On Fri, 2021-02-05 at 08:50 -0700, Greg Woods wrote:
I looked into this with Zoom, because I wanted to have a nice background like my online bridge partner does. It turns out that Zoom does have a way to separate foreground from background that does not rely on a green screen. It mostly works although there are a few artifacts. However, this feature is only available on Windows. If you are running it on Linux, you need a green screen in order to use a virtual background.
I just used Zoom for the first time, this morning. I had a ferret around, but although I can see an option in meeting (advanced) settings to enable it, I saw nothing else anywhere to actually make use of it. This is using their system through a web browser (Firefox).
I use an old slide projector screen with a green cloth draped over it. It works well but is a pain to set up for every Zoom call.
The practical aspects of it are a big problem.
For many people, they've re-purposed a small bedroom as an office, and there isn't room to set up extra equipment. Your best bet is hanging something from a picture hook, or leaning something up against a wall. You can get green & blue screens that have a springy outer border that folds over itself like a car windscreen sun blocker, when you want to pack it away. They can stand up by themselves against a wall without using any framework. They even make ones that hang off the back of your office chair, turning it into a big throne. Though being that close to it will probably have shadow problems.
The alternative is how we used to show slides and home movies without a real screen. Hang a cloth over the curtains. Turn the end around a broomstick, or spare curtain rod, a few times. Bulldog clip or clothes peg it to the rod. Pop the rod over the top of your hanging curtains to hold it in place.