TrueConf MCU Administrator Guide

# Conferences

In this section, you can create video conferences, add and remove participants, and adjust conference settings. Here you can do the following:

/mcu/media/conferences_list/en.png

  1. Create a new video conference

  2. Find a conference created before

  3. Start a conference

  4. Edit the selected conference

  5. Create a copy of the selected conference

  6. Click on this button to share a conference join link. This button will be available only for the conference with an ID.

  7. Delete the selected conference

  8. View information about a conference:

    • Conference ID (if set)

    • Scheduling mode

    • Recurrence and start date (for a scheduled conference)

9. View the list of conference participants and configure additional settings for them (these settings are similar to the settings in the [Participants tab] (#participants) available when creating or editing the conference).

You can create only all-on-screen conferences where all participants can see and hear each other. The maximum number of participants (up to 150) depends on your license.

When the cursor is pointed over any inactive conference, the following buttons will be displayed: Start /mcu/media/start_button/en.png and Edit /mcu/media/edit_button/en.png. To delete a meeting, select it and click /mcu/media/delete_icon/en.png. You can start and delete multiple selected conferences.

When selecting an active video meeting, you can access the conference management section. More information about this section is provided in the corresponding section.

# Creating a conference

Click Create conference or /mcu/media/create_conf/en.png to start creating the conference.

# "General" tab

In this section, you can schedule video meetings and adjust their settings. You may have to take the following steps:

/mcu/media/conferences_general_first/en.png

  1. Specify the conference name.

  2. If the Request a conference ID to join the conference box is checked, a random ID will be generated. In this case you can dial the ID in the tone mode or specify it in the call string. If you want to generate a new ID, press the /mcu/media/generate_pin_btn/en.png button.

  3. A virtual room is created by default. It is possible to choose between the following scheduling modes:

    • Do not repeat – set scheduled date and time.

    • Daily – set the start time. You can also set the recurrence limit after the number of repetitions or on a specified date.

    • Weekly – set the start time and choose the day(s) of week for repeating the meeting. Setting the recurrence limit is similar to Daily mode.

    • Monthly – choose the recurrence date(s) or days of week

    • Custom – select specific dates for a meeting.

Below you will find examples of recurrent events for different modes of scheduled conferences.

  • The conference is held every week on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3:00 till 4:30 p.m. The event ends in 5 weeks (i.e. 10 conferences are held):

    /mcu/media/weekly_conference/en.png

  • The conference is held from 3:00 till 5:00 p.m. on the first Tuesday and last Thursday of each month. The events ends after October 7, 2021:

    /mcu/media/monthly_conference/en.png

  • The conference is held on two different manually specified dates and time slots:

    /mcu/media/custom_dates_conference/en.png

4. If you use Virtual room mode, you can set the duration of the meeting.

The administrator can manually start a scheduled conference ahead of time from the control panel.

5. Select the maximum number of participants.

6. Check this box to make sure that participants can be re-invited to the conference if the connection is lost. If the operator of a video conferencing server disconnects a participant on purpose (via web interface), auto dialing will be disabled for this conference session.

7. Display volume level in the video windows.

8. Check the box to automatically mute meeting participants upon entry.

9. Check the box to stop participants' video upon entry.

10. Enable users to show slides.

/mcu/media/conferences_general_second/en.png

11. Check the box to start recording automatically when the conference is launched.

12. Disable recording when all the participants leave the conference.

13. Set up conference streaming to external RTMP sources over the Internet.

# "Participants" tab

On this tab you can check the number of invited conference participants. New participants can be selected and added in the address book.

/mcu/media/conferences_participants_list/en.png

  1. Add a new participant. Users can be selected separately or in bulk. Then, you can view the list of added users.

  2. Find a user by name

  3. View information about an invited participant

  4. Enable/disable a participant's camera

  5. Mute/unmute the microphone

  6. Enable/disable speakers

  7. Mute conference audio for a selected user

  8. Disable automatic redial if the connection is lost

You can enable automatic redial participant feature for all participants in the General tab when creating the conference.

9. Control participants' AV devices (speaker volume, microphone sensitivity levels, echo cancellation and automatic gain control).

10. Remove a participant from the conference

11. Select multiple users to perform group operations.

# "Layouts" tab

Here, you can set a conference layout. The following layout types are available:

  • For all participants is a standard conference layout displayed to all participants who don't have a custom layout, e.g., it will be displayed to a participant who joined the conference using ID.

