topic Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature in Webex Administration

Webex - Blur my Background Feature

stevenle — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 18:42:42 GMT

So Zoom / MS Teams has a blur my background feature during video calls. We're a Webex organization though and I don't currently see this feature for Webex. Looking in the desktop app and over the web, the option to do this doesn't jump out at me. Teams / Zoom have had this feature for a while. Would be poor on Webex's part to not have some type of feature like this. Definitely comes in handy now with everyone for the most part working remotely. We're Cisco Webex Meetings Desktop app version is 39.7.7.27.

Anyone know if this feature is available?

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

chrisconnolly — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 18:53:31 GMT

Its available in the iOS Webex Meetings client right now but not the desktop client. Also available on the DeskPro if you have the money and desire to go that path.

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

stevenle — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 06:31:34 GMT

Thanks for the reply. I have an iPhone 6S and with the latest version of Webex meetings and not seeing the blur feature. Anyone have an idea what the supported iOS device list is? Seems like they would have that somewhere but I can't find it.

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

Jaime Valencia — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 17:21:22 GMT

https://help.webex.com/en-us/80jduab/Change-Your-Video-Background-on-Your-iOS-Device

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

JANLOUDA — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 17:41:49 GMT

I have the same problem and didi not find a solution on the link above.

Tapping on camera icon during the call just switches the camera on/off, it does not offer any function to blur background.

I am on iPhoneSE, iOS 13.3, latest Webex meetings app.

Any suggestions?

Regards,

Jan.

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

beland001 — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 13:49:42 GMT

I found this on Cisco :

Your iOS device must have an A9 processor or above to support virtual backgrounds and background blurring.

Normally Iphone 6S is configured with a A9 processor so it should work.

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

kcc276 — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 16:19:19 GMT

I would love to have this feature in the Webex Desktop app. I don't use my phone to connect to meetings so having it in iOS and not in the desktop app doesn't make sense to me. If they can add it there, why can't it be added to the desktop app.

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

stevenle — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 20:10:05 GMT

This describes new features upcoming in later desktop versions/ https://help.webex.com/en-us/xcwws1/What-s-New-for-the-Latest-Versions-of-Webex-Meetings.

Unfortunately no mention of the blur my background feature. I agree the iOS version is a poor option for enterprise users. While I can appreciate that this feature may be difficult to engineer into the desktop app, Zoom / MS Teams have had this feature for years and keep improving on it. I'm not knocking Webex, but our user base is disappointed that a standard feature that's been around for years isn't on the market share leaders base application.

Cisco, please make this happen!

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

shleets — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 11:38:06 GMT

I've been told it's coming in the next release of the desktop app.

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

stevenle — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 21:34:17 GMT

Do you have any documentation that supports that? I looked at what's new in v40 (I'm on v39) and didn't see anything that mentioned it. Link that I reviewed is below.

https://help.webex.com/en-us/xcwws1/What-s-New-for-the-Latest-Versions-of-Webex-Meetings

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

cmanes5480 — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 00:32:23 GMT

Looks like your site is locked down to 39.7.7, same as us. The blur feature is available starting with a later release. Our lockdown was supposed to get lifted but then covid happened and they pushed the unlock until the summer.

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

cmanes5480 — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 00:36:50 GMT

hm, I can't find the release. Virtual backgrounds is in 39.8. I'll test on my new ipad instead of my iPhone 6.

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

cmanes5480 — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 00:42:29 GMT

yeah disregard. Once I went live with video on a newer ipad, there was a slider there for blur. 39.7.7.27

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

stevenle — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 04:18:27 GMT

Doesnt work on my iPhone 6 either. Thanks for the info on the iPad. iOS is a poor workaround anyway. Not many remote employees want to use an iPhone or iPad for conference calls. An option for sure. I proposed that to my boss and he said he used his kids free school Zoom account for a conference call so he could blur the background. Not really what we want when we're paying for an enterprise collaboration solution.

I received the below from Webex support. Think the Cisco Webex team is asleep at the wheel. Others are innovating in this space and bringing forth more creativity. Pretty poor response, but it's all they have at the moment I guess.

"Virtual Background capabilities are only available on iOS devices with A9 processsor, there no timeline for its availability for MAC and PC. Please take a look at this link to get more information.

https://help.webex.com/en-us/80jduab/Webex-Meetings-Change-Your-Video-Background

I’ll monitoring your case for 48hours, please revert back with any other query you may have."

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

Fritz_H — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 09:03:11 GMT

I guess we all agree that Cisco has to deliver this feature quickly - on every supported platform.
(not just on iOS/MacOS-Devices since more than 85% of the world is not using that.)

Problem is: Cisco is not listening to this forum, I guess.
Is there any way to communicate with Cisco other than opening a case?
(is there something like a feature-request-forum?)

Thanks.

Fritz

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

Jaime Valencia — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 15:10:43 GMT

There is an official procedure to ask for new features in products, it's called a PER (Product Enhancement Request) and it's done via your account team. You will provide a description of the behavior you want to be introduced, changed or removed along with the business case for it so it can be reviewed.

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

Fritz_H — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 18:30:36 GMT

Hi @Jaime Valencia

"...and it's done via your account team"

What is my account team?

I am just a private user with a free webex-account providing possibly good suggestions...

?

kind regards

Fritz

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

stevenle — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 20:26:25 GMT

I plan on using the PER and submitting to my account team. I'll include the TAC case number along with this forum post. Can't imagine this hasn't been brought up with them before.

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

david.stearns — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 05:13:02 GMT

All the other video platforms have blur and virtual background as a option for all platforms....why is Cisco behind in this ?

That needed to be function last year....need it now working from home. Zoom and Microsoft meetings has it ! Please add as soon as possible. Needed it back in Jan ....

Re: Webex - Blur my Background Feature

Fritz_H — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 09:29:07 GMT

@david.stearns As far as I have noticed this is just a community-forum, no Cisco-Management here...

According to the posting from @Jaime Valencia (see above..) Cisco is still very... conservative.
You need to be a paying customer and have to take the very official, very paperwork way to become heard.

I guess we both know, that modern companies usually have their "spies" in such user-forums picking up and reporting the user-feedback, requests and feedback to the management above.
As it seems, Cisco is not (yet?) working that way.

(although its unfair to compare: I also spend some time in the forum of Serif/Affinity - (compared to Cisco) a tiny graphics-Software Developer in the UK. Their forum is very alive and the communication between customers and company is very straight-forward. positive.)

on the other hand: the Cisco-Support is very good, based on my experience..

kind regards

Fritz