Play music in Webex Training

[KennethAllen29194]

I'm looking for ways to play music (ie: Spotify) in Webex. 

I've tried hardware (usb interface) and software (mixing boards) configurations to mix my voice and music into a single stream, but while my voice is fine, music is garbled, distant or non-existent. Short of holding an external speaker to my external microphone (which I've done with mixed results) I'm looking for any hacks.

Thanks

[cporch_UO]

We found a workaround by creating a video that plays while students are joining.  We had a PowerPoint presentation with instructor bios, reminders, etc. that was timed out to play in the classroom while folks were checking in and finding their seat.  When we transitioned to VILT we added audio to the presentation and turned it into a video.  We open the Webex room up 15 minutes before the scheduled start time and start the video.  

To do this:

• Create your presentation and set automatic timing for the slides to automatically transition (we used 15-30 seconds per slide depending on the contents) - we just copied and pasted the same slides over and over to get 20 minutes' worth of content.  
• Add an audio track on slide one and set it to play across slides.
• In PowerPoint, select File > Export > Create a Video
• For my options, I selected Presentation Quality / Use Recorded Timings and Narrations then selected "Create Video"

It will take a while to render but will produce a video file that you can then Open & Share in Webex and play the presentation with the audio you selected.  You can then also turn on your microphone and speak while the video is playing as well. 

We also use this method to create timers for breaks in class, etc. 

Hope this helps!

[cmonatte]

Thank you, cporch_UO. Your post helped us to solve one of our issues of being not able to play music. Thank you so much. 

We wanted to have music playing while the attendees join so we can help them figure out if they have an audio connection issue (our trainings are VoIP only and we got a few attendees who were not able to hear us). We created a PPT with only the first slide of our presentation, added audio (music) and exported it as a video. As the host, I share our presentation as Share/File, and same for the video. While the attendees join, I only share the video (which only shows the first slide of my presentation). If we suspect some attendees having audio issues, in the Chat, we can ask them if they hear the music playing...if not, we can help them troubleshoot the issue. 

Thanks again!

Carine 

[EricGordon111415]

So we don't use streaming music (i.e. Spotify, etc.) but we do upload mp3 files into the content window and just play them to have some music as participants are joining the session or o break. It works fine for us but does not give the flexibility I think you may be looking for with cloud-based playlists.

[KennethAllen29194]

Thanks Eric
I have found this feature, and yes, is quite limited. For example, you can't share any welcome slides and have the music playing at the same time.
It's quite frustrating that when I find a potential solution, it causes problems somewhere else, and I will have to end up sacrificing one thing for another.
Also, that other thread is potentially mine. I had some issues making an account and wasn't sure the original thread posted.

[kzerby@bobpikegroup.com · Accepted solution]

yes! I want to scroll through opening slides while music is playing

[philpav]

You could try BlackHole on Mac or VoiceMeeter on Windows.

[KennethAllen29194]

Thanks Philpav. I've tried Voicemeeter Banana. Same result. The music will play for a second and sound like it's being dunked under water. Kind of like WebEx as built in audio limiters.

[philpav]

Ok, that's strange. I haven't tried it myself yet. 

Maybe the issue is related to this:

https://ciscocollabcustomer.ideas.aha.io/ideas/WXCUST-I-258