Having multiple skype callers on screen at the same time

indieben

New Member
Hi - I'm using Linux Mint 21.3 With Kernel 6.8.0-51. I'm running this on an Asus Vivobook X712J. I'm broadcasting to Owncast. I'm using Skype version 8.134.0.202 and OBS Version 30.2.3 - I've been advised that I can't update as i'd have dependency hell as Mint follows Ubuntu's repo.

Goal

To have multiple people on a Skype call and not have my scene messed up by one Skype call participant turning their phone from portrait to landscape or from landscape to portrait.


Issues


1. I'm using Window Capture (Xcomposite) -> Although I don't seem to have any other options -> to capture a Skype video feed. A Youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVfGwMxRmGE) suggested copying and pasting reference to have multiple video feeds (each with a different Skype call participant) in the same scene but this doesn't seem to make an awful lot of sense as it appears to repeat the same person and my only options within the "Window" setting for the source are 1) To have a static image of the group (So cropping to incorporate the wider group without the background noise of Skype in the image doesn't work) or 2) To have a single person with no control over which single person is shown.

2. In pasting reference incidences of the Window Capture (XComposite) to show multiple instances of the same person on camera, when I lay these out, it breaks the layout when the person turns their phone.

I strongly believe:

1. I'm going about this the wrong way - I think that is a given!
2. There might be some special settings that I don't know about somewhere.
3. This must be possible to accomplish.

Thanks and Kind Regards.
 

AaronD

Active Member
I use a different meeting platform - Jitsi - so your mileage may vary, but it works well for me to use the Tile Mode in the meeting itself, let it handle all that, and just capture the entire window in OBS. Use that one capture as-is.

Does Skype not do that very well?
 
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