Installation and Setup Guide

Using the Real-Time Audio-Video Feature for Webcams and
Microphones
With the Real-Time Audio-Video feature, you can use the local client system's webcam or microphone on a
remote desktop. Real-Time Audio-Video is compatible with standard conferencing applications and
browser-based video applications, and supports standard webcams, audio USB devices, and analog audio
input.
For information about seing up the Real-Time Audio-Video feature and conguring the frame rate and
image resolution in a remote desktop, see the Conguring Remote Desktop Features in Horizon 7 document. For
information about conguring these seings on client systems, see the VMware knowledge base article
Seing Frame Rates and Resolution for Real-Time Audio-Video on Horizon View Clients, at
hp://kb.vmware.com/kb/2053644.
To download a test application that veries the correct installation and operation of the Real-Time Audio-
Video functionality, go to hp://labs.vmware.com/ings/real-time-audio-video-test-application. This test
application is available as a VMware ing, and therefore no technical support is available for it.
N This feature is available only with the version of Horizon Client for Linux provided by third-party
vendors or with the Horizon Client software available from the VMware Product Downloads Web site.
When You Can Use a Webcam
If a Horizon administrator has congured the Real-Time Audio-Video feature, and if you use the VMware
Blast display protocol or the PCoIP display protocol, a webcam that is built-in or connected to the local
client computer can be used on a remote desktop. You can use the webcam in conferencing applications
such as Skype, Webex, or Google Hangouts.
During the setup of an application such as Skype, Webex, or Google Hangouts on the remote desktop, you
can choose input and output devices from menus in the application. For virtual machine desktops, you can
choose VMware Virtual Microphone and VMware Virtual Webcam. For published desktops, you can choose
Remote Audio Device and VMware Virtual Webcam.
With many applications, however, this feature will just work, and selecting an input device is not necessary.
If the webcam is currently being used by the local client computer it cannot be used by the remote desktop
simultaneously. Also, if the webcam is being used by the remote desktop it cannot be used by the local client
computer at the same time.
I If end users are using USB webcams, do not congure the client to automatically forward
devices through USB redirection. If the webcam connects through USB redirection, the performance will be
unusable for video chat.
If more than one webcam is connected to the local client computer, you can congure a preferred webcam to
use on remote desktops.
Select a Default Microphone on a Linux Client System
If you have multiple microphones on your client system, only one of them is used on your Horizon 7
desktop. To specify which microphone is the default, you can use the Sound control on your client system.
With the Real-Time Audio-Video feature, audio input devices and audio output devices work without
requiring the use of USB redirection, and the amount of network bandwidth required is greatly reduced.
Analog audio input devices are also supported.
This procedure describes choosing a default microphone from the user interface of the client system.
Administrators can also congure a preferred microphone by editing a conguration le. See “Select a
Preferred Webcam or Microphone on a Linux Client System,” on page 70.
Chapter 4 Using a Microsoft Windows Desktop or Application on a Linux System
VMware, Inc. 69