet to work optimally, and help us to deliver the best class to you that we can.

Here’s what you can do to get the most out of your online Nia class experience.

1. Use the best Internet connection you can.
In general:
• Wired connections are better than wireless (WiFi or cellular) connections.
• WiFi connections are better than cellular (3G/4G/LTE) connections.
2. Plan ahead for Zoom classes. For Move2Center's classes, you can pre-register online as far ahead as you'd like for your Zoom classes. Your registration link is tied to a particular day's class, so using a link from a previous class may not allow you to enter a Zoom class in progress.  And as often as possible, join Zoom classes from a location where you can use a fast, reliable, wired Internet connection.
3. Mute your microphone. Our instructors will do our best to mute everyone before class starts, but we also want to make sure we get some time to socialize before class begins.  It's important to mute because when your microphone is on, Zoom will devote part of your Internet connection to an audio stream for you, even if you are not speaking.
4. Stop your webcam video once class begins. We love enjoying your smiling faces and creative movement, so it's great to see you. That said, be aware that when your video is on, Zoom will devote part of your Internet connection to a video stream for you and this may add to distortions.

So please feel free to start your video at the beginning/end of class – to say “hello” and check in. When we start class, I will remind you of the option to stop your video.

5. Disable HD webcam video.
Sending high definition (HD) webcam video requires more bandwidth than sending non-HD. Disabling HD video will free up more of your Internet connection for other parts of your Zoom meeting.
Even if you will only be sharing your video at the beginning and end of class (if you choose to do so), disabling your HD video will still help improve your internet connection.

How do I disable HD video in the Zoom Client?
From within the Zoom Client:
1. Click the "Home" tab.
2. Click " Settings".
3. In the Settings window that opens:

• Click the "Video" tab.
• Uncheck "Enable HD".

4. Close the Settings window.

On a Mac, you can access these settings when signed into Zoom from the top right-hand corner of your screen.
Click on the icon that looks like a camera (the first symbol on the left), and you will find the “Video settings” which you can change.
For some reason you cannot change these settings from your browser or from your mobile device, only by clicking on this icon.

6. Close other, unneeded applications on your computer. Zoom meetings can demand significant memory and processing power from your computer. Closing other applications, ones you do not need during the session,
will help Zoom run better.

7. Avoid other activities that will steal bandwidth. Don't start other bandwidth-intensive activities just before, or during, a Zoom meeting. On your Zoom device—and as much as possible, on other computers
and devices that share your Internet connection—avoid:
• large downloads
• large uploads
• streaming video (e.g. Netflix, Hulu, YouTube)
• cloud backups (e.g. Carbonite, CrashPlan)
• cloud file synchronizations (e.g. OneDrive, Dropbox)
• other high-bandwidth activities

Other info
• If you are joining on a mobile device (iPhone, iPad, android) make sure that your “Do not disturb” feature is enabled to prevent other apps from derailing your Zoom experience.

If all else fails, sign out of the meeting then join back in again!

The information for this document was found here:
https://wiki.millersville.edu/display/instructdocs/Improving+your+Zoom+connection
Created by Stephen Gadsby, last modified on Mar 16, 2020