Microsoft Teams Lends A Lifeline To Low Bandwidth Connections With New Feature
Just because you may have a stellar video conferencing setup, like what we came up with within our video conference home studio optimization guide, does not mean you have a great internet connection. Thus, the Microsoft Teams development group is creating a way to preserve data use and meeting quality with a new “low data mode.”
Over time, Microsoft is working to make Teams the best possible platform while competing with the likes of Google Meet and Zoom for videoconferencing. Recently, the company added drag and drop capability between Teams and Outlook, making the user experience more seamless. Now, Teams will prioritize audio over video to make sure users are at least heard if there are connection issues.
As Microsoft explains on its roadmap for Teams, “Whether you want to preserve data or are in a location with a poor or limited network connection, sometimes it’s helpful to limit the amount of data you’re using during a video call.” This can be especially true if people in your house are streaming movies or watching YouTube simultaneously. Microsoft continues, explaining the new low data mode will allow “users to cap the amount of data that will be used during Teams video calls as well as establish different settings based on network availability.”
It is expected that this feature will be released worldwide sometime later this month, but its current status is “in development." Ultimately, this will be a great feature to have once it is implemented as people struggle with having decent broadband access during the year of "work from home." In any case, let us know in the comments whether you could use this feature or if you're above-it-all with a bangin' internet connection.
