As more businesses use Microsoft Teams, the most common customer comment we hear is that having additional capabilities and workflows available through a centralized interface has enhanced efficiency and productivity. When colleagues, applications, and data are brought together in Teams, new ways to interact and cooperate emerge.
The quality of calling and meeting experiences on Teams is becoming increasingly crucial as virtual meetings and hybrid work become the norm. We’re committed to continuous audio and video quality improvements in Teams, from user-facing features and settings to cutting-edge codecs and AI.
Microsoft Teams is a cloud-based collaboration platform that is optimized for speed.
Before we get started with the new features, let’s take a look at Teams’ highly robust global infrastructure, which is based on Azure Intelligent Cloud and Intelligent Edge. Teams can use Azure to mix data with AI to create adaptive experiences for enterprise-grade phones and videos over variable bandwidth settings like Wi-Fi and cellular networks.
Real-time analytics, holistic security, unified identity, and simpler device management are all possible thanks to the intelligent cloud, which is intended to keep Teams working at their best.
Now, let’s speak about how to increase the quality of your team by looking at the following categories:
Intelligent real-time modifications improve calling and meeting experiences in the office and on the road, thanks to AI-driven improvements in audio and visual quality.
Admin tools to help you manage and improve your calls and meetings.
Improvements in audio and visual quality thanks to artificial intelligence
Satin Audio Codec — Excellent sound quality and durability
Users need excellent call quality even when there are network and connection limits as the number of virtual meetings rises. Low bitrate can be caused by a variety of factors, including parents and children using the household network for meetings and classes, the high cost of premium data plans, and outdated infrastructure, to name a few.
Our new audio codec, Satin, addresses these issues by providing excellent audio quality at low bitrates as low as 7kbps, allowing meetings to sound natural and clear even when the network connection is limited.
Noise Suppression in the Background — Keep undesired sounds out of the discussion.
Background noise suppression for teams employs specifically trained deep neural networks to filter out the noise and only keep speech, ensuring that barking dogs, garbage trucks, and unexpected leaf blowers don’t disrupt your meetings.
Unlike traditional noise suppression algorithms, which focus on simple stationary noise sources like constant fan noise, our AI-based approach learns the difference between speech and unnecessary noise and can suppress a variety of non-stationary noises like keyboard typing or food wrapper crunching.
We witnessed a 31% decrease in comments regarding background noise disruptions after Teams deployed background noise suppression. This popular feature is now available on Windows and Mac, and will soon be available on iOS.
Music in High-Definition Mode
Teams were built from the ground up to be a calling and meeting platform, therefore it was designed with communication in mind. Teams, on the other hand, delivers a high-fidelity audio experience with its High-Fidelity Music Mode.
In a future blog, we’ll go over more about the planned Teams capability, which will allow users to optimize sound for music, performances, and media when the greatest fidelity is required.
Video and Screen-sharing Powered by AI Optimisation — A video that is smooth and devoid of distractions.
AI-based video optimization responds to network circumstances and bandwidth limits for a smooth, consistent visual experience even with severe packet loss, thanks to full HD 1080p compatibility. Furthermore, IT administrators may fine-tune video performance with customizable bitrate restrictions.
New screen sharing optimizations in Teams optimize shared material automatically based on criteria like tiny fonts and video, so your audience doesn’t miss critical data. Instead of manually modifying content type settings, you can now focus on the meetings.
Intelligent real-time modifications increase the quality of calls and meetings.
Even the most resilient networks are unable to compensate for user-level difficulties that might result in unsatisfactory call and meeting experiences. To avoid disruptions and promote fluid and seamless connections, teams may give real-time user notifications, recommendations, and modifications. Consider the following scenario:
When users join a Teams meeting that is already in progress, their microphones are muted by default teams send users a notice to unmute their speakers if they attend a meeting with their speakers muted.
If users are on mute and begin to speak during an active Teams meeting, Teams recognizes this and warns users that they are speaking while muted.
Endpoint transfers between PCs and mobile devices are seamless
Teams make it simple to make and receive calls from a variety of devices, but you may need to change places or devices to complete your conversation. The new endpoint transfer functionality allows you to transfer calls easily across devices, such as from your laptop to your mobile phone and vice versa, without affecting call quality or service.
When you decide to switch devices and choose to attend the meeting from the new device, you will be given two options: “transfer to this device” or “remain on both devices.” By selecting one of the alternatives, you will be able to quickly narrow down your possibilities.
Switching between mobile networks
It’s critical to have a smooth transition from Wi-Fi to cellular or vice versa if the network’s quality unexpectedly decreases. Teams may switch to a mobile data network automatically while keeping video and screen sharing. The meeting will be continued without interruption by the participants.
Admin tools to help you manage and improve your calls and meetings.
We’ve concentrated on automating as many of the audio and video improvements in Teams as possible because there’s plenty to manage during meetings and calls.
However, we still want to make sure that IT admins have the reporting and tools they need to manage call and meeting experiences at all levels, from tenant to individual, high-value meetings.