  • Individual layout can be configured for any participant when you create a conference or in real time during an ongoing conference. Real-time layout changes apply only for an ongoing conference, so once the meeting ends, the layout will disappear. Every participant can have only one custom layout.

  • Recording and streaming is the layout used when recording and streaming a conference.

  • Active speaker is a layout displayed to a participant speaking at the moment. It will be possible to select video windows that will be displayed to the active speaker.

To use the layout, you need to add the Active speaker window to other layouts created for this conference.

We suggest using individual layouts as little as possible during a conference to save server resources.

/mcu/media/mcu_conferences_layouts/en.png

In the Layouts section, you will be able to:

  1. Create a new layout

  2. Check the Automatic layout box, if you want the layout to be generated automatically depending on the number of participants invited to a conference

  3. Check the box to disable self-view for each participant.

This setting will significantly increase the CPU load for the computer where TrueConf MCU is installed.

4. Select the maximum resolution for the layout. It cannot be higher than the maximum resolution set for the entire conference in the Additional tab.

5. Select a conference layout

6. Mark this checkbox to use an overlay layout.

  1. Select the layout type

8. Choose the number of video windows in the layout

9. Autofill the layout with selected users.

10. Click to discard changes and start adjusting layout once again

11. Specify the type of the selected video window. You can select among the following types:

  • Empty: the window will remain empty and will be used for a participant who may be invited during an ongoing conference

  • Fixed participant: one of the participants will be permanently displayed in the selected window

  • Active speaker: the participant who is speaking at the moment will be displayed in the selected window

  • Autofill: one of the conference participants added automatically will be displayed in the video window

  • Content: the window will be used for displaying the content shared by participants, e.g., desktop or slides.

12. Mark this checkbox to shuffle participants automatically.

This feature is available only for the participants who were added to the layout using the Autofill function.

13. Select a video scaling mode for layout windows:

  • Crop video — this mode is intended for displaying the maximum number of windows in the layout.

  • Don’t crop video — in this mode, a participant's video is scaled to fit the layout windows. In this mode, the video is not cropped which helps to improve MCU performance when rendering the layout.

  • Auto: TrueConf MCU determines the best video scaling mode depending on the current resource usage.

14. Click to discard changes and start adjusting layout once again

For the sake of convenience, TrueConf MCU provides a large variety of layouts:

Flexible layouts

You can add any number of video windows in the layout:

/mcu/media/layouts/en.png

Overlay layouts

This layout shows a full-screen window with multiple thumbnail windows laying on top of it.

/mcu/media/overlay_layouts/en.png

Predefined layouts

Only a predefined number of video windows can be added in the layout.

/mcu/media/predefined_layouts/en.png

# "Audio Channels" tab

In this section, you select attendees (participants who only receive audio) and presenters (those who can send audio).

/mcu/media/audio_channels_layout/en.png

  1. Add a new audio channel.

  2. Add attendees. You can select multiple or all users as attendees. Please note that a user can be added as an attendee only to one channel.

  3. Search for attendees by their names.

  4. View information about attendee.

  5. Remove a user from the selected channel.

  6. Add a presenter. The audio stream from this participant will be received by all attendees. A user can be a presenter in multiple channels.

  7. Search for presenters by their names.

  8. View info about the selected presenter.

  9. Remove a presenter from the selected channel.

# “Skins” tab

The features available in this table are described in the Skin styles section.

Here you can adjust the same settings, but only for the selected layout.

# "Additional" tab

In this section, you can change audio and video settings. You can make the following adjustments:

/mcu/media/mcu_conferences_addition/en.png

  1. Enable/disable noise cancellation

  2. Enable/disable automatic gain control (AGC)

  3. Select audio codecs used in a conference

  4. Resolution, frame rate, and video bitrate

  5. Select a video scaling mode

  6. Enable/disable participant avatar display in the conference layout (an avatar will be displayed in the pre-defined layout when the connection is lost or when a participant disables the camera)

  7. Select video codecs

Disabling some codecs can solve compatibility issues with some SIP endpoints. To learn more about this question, please contact our technical support team.

