Overview
The Virtual Background feature allows you to display an image or video as your background during a Zoom session, providing you with more privacy or a consistent and professional look for a presentation.
Additionally, instead of a static image, the virtual background feature allows you to select short videos as your virtual background.
Recommended setup
The virtual background provides less sharpness and definition around your face, head, ears, and hair. This is because, without a solid, contrasting colour behind you, the system is less likely to distinguish you in the foreground from the background accurately. This method requires more system resources, so it has higher system requirements.
For best results:
- Higher-quality cameras result in a better virtual background. See camera recommendations for details.
- Use uniform lighting and color.
- Make sure your face is illuminated, and some of your backgrounds as well, as the contrast can help distinguish you from the background.
Video and image specifications
Background image dimensions
- There are no size restrictions when adding your virtual backgrounds, but we recommend cropping the image to match the aspect ratio of your camera before uploading it. For example, if your camera is set to 16:9, an image of 1280 by 720 pixels or 1920 by 1080 pixels, both with the same 16:9 ratio, would work well.
- 24-bit PNG or JPG/JPEG image format
- If you're unsure about your camera aspect ratio, use a background image with a minimum resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels.
Background video
- A MP4 or MOV video file
- Minimum resolution of 480 by 360 pixels (360p) and a maximum resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (1080p).