Video Integration for Microsoft Teams (VIMT) allows Webex (or any SIP) video device to join as a presenter during a Microsoft Teams live event.

Live events are available to video devices to join as presenters in organizations with VIMT deployed.

Organizers schedule a live event with the Microsoft Teams client (not with Outlook). The VIMT service doesn't require additional configuration for live events. A live event invite includes join details for video devices as it does for Teams meetings. Organizers for live events or meetings are configured using the Microsoft PowerShell command CsVideoInteropServiceProvider. For instructions on how to, see Deploy the Webex video integration for Microsoft Teams.

Live events are IP broadcast-type meetings, where one or more presenters broadcast audio and video to attendees using Microsoft Teams.

Webex (or any SIP) device users join as presenters throughout the entire live event lifecycle.

Roles

The following roles exist to host and participate in live events.

Producer: The director of the live event. This role is assigned by the event organizer during scheduling. Producers join with a Microsoft Teams client. They use the Microsoft Teams dashboard to control the video stream, who's in the event group, and to start and stop the event.

Presenter: A participant who speaks or presents content during the live event. Presenters join from a Microsoft Teams client or from a video device using VIMT.

When the Allow External Presenters option is on, authenticated Microsoft Teams clients or devices outside your organization are permitted to join as presenters. Turn the Allow External Presenters option on when you schedule a live event. You can't enable external presenters during an event.

For information on joining a live event from video devices, see For users.

An event group includes the producers and presenters of the event. They're the only ones that are seen and heard by the attendees during the broadcast. When presenters using video devices outside of your organization join the event, they wait in a lobby and are admitted by a producer. Presenters are isolated while in the lobby.

Attendees: Participants who watch the live events from the Microsoft Teams client. The broadcast is one way for audio and video only. Furthermore, attendees do not send audio or video.

This article isn't an exhaustive guide to the Microsoft Teams live event experience. Check out the following articles for more information on using and configuring VIMT:

Schedule

Live events must be scheduled using the Microsoft Teams client. When you schedule a live event, you’re considered the organizer for the event. There are certain points that you need to take into consideration when inviting Video Integration for Microsoft Teams (VIMT) participants when you set up the invitation.

You invite VIMT participants to a live event as Presenters. VIMT participants can join either with the Join button, direct-dial, or with IVR. For video device participants to attend using the Join button, you need to add the email for the video device conference room name or user with a personal device in the invitation.

If there are VIMT participants who are not able to join as a trusted participants, you must have Allow External Presenters enabled when scheduling the event to allow them to connect. This setting can’t be changed after the meeting has been created.

When you’ve scheduled the live event, presenters and producers will get a calendar invite. VIMT participants join using the Video Conference Join information in the calendar invite or they’ll use the Join button on the video device if invited directly.

Anyone who has the join information for the event group will be able to join the event group, and potentially live broadcast.

Read more about how to schedule live event from the Microsoft Teams client: Schedule a Teams live event.

Join

You can join Microsoft Teams live events as a presenter from your Webex device with VIMT.

From a Webex device, you can join either by using the Join button or by dialing in.

Join button

The Join button is available on devices where Hybrid Calendar is enabled. When users schedule Microsoft Teams meetings and include Webex devices, a join button appears on the device 5 minutes before the meeting begins. Simply tap Join to enter the live event.

Join by dialing into the live event

The email invitation you’ve received for the event group includes the call-in information to join with a video conferencing device.

Follow the instructions at the bottom of your email invite. Tap Call and enter the SIP video address that includes the VTC conference ID, or if prompted, enter the conference ID.

Live event experience

VIMT participants may call into the event group meeting at any time, before or after the live event starts.

The participant list is available, indicating who is muted. The recording indicator appears on screen when the event is recording.

When content is shared, your device displays the content.

Presenters connecting through VIMT do not directly see the broadcast video controlled by the producer that is sent to all attendees. The audio and video seen by a VIMT participant is the active speaker video device layouts seen in a traditional Teams meeting using VIMT. The audio they hear as part of the event group is the same as sent to attendees, but the video displayed doesn’t include the outgoing video broadcast attendees see.

Once connected, the experience will differ depending on if you are a trusted participant for the organization that is hosting the meeting, or an untrusted participant. Generally, you’re a trusted participant if you’re joining from device that is registered to the same organization that is hosting the Live Event. Your device administrator may have configured your device to be a trusted participant. Contact your device administrator to check for the details.

  • Trusted participants: Trusted participants connect immediately to the event group as a presenter. Once joined, you will be live with the rest of the presenters in the event group just as in a regular Microsoft Teams meeting. If the live event has started, you will be joining with audio. You can mute directly on your device.
  • Untrusted participants: Untrusted participants connecting through VIMT need to wait in the lobby until admitted by a producer from the Microsoft Teams client. Once admitted from lobby to event group, video devices are force muted from Teams till the producer promotes you from a participant to a presenter. If the Live Event has started and you’re a presenter, you will be joining with audio. You can mute directly on your device.

All presenters should be aware whatever audio they send to the event group meeting will be heard by attendees once the broadcast has started. Prior to the broadcast being started by the producer, attendees do not hear or see the event group participants.

VIMT participants

VIMT connected participants have a different experience compared to presenters using the Microsoft Teams client. Notable differences include:

  • No Chat or Q&A windows
  • No live video indicator for which participant is live
  • No live event status (attendee count, timer, live state)
  • No presenter/producer labels in the Roster List

Presenters can always be invited to use a Microsoft Teams client for these non-audio/video features of the live event.

Resolution

Video and shared content in live events broadcasts in 720p.

Dial in information

It's important to control the distribution of VIMT dial-in information as authentication is not provided for video device participants. As such, any trusted device joins as a presenter if they have the meeting ID.

Untrusted devices

To join, untrusted devices and external participants enter the lobby where the producer admits them to the event group. At this time, their device is muted. The muted state does not display on their device. The producer promotes the device to a presenter to display and remove the mute status.