# Joining a conference

Users can join a conference hosted on TrueConf MCU via SIP, H.323 protocols and from a browser via WebRTC. SIP protocol is also used for WebRTC connection; so, if this protocol is disabled in the control panel, participants will be unable to join the meeting from a browser.

Click on the /mcu/media/links_button/en.png button to view the conference join links.

# For TrueConf users

TrueConf users can join a conference hosted on TrueConf MCU using the following call string formats:

1. Via SIP protocol (if its use is enabled):

  • #sip:<pin>@<server_name>, where:

    • <server_name> is the DNS or IPv4 address of the PC where TrueConf MCU is installed on.

    • <id> is a conference ID.

  • #sip:@<server_name>,<id>#, where:

    • <server_name> is the DNS or IPv4 address of the PC where TrueConf MCU is installed on.

    • <id> is a conference ID.

  • #sip:@<server_name>, where:

    • <server_name> is the DNS or IPv4 address of the PC where TrueConf MCU is installed on. In this case, a participant has to enter ID with the dialer to join a conference.

2. Via H.323 protocol (if its use is enabled):

  • #h323:<id>@<server_name>, where:

    • <server_name> is the DNS or IPv4 address of the PC where TrueConf MCU is installed on.

    • <ID> is a conference ID.

  • #h323:@<server_name>,<id>#, where:

    • <server_name> is the DNS or IPv4 address of the PC where TrueConf MCU is installed on.

    • <ID> is a conference ID.

  • #h323:@<server_name>, where:

    • <server_name> is the DNS or IPv4 address of the PC where TrueConf MCU is installed on. In this case, a participant has to enter ID with the dialer to join a conference.

If a user calls to TrueConf MCU without specifying the conference ID (using #h323:@<server_name> or #sip:@<server_name> call string format), the user will get into the Pending connections column until the user enters the ID or is added to the conference by the administrator.

# For SIP/H.323 endpoints

To call a TrueConf MCU conference from a software or hardware endpoint via SIP or H.323, please use one of the following formats:

  • <id>@<server_name>, where:

    • <server_name> is the DNS or IPv4 address of the PC where TrueConf MCU is installed on.

    • <id> is a conference ID.

  • <server_name>, where:

    • <server_name> is the DNS or IPv4 address of the PC where TrueConf MCU is installed on.

Additional stream optimization is used when joining a meeting from TrueConf Group endpoints.

# From a browser

To join the meeting from a browser, a participant should have a conference join link. You can check this link by clicking on the /mcu/media/links_button/en.png button.

If the meeting has already been started, a participant will access the web page that will include the conference tittle and the buttons for joining the meeting from TrueConf client application and from the browser. If it is a scheduled conference, there will be a countdown timer and the Check equipment button for testing audio and video devices.

To join the meeting from a browser (WebRTC), a participant will need to:

  1. Click on the Browser button to join the meeting from a browser.

    /mcu/media/connection_page/en.png

  2. Enter the name that will be displayed in the layout and select audio/video devices (you will need to give the browser permission to access audio/devices):

    /mcu/media/connection_page_devices/en.png

  3. To join the meeting with AV devices (e.g., camera) turned off, click the corresponding device icon:

    /mcu/media/connection_page_devices_off/en.png

  4. Click on the Join button that will open the conference window with the video layout and buttons for managing audio/video devices (/mcu/media/camera_button/en.png, /mcu/media/mic_button/en.png, /mcu/media/speakers_button/en.png), screen sharing (/mcu/media/screen_share_button/en.png) and the button for leaving the conference (/mcu/media/end_call_button/en.png):

    /mcu/media/conference_window/en.png

# Online conference streaming

With TrueConf MCU you can stream your video conferences using popular streaming services: Wowza, YouTube, CDNvideo. More information about setting video conference streaming is provided below.

# Wowza Streaming Cloud streaming configuration

  1. Go to Wowza Media Systems https://wowza.com (opens new window) website. If you don't have an account, please sign up.

  2. Open Wowza Streaming Cloud http://cloud.wowza.com/ (opens new window) service webpage. Sign in using the account from the step 1. In the top menu bar, select Add Live Stream and you will see the opened Live Stream Setup section.

  3. Enter the conference name, select the nearest location from the list and click Next.

  4. Complete the following steps in the Video Source and Transcoder Settings section:

    • Select Other RTSP as a camera/encoder.

    • Select Push Stream streaming mode.

    • Check Disable authentication and click Next.

