New Animated Meeting Backgrounds Introduced by Microsoft Teams

Microsoft has announced (as per a message center notification MC578280) that Teams meeting participants can now select from a set of animated backgrounds to create a more immersive virtual environment. These dynamic animations are available for Windows and Mac clients, while browser clients will need to enhance their meeting experience through other means.

The update is expected to roll out to targeted release tenants in mid-June 2023, with a public preview also starting then. Standard release tenants will see the code in early July, with worldwide deployment scheduled by late July. GCC High and DoD tenants must wait until late September. 

 

Currently, Teams supports a limited set of Microsoft-provided animated backgrounds, with the hope that the number of options will increase, and that custom backgrounds will also become available. 

Microsoft has specified that animated backgrounds are not available for "low-end devices," requiring at least 8 GB RAM and a CPU with four logical processors. Microsoft also warns that the use of other video filters might slow animated backgrounds if the workstation is under heavy load.

 

In the past year, Teams has added a variety of filters to expand possibilities for meeting participants. The company suggests that animated backgrounds will become more interesting and valuable when users are able to create their own.