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Voice and Video Enhancements in Office Communicator

Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 will reach end of support on January 9, 2018. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

In Office Communicator 2007 R2, the following voice and video enhancements improve the experience during an Office Communicator voice or video conversation:

  • Video call controls. The video call controls have been updated for easier use. During a video call, you can double-click the video to automatically resize the video to full screen.

  • High Definition and Video Graphics Array (VGA) video. Previously, Communicator supported the Common Intermediate Format (CIF) video format, which has a resolution of 352 x 288. Now, both VGA display (the default format, with a resolution 640 x 480, ratio 4:3) and High Definition (enabled by policy, with a resolution 1280 x 720, ratio 16:9) are available to Communicator users. When a user selects the video size, the appropriate format is selected. In large mode, the video format is VGA. In full screen mode, the video format is High Definition.

  • Video policy setting for conference rooms. With the new policy setting EnableFullScreenVideoPreviewDisabled, administrators can enable Office Communicator to show video in full screen with the preview disabled for all Office Communicator video calls This policy is typically used in conference room settings.

  • Reduced call setup time. Updates to the implementation of the protocols that support early media negotiation help to reduce call setup time and reduce delays when a call is established.

  • Improved connectivity. Peer-to-peer voice conversations remain connected even when the SIP signaling channel is lost. Participants can continue the voice call while Office Communicator attempts to reestablish the signaling channel.

  • Voice and video quality indicators. New indicators in the Conversation window indicate situations that may be affecting the quality of the voice or video call, including poor network conditions, low bandwidth network connections, or poor audio quality from a particular device.