5. In the Playback Settings tab, you can configure the type and size of the web page player, a countdown timer, a background and a logo. You can also leave the default settings unchanged.

6. In the Hosted Page Settings, you can choose if the stream should be placed on the Wowza Streaming Cloud or on a different website. You can also select a title and a logo, provide a short description, and choose the social network icons to be displayed. You can also leave the default settings unchanged.

7. Check settings in the Review Settings section and click Finish and you will the stream page.

8. Copy an RTMP URL from Source Connection Information for MCU in the following format rtmp://<wowza-ip-address>:<host-port>/<application>/<stream-name>, where:

  • <wowza-ip-address> is the IP address of a streaming server

  • <host-port> is the connection port

  • <application> is the application name

  • <stream-name> is the stream name.

    /mcu/media/wowza_connection_info/en.png

    For example, the RTMP link will look like:

    rtmp://1750bc.entrypoint.cloud.wowza.com:1935/app-e2ec/df94e779

9. Click Start Live Stream to start capturing the live video.

10. Start the conference and launch streaming.

11. Go to the stream page on Wowza Streaming Cloud and click Open near the Hosted Page URL address, so you can check the streaming in an opened web page with the broadcast window.

# YouTube streaming configuration

  1. Sign into YouTube (opens new window) using your Google account.

  2. Click the /mcu/media/youtube_add_video_button/en.png icon in the right upper corner.

  3. Select Go live to open the stream control panel.

If you create a live stream on YouTube for the first time, you will see a channel creation pop-up. Click Get started and you can configure additional parameters (channel name, avatar, description, links to your website and social network accounts). Then, click Go live which appears in the upper right corner of your channel page. You will see a request to confirm your account using your phone number. After confirmation, you will be able to stream within 24 hours.

4. Go to the Stream tab and complete the following steps:

  • Specify stream parameters (name, category, access, type).

  • Select No, it's not made for kids.

5. Click Create stream.

6. On the stream page , you can set your own stream key by specifying the maximum bitrate and FPS, or leave the default settings unchanged.

7. Generate an RTMP link for MCU in the rtmp://<stream-url>/<stream-key> format, where:

  • <stream-url> is a streaming URL

  • <stream-key> is a streaming key.

    /mcu/media/youtube_connection_info/en.png

    Example of an RTMP link:

    rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2/86hk-38m3-7p5p-e9dk

8. Start the conference and launch streaming.

9. Please wait until the Go live button on the YouTube stream page becomes available and press it to go live.

# CDNvideo streaming configuration

  1. Go to CDNvideo https://www.cdnvideo.com/ (opens new window) website. If you don't have an account, please sign up.

CDNvideo service provides a paid license (available for a two-week free trial). For more information, proceed to CDNvideo pricing web page (opens new window).

2. Sign in the personal area https://dashboard.cdnvideo.com/ (opens new window). Select Live streaming in the service list.

3. Press player code and encoder configuration in the RTMP-publish section.

If there is no such section, add the RTMP publish feature with the Add service button under the Live streaming service.

4. In the opened Encoder settings and Player code window of the Encoder settings section, select any encoder, e.g. FMLE.

5. Generate an RTMP link for MCU in the rtmp://<stream-url>/<stream-key> format, where:

  • <stream-url> is a streaming URL

  • <stream-key> is a streaming key.

    /mcu/media/cdnvideo_connection_info/en.png

    For example, an RTMP link will look like:

    rtmp://pub1.rtmp.s01.l.mycdn00258674139.cdnvideo.ru/mycdn00258674139/default?auth=sauUqr

6. Start the conference and launch streaming.

7. You can test the stream in the Encoder settings and Player code window from the CDNvideo personal area, in the Player code section by running a video in the Translation : default sector.

# Launching a stream on the MCU side

  1. When creating a conference, click Settings in the RTMP stream settings section. Enter sequentially (if necessary):

    • streaming server address

    • application name

    • stream name/key

    • Username

    • password.

2. Start a conference.

3. Select the conference in the active conferences and start streaming with the /mcu/media/mcu_start_stream_button/en.png button. The button will be available only if the RTMP server URL field (conference creation section) had been previously filled when the conference was created. If streaming starts successfully, the button will flash red.

# Monitoring an active conference

If you click on any active conference held on TrueConf MCU, you can see the conference management window.

