Teams Green Screen Effect Uses Fewer System Resources for Crisper Images
Microsoft Teams has steadily added to the set of background effects available in Teams meetings since the introduction of the original blur filter in 2018. Video filters and effects is an area where Microsoft dedicates engineering effort to remain competitive with Zoom and other offerings. In my own case, although the brightness filter lifts my weary face, mostly, I use standard background images (sometimes grabbed from the Bing daily image). The next big step change comes in May 2023 when Microsoft is scheduled to release mesh avatars for Teams meetings. Between avatars and regular video feeds (enhanced with images and filters or not), Teams users have many ways to customize and enhance their virtual presence
All of which means that some might wonder why Microsoft is bringing a green screen effect to Teams meetings. Announced in MC529415 (March 17, 2023) and Microsoft 365 roadmap item 117941, Microsoft says that the green screen filter will provide “an enhanced virtual background effect.” Preview will begin in late March with deployment to commercial and GCC tenants slated for the latter part of April.
The green screen effect works on Windows and macOS clients with Intel CPUs and doesn’t support the Mac M1 and M2 chips. This is because the green screen effect uses Advanced Vector Extension (AVX) extensions like the background blur effect does. The fact that when using the green screen, Teams automatically disables background blue (and together mode) supports this assertion. The green screen works with background images and meeting presenter modes like Reporter and Side-by-Side.
About Green Screens
Adobe has a useful explanation about the purpose of a green screen. The screen doesn’t have to be green, but green doesn’t “match any natural skin tone or hair colour, so it’s easy to remove without grabbing parts of the person in the foreground. But if you’re trying to match a lower-light background or you need to have a green prop in your project, a blue screen works best.”
Microsoft says that using the green screen in Teams meetings “improves the sharpness and definition of the virtual background effect around your face, head, ears, and hair. It also allows you to show a prop or other object in your hand to be more visible to other participants in a call.”
Setting a Backdrop Color
The requirement to use the green screen effect is that the meeting participant has a solid color screen or a “clean” background wall behind them. Clean means that it’s a one-color wall without too many imperfections or objects on the wall.
To apply the green screen effect, the user enables the effect in the Devices section of Teams settings. I have a plain wall behind my desk, so I opted to try it there (Figure 1). Notice how Teams asks the user to select the “backdrop” color of the screen by clicking the dropper on a representative part of the wall.
Figure 1: Setting a backdrop color for the Teams green screen effect
Two problems are immediately apparent. First, there’s shadow on the left-hand side of the wall behind me. Second, two objects are hanging on the wall. Removing the objects and making sure that the selected wall is free from shade and other influences that cause its color to be non-uniform is the best way to get good results from the green screen.
Proper backdrops for use with green screens are not expensive (here’s an example sold by Amazon). Using a backdrop instead of a wall creates much better video output and avoids the imperfections I reveal below. The lesson is clear: if you want to look good when using the Teams green screen, invest in a proper backdrop.
Using the Green Screen
Using the green screen in a meeting is like choosing any of the other video effects. Select more from the toolbar, then Video effects, and then toggle the Green screen button. Figure 2 shows how the green screen works with the background image and backdrop I selected. You can see that the resulting video feed is imperfect because the wall is not uniform (the effect of the shade on the wall is very apparent). You can also see that the two objects hanging on the wall show through because they don’t match the color chosen for the backdrop. I guess that the top of my hair might match the chosen color!
Figure 2: Imperfections show up in the Teams green screen video feed
These remarks are not to denigrate how the Teams green screen works. Instead, they undermine the necessity of choosing a uniform wall to be the backdrop. For comparison, Figure 3 shows the effect of using a regular background image where the video feed removes everything but the presenter’s image.
Figure 3: Using a regular background image for a Teams meeting
Fewer System Resources Consumed
According to Microsoft 365 roadmap item 117941, “green screen provides the best virtual background effect, consuming fewer system resources, allowing your Teams to run smoother.” The assertion that the green screen effect is less demanding on the system might seem surprising, but it makes sense when you think about it. When you apply a background image, the processor must scan everything captured by the camera to isolate the person’s image and superimpose it on top of the background image. Using a green screen means that the processor knows to drop everything of a certain color and display what’s left on top of the background image, so the processing is simpler. At least, it seems that way to me.
Support the work of the Office 365 for IT Pros team by subscribing to the Office 365 for IT Pros eBook. Your support pays for the time we need to track, analyze, and document the changing world of Microsoft 365 and Office 365.
