Leadership meeting video conference recommendations? Zoom, Webex, Teams, Hangouts, Connect ??

Hi,

Relatively new Stake Technology clerk here, searching for help hasn't resulted in very much good info...

With the Covid-19 directive that all meetings should be held digitally, I've been asked to suggest appropriate technology for our Stake Presidency and High Council leadership meetings.

Does the church officially support or have licenses for any of the prevalent technologies? I'm familiar with the following, but haven't used any with my church responsibilities:

* Zoom
* Google hangouts
* Webex
* MS Teams and Skype
* Adobe Connect

Some of them have limited free features with meeting time limits. Is anybody planning to pay for subscription licenses for some of the additional features?

What is everybody else planning to do?

Thanks in advance.

I have had this discussion with my stake presidency and we determined that Google Hangouts was the first option as it was the easiest to install and people would be most comfortable with. I really was pushing them to use MS Teams as that is what I use for work and school. IN the end you really want to use something is FREE and something most people will already kinda know how to use, hangouts is the example here because most people are familiar with Apple's Facetime.

Take a look at FreeConferenceCall.com. It has the same features as Zoom and GotoMeeting, but it is actually free. You can add services for an extra charge such as a dedicated phone number or toll-free numbers.

Interesting, my company uses FreeConferenceCalling.com, but that's a audio-only conference call. I thought I'd throw that out there that there's another company with a very similar name.

The Zoom website says Zoom Free will host meetings lasting up to 40 minutes. That would be a good way to test if there were interest in their product. Zoom Pro starts at about $15/month and allows meetings that last much longer.

It would really be interesting to know what the Church uses for video conferencing beyond one to one visits.

[I have no affiliation with Zoom and am simply passing on available information for consideration.]

I use zoom for teaching at the University level and have just purchased a Pro private license (15/month) to use for doing meetings in the time of Covid19. It is great for speaker with large audience or educational simulations. I am now looking for something that works for asynchronous content/training. Any other recos?

https://meet.jit.si/ is another free one that we ran into. Haven't really used it yet, but seems pretty full featured, no install (just grant permissions) and free (not even a way to create an account).

hi!

I suggest Zoom.

I use it daily in my work as a Clinical Hypnotherapist and also for webinars and group work. It's simple, easy to use, no payments and as for the 40", you simply launch a new meeting and give the ID to everyone in the last 5" of the first meeting. Although last month I held a group session for over 30 people and we were not cut off after 40 minutes! Strange! The quality is brilliant and you can record the meetings too, have people adding comments, talk, chat, raise hands, etc. Plus you can share the screen.

I would actually avoid Google Hangout - I tried it a couple of years ago when I was teaching Italian online and it was a total disaster, the interface is not intuitive and the students were super frustrated.
We gave up after 5 or 6 weeks of trial and error!

It would be useful if the church gave us a simple platform or upgraded the 'Living' (new app) to add video!

Have a great week!

I don't have any personal experience, but my wife used Zoom extensively while she was getting her online degree with BYU-I (I think BYU-I has a contract with them because that was the platform all the instructors used). As the stake primary president, she has begun using if for her presidency meetings. In a meeting earlier this week, she received the expected 40-min cut off warning at about 35 minutes. They went about 10 minutes over and were not cut off. I suspect Zoom may have suspended tight controls on the 40 minute limit temporarily.

She also praised it for it's simplicity, ease of use, and video/audio quality. Participants do not have to download an app to use it - they can join with just a browser. She did think that it would not work as well for large groups - she said a presidency of 4 is about the ideal size for group participation. Larger groups may be OK for disseminating information but not for discussion.

I used Google Hangouts a lot to communicate with my wife while I was deployed to the Persian Gulf and really liked it. But that was just a video call and I never tried it with more than one person at a time.

According to the news, the 40 minute limit has been lifted on free educational accounts.

russellhltn wrote:According to the news, the 40 minute limit has been lifted on free educational accounts.

Good to know. But hers is no longer an "educational account." She is using the standard free service that anyone can use (as I understand).

They advertise that anyone is able to use their free service with a 40-minute time limit. I would assume that they would wish to have folks upgrade and may be generous with their 40-minutes so as not to antagonize future potential customers.

davesudweeks wrote:

russellhltn wrote:According to the news, the 40 minute limit has been lifted on free educational accounts.

Good to know. But hers is no longer an "educational account." She is using the standard free service that anyone can use (as I understand).

I don't use the service, so I don't know the ins and outs, but the news is reporting that during the pandemic, the 40 minute limit has been lifted on "educational accounts". How they distinguish that from the regular free accounts, I have no idea. Maybe it's limited to those who signed up from a .edu email.

