General features
- Access from https://meet.google.com/
- Free to use with no duration limitations on free accounts
- Recording only available for paid accounts – consider using in combination with OBS if recording is needed
- Users can log in to a single meeting multiple times from the same account; and can log in to multiple meetings from the same account on the same computer too
- There is a checkbox to ‘share original sound’ when sharing a Chrome tab; otherwise sound from presentations is transmitted via computer speakers into the microphone (that is, the sound is rubbish, but this can lead to some interested effects with dropouts)
- Your own image does not appear in the grid in grid view by default (plugins may make this work though)
- You can mute other players as host by clicking on the mute icon on their image. It is pretty quick in its response, making it useable in a performance context.
Grid view
This is a fairly recent addition (during the pandemic) and the grid view does not show the current speaker in the grid. There is an older Grid view plugin which we haven’t tested yet but which apparently has a setting to allow the current user to appear in the grid. It also permits the hiding of participants without video, which is not an available option in Meet otherwise.
Recording
No longer available for free accounts but still available for Business accounts and above
Our experience recording in Google Meet is that it will only record in current-speaker mode, so shows one performer at a time, flipping between performers according to whoever it feels is ‘speaking’ right now (see Interrupted monophony (one voice, interrupted)). This can be awkward if performers are working with purely visual material.
To record on grid view you can use Quicktime screen record or OBS browser/window capture as an alternative, and then edit together with the Meet single person view afterwards as needed.
Presenting with Audio/Computer Sound
Since late April 2020, Google say they have introduced limited audio-presenting capabilities to Meet through the “Share Chrome tab” option and there is a checkbox to do this. This seems OK, however we have not tested it in a performance context, so if you have, please let us know! See this support doc for info on the implementation.
Breakout Rooms
- A few useful features such as randomly assigning players to rooms.
- Could be useful for ordering windows potentially, but needs some testing.
- Breakout rooms seem to require a paid account to be able to set up.