mmhmm slides or background look blurry on video calls

Your mmhmm presentation slides or background may sometimes appear blurry or not appear at all on your video calls. Learn why this may happen and how to make your slides display in the highest possible resolution.

Examples of blurry slides

The example below shows screenshots of an mmhmm slide shared in a Zoom call.

Blurry slide content:
blurry_slide.png
Clear slide content:
clear_slide.png

 

Turn off background blur or virtual backgrounds

Some video conferencing tools have background blur effects or virtual backgrounds which can interfere with mmhmm.

Zoom Google Meet Microsoft Teams
To turn off background blur in Zoom:
  1. Open Zoom and start or join a meeting.
  2. In the bottom toolbar, click up-arrow next to Video.
  3. Turn off Blur my background.

zoom-video-settings.png

To turn off virtual backgrounds in Zoom:

  1. Open Zoom and start or join a meeting.
  2. In the bottom toolbar, click down-arrow next to Video and select Adjust background effects.
  3. In the window that appears, select None.

 

Use the Broadcast window

  1. On Mac, go to Window > Show Broadcast Window. This will open your mmhmm stage in a new window.

    mac-broadcast-window.png

    On Windows, click the menu icon and select Show Broadcast Window. This will open your mmhmm stage in a new window.

    windows-show-broadcast-window.png

  2. Double-click the top bar of the Broadcast window to maximize it without making it fullscreen. This will ensure your video conferencing tool has the highest resolution window to share with your audience.

    double_click.gif

  3. Share your screen in your video conferencing tool:
    • In Zoom, click the Share button in the bottom toolbar.
    • In Google Meet, click the Present now icon in the bottom toolbar.
    • In Microsoft Teams, click the Share button in the top toolbar.
  4. Select the mmhmm - Broadcast window. This will automatically set your audience's screens to Speaker View and maximize bandwidth for a smooth and crisp presentation.
  5. To control your presentation and advance slides, use the main mmhmm window or the speaker notes window.

 

Turn on high-definition video

Some video conferencing tools allow users to turn on high-definition video for webcams, which can improve video quality on calls.

 

Turn off macOS video effects

If you're on Mac, you might have macOS's video effects enabled, such as Portrait or Studio Light.

  1. Open the video conferencing tool where you're experiencing the blurry background effect.
  2. In the Mac menu bar, click the Video icon Video.
  3. Make sure that all video effects are turned off.

    macOS-video-effects.png

Additional tips

  • If you're sharing another application as a slide in mmhmm, make sure that the application is as large as your desktop without entering fullscreen and creating another desktop.
  • We recommend 16:9 slides to be 1920 x 1080 pixels and 1:1 slides to be 2000 x 2000 pixels. 

 

Don’t see the answer to your question? If you’re having technical difficulties or want to suggest a topic for this guide, submit a support ticket or email us at help@mmhmm.app.

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