At any rate, it explains why some no longer have 40 minute limits, but I'd test before determining that it's available to all.

I don't think the paid accounts are that expensive.

We used the free Zoom version for leadership meetings over the past couple weeks and it's worked well. Got Pro subscription today that we plan to test with a virtual testimony meeting this Sunday. Had one member bring up zoom-bombing..I realize no platform is 100% hack proof but has anyone had an issue with that?

A quick search found this article which contains some tips to prevent problems.

This includes limiting what participants can do as well as cautions about how you share the information needed to join. (Don't post it publicly).

There is also a video from Zoom to help the host secure the session(s).

Thanks JD

One problem we have run into with several different platforms is low bandwith for many members in our rural community. I did an informal test with my dad who's connection is super slow. I also wanted to try them on someone over the age of 60 who struggles with technology. We tried Webex, Hangouts, Duos, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom. Here were the results:

Webex: Fairly easy for him to get into. I had to send him the link, and he was able to get in. (Or send a student the room number if they're on thier phone) We had a lot of pixelation with webex, and his voice would cut out fairly often.

Hangouts: Super easy for him to get on. I just invited him through Gmail, and he was on quick without having to install anything. This was by far the worst image quality and sound quality. Really bad I could barely tell it was him. He could see me clearly however (I think because of our super fast internet at my work).

Zoom: I had to setup a meeting and then send him a link. Once he had the link he had to install the Zoom app. He was able to do all of that with very little help from me, but it was a little more setup on my end. I found out later that similar to Webex it is very easy to just send people the link to my Zoom room that never changes. This was by far the best image and sound quality. I could see him clearly, and we didn't cut out once. When he shared his screen with me it was clear as a bell. We had tried a Bishopric meeting over Webex earlier in the week, and it was terrible. We all had to turn video off so that it would quit cutting out, but with Zoom it was quite a bit better.

Duos which is what Google is replacing hangouts with in the future is just terrible all the way around, so I'm not even going to say much there.

Microsoft Teams: I use this one a lot at work and was hoping this one would be the best. I added him to a team that I created then created a new chat. Both adding to a team and then adding to a chat sent him an email. He already had a Microsoft account, and I'm finding that most people do.(I didn't think he had one by the way) As soon as he logged into the online version of Microsoft Teams, I could see that he is online and I was able to initiate a video call. The video quality was about the same as Webex, but it got better as time went on. There are a lot of advantages to using Teams for business and classroom settings, but for church meetings I'm not sure that it's going to work very well. I have spent a fair amount of time just trying to help older ward members get online with their church account, and it can be painful.

So for me Zoom is the top dog. Image quality and reliability were the very best, and it was quite easy to get people into the room. It also has a very good meeting scheduling section, and I'm an educator so I'm hoping they'll give me more than 40 min per meeting here soon. If not we'll just pony up the $15.00 per month until the Church provides another method.

Nice summery. One item I'd be looking for is how well each does into different roles: First, the meeting which is more of a peer group and discussion takes place. The second is more like a ward sacrament meeting where most are just viewers and you have a few speakers that take turns. Members are going to want to see the speaker without having to turn on their camera.

davesudweeks wrote:I don't have any personal experience, but my wife used Zoom extensively ... Participants do not have to download an app to use it - they can join with just a browser.

Is it possible to use Zoom without downloading an app? Getting people to install an app is a hurdle, so if you can just access it through a browser, it would be a plus. I thought you had to have an app installed for Zoom.

I'm told you can use Zoom with a browser window. The meeting invite includes a link to the meeting online (which opens in a browser) for those who don't have a phone. However, I tried to join an EQ Presidency meeting Saturday evening with my phone and when I clicked on the link the phone insisted on installing an app to continue. So it might be device dependent on which mode it leads you to. I don't have any need to set up zoom meetings so I have not investigated their service.

My wife uses her laptop for her Stake Primary Presidency Zoom meetings and she uses the browser interface only. In her last meeting she received the expected 40-minute time-out warning at about 35 minutes, but they went about 10 minutes over without being disconnected. She is using a free (not educational) account.

davesudweeks wrote:...she received the expected 40-minute time-out warning at about 35 minutes, but they went about 10 minutes over without being disconnected.

Zoom is one of several major video conferencing companies that are are offering their premium services for free in affected areas. [One of many sources.]

sbradshaw wrote:Is it possible to use Zoom without downloading an app?

Not really. You can download an add-on to your browser and work Zoom that way, but the actual program works better. Otherwise, you need to download either the program (PC/laptop) or the app (iOS/Android phone).

To originate a meeting you need to have the software and (access to) an account. To participate, you do not need an account. You just need the software and a link. The host can also require a password.

If you do not have the program or the app, you should automatically get a download invite the first time you try to participate in a meeting. Most other video conferencing programs work the same way.

