Configuring Remote Desktop Features

Ensuring That Real-Time Audio-Video Is Used Instead of USB Redirection
Real-Time Audio-Video supports webcam and audio input redirection for use in conferencing applications.
The USB redirection feature that can be installed with Horizon Agent does not support webcam redirection.
If you redirect audio input devices through USB redirection, the audio stream does not synchronize
properly with video during Real-Time Audio-Video sessions, and you lose the benet of reducing the
demand on network bandwidth. You can take steps to ensure that webcams and audio input devices are
redirected to your desktops through Real-Time Audio-Video, not USB redirection.
If your desktops are congured with USB redirection, end users can connect and display their locally
connected USB devices by selecting the Connect USB Device option in the Windows client menu bar or the
Desktop > USB menu in the Mac client. Linux clients block USB redirection of audio and video devices by
default and do not provide the USB device options to end users.
If an end user selects a USB device from the Connect USB Device or Desktop > USB list, that device
becomes unusable for video or audio conferencing. For example, if a user makes a Skype call, the video
image might not appear or the audio stream might be degraded. If an end user selects a device during a
conferencing session, the webcam or audio redirection is disrupted.
To hide these devices from end users and prevent potential disruptions, you can congure USB redirection
group policy seings to disable the display of webcams and audio input devices in VMware Horizon Client.
In particular, you can create USB redirection ltering rules for Horizon Agent and specify the audio-in and
video Device Family Names to be disabled. For information about seing group policies and specifying
ltering rules for USB redirection, see “Using Policies to Control USB Redirection,” on page 76.
C If you do not set up USB redirection ltering rules to disable the USB device families, inform your
end users that they cannot select webcam or audio devices from the Connect USB Device or Desktop > USB
list in the VMware Horizon Client menu bar.
Selecting Preferred Webcams and Microphones
If a client computer has more than one webcam and microphone, you can congure a preferred webcam and
default microphone that Real-Time Audio-Video will redirect to the desktop. These devices can be built in
or connected to the local client computer.
On a Windows client computer that has Horizon Client for Windows 4.2 or later installed, you can select a
preferred webcam or microphone by conguring Real-Time Audio-Video seings in the Horizon Client
Seings dialog box. With earlier Horizon Client versions, you modify registry seings to select a preferred
webcam and use the Sound control in the Windows operating system to select a default microphone.
On a Mac client computer, you can specify a preferred webcam or microphone by using the Mac defaults
system.
On a Linux client computer, you can specify a preferred webcam by editing a conguration le. To select a
default microphone, you can congure the Sound control in the Linux operating system on the client
computer.
Real-Time Audio-Video redirects the preferred webcam if it is available. If not, Real-Time Audio-Video uses
the rst webcam that is provided by system enumeration.
Select a Preferred Webcam or Microphone on a Windows Client System
With the Real-Time Audio-Video feature, if you have multiple webcams or microphones on your client
system, only one of them is used on your remote desktop or application. To specify which webcam or
microphone is preferred, you can congure Real-Time Audio-Video seings in Horizon Client.
The preferred webcam or microphone is used on the remote desktop or application if it is available, and if
not, another webcam or microphone is used.
Configuring Remote Desktop Features in Horizon 7
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