MAY 2020 PCWorld 115see: you, and your background. But if you
click one of the images below your video
window, you should see what’s behind you
replaced with either a
static image (the
Golden Gate Bridge is
a favorite) or else a
slowly looping video
background, like the
northern lights or
Zoom’s beach scene.
(As you might expect,
video files have a small
camcorder icon in the
corner.)
As you can see
from the screenshots,
there is an option to
enable a green screen,
if you have one. But on my
test machine—the recent
Surface Pro 7—I certainly
didn’t need one.
The background feature
isn’t perfect: The background
sometimes obscured my
collar, and Zoom isn’t always
friendly to those who talk with
their hands. Zoom also
recommends that you don’t
wear clothes that are the same
color as your background.
How well Zoom
distinguishes you and applies
the background correctly appears to be
both a function of your webcam and your
computer’s processor: The better they are,The gear icon hides Zoom’s Settings menu.
Zoom will arrange your available backgrounds beneath the video window.
The Zoom client does a pretty good job of distinguishing my navy-blue
sweatshirt from the dark background, too.