/mcu/media/mcu_running_conferences/en.png

In this section, you can view the following information about ongoing conferences:

  • Conference name

  • Number of participants

  • Conference duration

When hovering a cursor over any conference, you can see the /mcu/media/stop_conference/en.png icon to stop the conference.

When you select any meeting from the Conferences list, on the left you can see the control panel that allows you to:

/mcu/media/mcu_conference_control/en.png

  1. Set the conference video layout

  2. Edit ongoing conference parameters

  3. View the conference information:

    • ID

    • Schedule

    • Duration

    • Conference start time and end time (or only start time for virtual rooms)

4. Start/stop conference recording

5. Start/stop content sharing during a conference (the following formats are supported: .png, .jpeg, .bmp, and .tiff images, .pdf documents, and .mkv, .mp4 video files). When sharing images, you can go to the information window to zoom in/out an image or jump to any particular part of this image when it is zoomed in. .pdf files can be scrolled with up and down buttons. If a video file contains an audio track, you can change its volume in the file information window in the Settings tab.

6. Lock the video conference. New participants can be added only by the administrator.

7. Create and adjust settings for conference audio channels

8. Send a message to chat

9. Click on this button to share a conference link. This button will be available only for the conference with an ID

10. End the conference

11. Search for conference participants

12. Set up the display of additional information on the screen during an active conference:

  • Audio and video codecs

  • Video stream bitrate

  • Users’ avatars and their video previews

13. View information about a conference participant. Click on the item to open the window with the connection information.

14. Enable/disable a video stream from a participant.

15. Mute/unmute a participant's microphone

16. Enable/disable audio receiving by a participant

17. Enable/disable video receiving by a participant

You can also enable/disable receiving and sending audio/video streams for multiple conference participants simultaneously. Just select them and the device configuration panel will appear at the top of the list.

/mcu/media/bulk_operations/en.png

18. Set up individual layout for a participant

19. If it is necessary, you have the following options:

  • Move participant helps move a user to another active conference. Besides, you can move users manually by dragging and dropping them with the mouse.

  • Volume control (sound volume and microphone sensitivity)

  • Tone dialing (DTMF) — sending DTMF commands to a participant's endpoint. In this pop-up, you can also preview video from a participant's camera.

  • Call details (data about incoming and outgoing video streams).

  • Display in large window switches the layout to the mode where the main video window with the selected user is highlighted. When the mode is enabled, the user’s video stream preview window will have a golden border, while a crown icon will be displayed to the right of the name.

The highlight icon is also available by hovering the mouse cursor to the right of the user’s name.

20. The information about audio and video codecs and video resolution

21. Disconnect a participant from the conference

22. Redial the disconnected user

If the disconnected participant isn’t listed in the address book, you can add this user by clicking the /mcu/media/add_icon/en.png icon near the participant’s name.

When participants either leave the meeting or are removed by the administrator, a corresponding status will be displayed next to their name:

/mcu/media/disconnected_status/en.png

If a conference participant shares content, you will see the video stream info and the forced stop presentation icon under the participant’s name.

/mcu/media/slideshow_info/en.png

# Connection info

When selecting any participant connected to an active conference, you will see the connection info.

/mcu/media/connection_info/en.png

In the General section, you can see:

  • participant's video stream preview

  • remote camera control tools (available for compatible PTZ cameras)

  • device information

In the Video and audio tab you can view information about the audio and video codecs in use.

The Settings tab enables the conference operator to:

  • Change participant's display name

  • Enable/disable the speakers and microphone and adjust their volume and sensitivity

  • Enable/disable automatic gain control (AGC).

Content tab is used for preview the content shared by a participant.

The Layout tab offers a video layout preview window of a conference participant.

# Adding a new participant

You can add new participants to an ongoing conference on the fly.

/mcu/media/mcu_users_list/en.png

  1. Search through the lists of users.

  2. Select users from the following lists:

    • Address book contacts — all other users listed in the address book.

    • Busy (in other conference) — users who were invited to the conference, but are currently unavailable because they are taking part in other conference. When participants are moved from one conference to another, the administrator can adjust settings of their AV devices (e.g., mute their microphones).

3. Invite a user via a call string. You can find available formats in the section on how to add contacts to the address book.

4. Add pending users who are waiting for the admin’s approval to join the conference.

← "Address book" section →