ZoomISO Quick Reference and Glossary

Keep this page handy. It gathers the workflow, the cheat-sheets, and every term from the course in one place, with links back to the full lessons.

The seven-step workflow

  1. Sign in with your Zoom account.
  2. Join a meeting, webinar, or event.
  3. Start the Capture Engine.
  4. Create video and audio outputs.
  5. Assign meeting content to each output.
  6. Adjust the look with Output Effects, if you wish.
  7. Record your outputs, if you wish.

And the golden rule: always test your exact setup before a live production.

Bandwidth cheat-sheet

Keep the total of all feeds under your Zoom downlink limit, which is 30 Mbps by default, or 100 Mbps with Enhanced Media and High Bandwidth Mode.

  • 1080p60: about 8 to 12 Mbps.
  • 1080p30: about 4 to 8 Mbps.
  • 720p30: about 2 to 4 Mbps.
  • 360p30: about 1 Mbps.
  • 180p15: about 0.5 Mbps.
  • 90p5: about 0.1 Mbps.

Recording formats cheat-sheet

  • Codecs: H264, HEVC, ProRes 422 LT.
  • Containers: MOV, MP4, MXF, depending on the codec.
  • For growing files in Adobe Premiere, use H264 in MXF.

Glossary

ISO
An isolated feed: a single source, such as one participant or the shared screen, on its own.
Output
A single video or audio feed that ZoomISO sends out.
Capture Engine
The function that brings live video and audio from Zoom into ZoomISO. Nothing is live until it is started.
Capture Mode
How ZoomISO gets permission to take the streams. Recording uses recording permission and notices; Live Stream uses streaming permission and a badge.
Output Mode
The type of content an output shows, such as a participant or a screen share.
Embedded Audio
Audio carried inside a video feed. Off, ISO for just that content, or Mix for all meeting audio except your own return.
Output Effects
The window for adjusting colour, cropping, and overlays such as name tags and logos.
Video Loss
What an output shows when a feed drops: an image, freeze, black, colour bars, or a profile-picture layout.
NDI
A way to carry video across a network. Full Bandwidth uses the SpeedHQ codec; HX3 uses H264 or HEVC on the hardware encoder.
SRT
Another network video method, organised into channels, with Caller, Listener, and Rendezvous connection modes.
Syphon
A way to share video between apps on the same Mac.
Blackmagic Desktop Video
Software and hardware for connecting to professional video equipment. Use version 15 or later.
Tally
A coloured border that shows when a feed is being previewed or aired on a receiving system.
Metal and vImage
The two rendering engines. Metal uses the graphics chip and is recommended; vImage uses the main processor and is the legacy option.
Enhanced Media
A Zoom add-on licence that activates ZoomISO, improves quality, and unlocks High Bandwidth Mode.
High Bandwidth Mode
Raises the Zoom downlink limit from 30 to 100 Mbps, for more or higher-quality feeds.
Growing files
Recordings an editor can open and keep cutting while they are still being written.
Virtual audio device
Software that passes sound between apps without a cable. Dante Virtual Soundcard, Loopback, and Black Hole are examples.
OSC
Open Sound Control: a network language that lets external systems control ZoomISO.
pID
The version 3 replacement for targetID in OSC, given as text rather than a number.
Trial Mode
The unactivated state: fully configurable, but unable to join meetings.

All lessons

  1. What ZoomISO is and what it is for
  2. What you need, and how the pieces fit
  3. Installing it and signing in with Zoom
  4. Licences and Trial Mode
  5. A guided tour of the window
  6. Joining a meeting and starting the Capture Engine
  7. Creating your first video feed
  8. Giving each person their own feed
  9. Polishing the picture with Output Effects
  10. Working with sound
  11. Recording your feeds
  12. The settings that matter, walked through
  13. Performance and reliability
  14. Automating ZoomISO for live shows