I moved my domain to google about a year ago. I use gsuite to host email on my family on it. It actually works really well. My kids have emails and google docs. I’m able to have DLP, antivirus, and interestingly enough mdm (mobile device management ) - I used the hangouts/meet that comes with my subscription to host a meeting for the ward. I set up the meeting and sent the link to bishop and eq president. They sent it out to the rest of the ward. We had 100 video connections, and 10 dial in. Not a single issue. I monitored the meeting and muted folks that had too much echo. Also it was nice using the closed caption capability. I had the call up for about 3 hours so folks could chat in general. My subscription for 6 accounts is 36 bucks a month. I’m seriously thinking about getting a subscription for stake and creating accounts. I’d like to get emails from the ward leadership that is standardized instead of the EQ president emails coming in from missionary_bean_7765@gmail.com - having video conferencing and an effective way to collaborate and store data would just be icing on the cake.

We have been using zoom for several weeks. I'm experienced in all the major conferencing tools. I went with zoom primarily for the phone option. Members do not have to install the app, have a computer, or internet at all. They are able to call in and join which is useful for our older members. Although interesting, we only have a few that call in each week and most of the older members have the app figures out..

We have been using Zoom in our stake since the church announced the demise of PVC. Zoom has worked very well for us. Now, with all the recent uproar over security concerns, I'm wondering if you have any comments. We have started using random ID and passwords, enabled the waiting room feature, and lock the meeting once everyone has been admitted - no problems so far.

In a email sent to STS on April 1st, the following were suggested:

• Google Hangouts or Google Hangouts Meet
• Zoom
• Webex
• WhatsApp
• Facebook Messenger
• Skype

Just got an email from the church. A few points:

The church is encouraging use of free videoconferencing solutions that do not add cost to the church. Employer's accounts can be used as long as the employer has given permission. Keep in mind, the employer's IT admins would have access to the meetings.

But in some cases, the free options may not be enough. In that case, the leader can apply for a G Suite account though the church. Only one person needs to have an account to host a meeting. The time and number of participants is unlimited.

In an email dated April 16, the church has extended their Google Enterprise G-Suite account to stake and ward leaders for the purpose of conducting meetings and interviews. This level of Google Meet allows for 250 audio and/or video participants. This for those without access to Zoom or other video-conferencing tools. The invitation is extended to those with the following callings:

• Stake presidency, stake high councilor, stake organization presidency, stake technology specialist, and secretaries and clerks where applicable
• Bishopric, ward organization presidency, ward mission leader, ward temple and family history leader, and secretaries and clerks where applicable

[Edit: Just saw your post russellhltn that describes the same thing.]

I think it's worth adding:

Although the Church enables setup of the new account, it does not provide ongoing support for G Suite or Google Meet. Instead, the leader would need to rely on Google’s public help resources.

The public price of this is $25/month per leader account. It's possible the church is getting a discount, but I can understand why they're pushing alternatives first.

russellhltn wrote:The public price of this is $25/month per leader account. It's possible the church is getting a discount, but I can understand why they're pushing alternatives first.

According to this article from Google, there will be no additional charge for using Google Meet with a G Suite Enterprise or Educational account through 9/30/2020.

Mikerowaved wrote:[According to this article from Google, there will be no additional charge for using Google Meet with a G Suite Enterprise or Educational account through 9/30/2020.

The price I quotes was G Suite Enterprise. At the time I looked, you had to have Enterprise to get the 250 limit.

Regardless, it's not completely free. At something like 30,000 wards, that can add up to real money read quick.

russellhltn wrote:The price I quotes was G Suite Enterprise. At the time I looked, you had to have Enterprise to get the 250 limit.

Information here.

The link I provided above supersedes the traditional feature set for each class of G Suite by extending the Enterprise conferencing tools to ALL levels of G Suite through the end of September.

However, I can see what you were mentioning above about cost. As explained HERE, each additional Enterprise G Suite user adds $25/month to the church's tab, unless they made some temporary bulk arrangements with Google that we don't know about. So as was mentioned, only subscribe to the service if you really need to.

Speaking of which, there are MANY companies offering free video conferencing tools. Here's a nice summary:
https://www.uctoday.com/collaboration/video-conferencing/covid-19-ultimate-guide-to-free-video-conferencing-collaboration/

One of the features that catch my eye is live streaming for up to 100,000 participants.

russellhltn wrote:One of the features that catch my eye is live streaming for up to 100,000 participants.

I couldn't make that work. The capability to create the 'view only stream' is not enabled, at least not for me (I'm a Stake Technology Specialist).
It would be nice for steaming meetings where there are multiple presenters, much like a Zoom Webinar.