[Why Not] Add more video streams in MS teams meetings?

Question

I'm curious about why MS hasn't added the ability to do any of the following, is it a choice or are there any limitations?

• Optionally view more than 9 video streams (or choose which ones are in focus on your phone based on 'pins')
• Provide more than one 'active' host-configurable video source (e.g. camera 1 + camera 2 + screen-share)
• Map your face to a virtual template / character so that many people can fit in one view or to reduce bandwidth & encoding
• Record particular streams & views as the host to files (e.g. a lecturer could record streams separately and use simple video editing to merge or synchronize them)
• Display a simple indicator (or counter) when your video stream is being recorded, shared via augmented reality or viewed as-is

Personally I think these few simple features wouldn't cost MS much but would change the 'virtual working' landscape for years to come. I'm curious to know if there are any reasons why upgrading video streams isn't worth it for MS.

Answer 1

Hi @Descant

Indeed, it is a good idea to add more video streams in Microsoft Teams meeting. In fact, Microsoft has some new features and you can see if these features can meet your requirements.

3*3 Grid View

Microsoft says that it has completed the rollout of the new 3×3 video view on Teams. It has also acknowledged that the 3×3 grid is just a start and it’s actively working on including more videos during a meeting session. And now it enables you to see the videos of up to 49 other people at once.

Together Mode in Teams meeting

Lets you feel like you're in the same shared space with everyone in the meeting. For now, there's one auditorium-style space, but more options are on the way.

For more reference:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/using-video-in-microsoft-teams-3647fc29-7b92-4c26-8c2d-8a596904cdae?storagetype=stage&ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US#ID0EABAAA=Desktop

More and more features are still in developing, some features will also coming out in the future, we also recommend you give your recommendation in Teams UserVoice(https://microsoftteams.uservoice.com/forums/555103-public). Microsoft will always focus on customer’s feedback and experience, some new features would be added to the services based on customers' feedback in the future, and your good ideas will be very helpful for them to improve the service.

Your time, understanding and cooperation will be highly appreciated.

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