{"id":null,"mode":"button","open_style":"in_modal","currency_code":"EUR","currency_symbol":"\u20ac","currency_type":"decimal","blank_flag_url":"https:\/\/office365itpros.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/blank.gif","flag_sprite_url":"https:\/\/office365itpros.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/flags.png","default_amount":100,"top_media_type":"featured_image","featured_image_url":"https:\/\/office365itpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/cover-141x200.jpg","featured_embed":"","header_media":null,"file_download_attachment_data":null,"recurring_options_enabled":true,"recurring_options":{"never":{"selected":true,"after_output":"One time only"},"weekly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every week"},"monthly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every month"},"yearly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every year"}},"strings":{"current_user_email":"","current_user_name":"","link_text":"Virtual Tip Jar","complete_payment_button_error_text":"Check info and try again","payment_verb":"Pay","payment_request_label":"Office 365 for IT Pros","form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","general_server_error":"Something isn't working right at the moment. Please try again.","form_title":"Office 365 for IT Pros","form_subtitle":null,"currency_search_text":"Country or Currency here","other_payment_option":"Other payment option","manage_payments_button_text":"Manage your payments","thank_you_message":"Thank you for supporting the work of Office 365 for IT Pros!","payment_confirmation_title":"Office 365 for IT Pros","receipt_title":"Your Receipt","print_receipt":"Print Receipt","email_receipt":"Email Receipt","email_receipt_sending":"Sending receipt...","email_receipt_success":"Email receipt successfully sent","email_receipt_failed":"Email receipt failed to send. Please try again.","receipt_payee":"Paid to","receipt_statement_descriptor":"This will show up on your statement as","receipt_date":"Date","receipt_transaction_id":"Transaction ID","receipt_transaction_amount":"Amount","refund_payer":"Refund from","login":"Log in to manage your payments","manage_payments":"Manage Payments","transactions_title":"Your Transactions","transaction_title":"Transaction Receipt","transaction_period":"Plan Period","arrangements_title":"Your Plans","arrangement_title":"Manage Plan","arrangement_details":"Plan Details","arrangement_id_title":"Plan ID","arrangement_payment_method_title":"Payment Method","arrangement_amount_title":"Plan Amount","arrangement_renewal_title":"Next renewal date","arrangement_action_cancel":"Cancel Plan","arrangement_action_cant_cancel":"Cancelling is currently not available.","arrangement_action_cancel_double":"Are you sure you'd like to cancel?","arrangement_cancelling":"Cancelling Plan...","arrangement_cancelled":"Plan Cancelled","arrangement_failed_to_cancel":"Failed to cancel plan","back_to_plans":"\u2190 Back to Plans","update_payment_method_verb":"Update","sca_auth_description":"Your have a pending renewal payment which requires authorization.","sca_auth_verb":"Authorize renewal payment","sca_authing_verb":"Authorizing payment","sca_authed_verb":"Payment successfully authorized!","sca_auth_failed":"Unable to authorize! Please try again.","login_button_text":"Log in","login_form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","uppercase_search":"Search","lowercase_search":"search","uppercase_page":"Page","lowercase_page":"page","uppercase_items":"Items","lowercase_items":"items","uppercase_per":"Per","lowercase_per":"per","uppercase_of":"Of","lowercase_of":"of","back":"Back to plans","zip_code_placeholder":"Zip\/Postal Code","download_file_button_text":"Download File","input_field_instructions":{"tip_amount":{"placeholder_text":"How much would you like to tip?","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"invalid_curency":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please choose a valid currency."}},"recurring":{"placeholder_text":"Recurring","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"}},"name":{"placeholder_text":"Name on Credit Card","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please enter the name on your card."}},"privacy_policy":{"terms_title":"Terms and conditions","terms_body":null,"terms_show_text":"View Terms","terms_hide_text":"Hide Terms","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."},"unchecked":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please agree to the terms."},"checked":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."}},"email":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"not_an_email_address":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Make sure you have entered a valid email address"}},"note_with_tip":{"placeholder_text":"Your note here...","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"not_empty_initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"saving":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Saving note..."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Note successfully saved!"},"error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to save note note at this time. Please try again."}},"email_for_login_code":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."}},"login_code":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."}},"stripe_all_in_one":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"success":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"invalid_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is not a valid credit card number."},"invalid_expiry_month":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration month is invalid."},"invalid_expiry_year":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is invalid."},"invalid_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is invalid."},"incorrect_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incorrect."},"incomplete_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incomplete."},"incomplete_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incomplete."},"incomplete_expiry":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration date is incomplete."},"incomplete_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code is incomplete."},"expired_card":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card has expired."},"incorrect_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incorrect."},"incorrect_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code failed validation."},"invalid_expiry_year_past":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is in the past"},"card_declined":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card was declined."},"missing":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"There is no card on a customer that is being charged."},"processing_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"An error occurred while processing the card."},"invalid_request_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to process this payment, please try again or use alternative method."},"invalid_sofort_country":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The billing country is not accepted by SOFORT. Please try another country."}}}},"fetched_oembed_html":false}