Configuring Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams

Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams Features

Important: Not all features are supported on all Horizon Client types. For details on required Horizon Client versions, Horizon Agent versions, and Teams client versions for each feature see VMware Knowledge Base article 86475.

Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams offers the following features:

Accepting and making audio and video calls
Multiparty audio and video conferencing
Transfer, forward, mute, hold, and resume a call
PSTN calls via dial pad
Desktop screen sharing
Multi monitor screen sharing and screen picker for screen sharing
Volume control from the remote desktop
Active speaker identification
Live Captions for 1:1 and Team Meetings*
Custom Together Mode Scenes*
E911 and Location-Based Routing*
Supported for Mac client (2111 and later) and Windows client (5.5.4 and later; 2111 and later) only. Not supported for Linux client.
To support Dynamic E911 for Horizon Client, you must enable OS location services for the client app. See the "Configuring E911 Services for Microsoft Teams" topic in the Horizon 2111 version of VMware Horizon Client for Windows Installation and Setup Guide and the Horizon 2111 version of VMware Horizon Client for Mac Installation and Setup Guide. Static E911 does not need location services to be enabled.
The Enable E911 for Microsoft Teams group policy setting must be enabled to use the feature. See VMware WebRTC Redirection Features in VMware HTML5 Feature Policy Settings.
WebRTC 1.0*

Attention: Features marked with an asterisk (*) will only become available as Microsoft Teams updates are released. Check the Microsoft 365 roadmap to see when each feature will be enabled by Microsoft.

In addition, Microsoft supports the following features. Contact Microsoft for any issues with these Microsoft Teams features:

Gallery View (2x2)
Large Gallery (7x7)
Together Mode
Call Queue
Live Webinar (optimized)
Call Quality Dashboard

For other Microsoft Teams features supported with VDI, see the Microsoft documentation Meetings and live events.

Note: If Microsoft Teams is optimized on a virtual desktop and you encounter generic issues or certain features missing, check the Microsoft Teams web client for the same behavior. Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams on virtual desktops is based on Microsoft Teams web client that leverages WebRTC technology. If you see the same behavior on the web client, contact Microsoft for assistance.

Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams System Requirements

The Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams supports these configurations.

Table 1. Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams System Requirements
System	Requirements
Microsoft Server	Microsoft 365
Microsoft Teams Client (Optimized)	Microsoft Teams Desktop Client x64 Microsoft Teams Desktop Client x86 See the Microsoft documentation for installation instructions. Note: Microsoft Teams web client is not supported with Teams Optimization Pack. Web browser media offload is supported with Browser Redirection. See Configuring Browser Redirection for supported browsers and clients. Consult Microsoft documentation for supported browsers for Microsoft Teams web client.
Virtual desktop operating systems	Minimum requirement is 2 vCPU for operating systems supported for Horizon Agent.
Client machine operating systems	Minimum hardware requirement is 2.4 GHz dual core. For details about supported client operating systems see VMware Knowledge Base article 86475.
Deployments	On-premises and cloud: VDI Non-persistent desktops RDS published desktop deployments RDS published application deployments (not supported with versions prior to Horizon Client 2012 or Horizon Client 5.5) Cloud: Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session and all deployment types for Horizon Cloud Services on Azure.
Display Protocols	VMware Blast and PCoIP (no RDP)
TCP Port	9427
Network	IPv4
Microphones and Webcams	Same devices that are qualified to work with Microsoft Teams
Audio codecs	For details, see https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Media/Formats/WebRTC_codecs. SILK Opus G.722
Video codecs	For details, see https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Media/Formats/WebRTC_codecs. AVC/H.264 VP8 VP9
Media Feature Pack	Must be installed on the remote desktop for Windows 10 N and KN versions. You can install Media Feature from the Microsoft download page: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48231.

Installing and Configuring Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams

The Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams feature is installed by default with Horizon Client for Windows when using the interactive installation wizard. For more information, see the VMware Horizon Client for Windows Installation and Setup Guide.

Linux clients (2106 and later) and Mac clients (2103 and later) are supported with 7.13.1 Agent and later. The Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams feature is installed by default. See KB 86475 for supported agent and client versions

Horizon Agent must be installed before you install Microsoft Teams. If you install Microsoft Teams before installing Horizon Agent, delete the %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Teams folder and relaunch Microsoft Teams.

The Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams group policy setting must be enabled to use the feature. See VMware WebRTC Redirection Features in VMware HTML5 Feature Policy Settings.

See the Microsoft documentation Teams for Virtualized Desktop Infrastructure for installation, setup, and deployment requirements, guidelines on persistent and non-persistent desktops, and limitations of using Microsoft Teams in a remote desktop.

Microsoft updates their Teams recommended version periodically. Check Microsoft for updates and install the latest recommended version to access new features without updating Horizon Client or Horizon Agent.

For additional information about installing and configuring Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams, see the TechZone article Microsoft Teams Optimization with VMware Horizon.

Note: Media optimization for Microsoft Teams is not supported in Horizon Agent 7.12 or earlier and Horizon Client versions 5.4.3, 5.4.2, 5.4.1, 5.4, and 5.3 or earlier due to UX issues. These UX issues have been fixed in the latest release of Horizon Agent and Horizon Client.

Limitations of Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams With All Clients

Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams has the following limitations for all supported client platforms. Contact Microsoft for Microsoft limitations.


Limitation	Comments
HID buttons to answer and end calls are not supported.	VMware limitation
Outgoing application window sharing is not supported.	VMware limitation
Virtual backgrounds are not supported.	Microsoft and VMware limitation
Desktop screen sharing give or take control is not supported.	Microsoft limitation
Pop out chat, call, or meeting window.	Microsoft limitation. As of Horizon Client version 2106 release, pop out chat, call or meeting window is not supported by Microsoft for VDI.
The camera light stays on if the user puts the video call on hold (but video will not be sent).	Microsoft limitation
During a video call, when a remote desktop user starts a desktop share, the user's video automatically turns off. After ending the desktop share, the remote desktop user can click the video button to turn the video back on.	Microsoft limitation
When minimizing a Microsoft Teams video call window, the small Microsoft Teams window in the lower right corner will not show an active video.	Microsoft limitation
Microsoft Teams running in fallback mode on an RDSH machine cannot access the remote machine’s microphone and speaker.	See the KB article https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/84205 for a workaround.
Test call	Microsoft limitation
VDI participants cannot create breakout rooms but can join only.	Microsoft limitation
Live Events is not optimized, but supported as an attendee. Producer and presenter roles are not supported for a VDI user.	Microsoft limitation
Media bypass for direct routing is not supported.	Microsoft limitation
1080p video is not supported.	Microsoft limitation
Zoom in and out function in Microsoft Teams is not supported.	Microsoft limitation
Microsoft starts meetings with a lower resolution and gradually increases the resolution based on network conditions, such as bandwidth of meeting participants and video window size.	Microsoft limitation
Quality of Service (QoS) in Microsoft Teams is not supported.	VMware limitation
3x3 video gallery is not supported.	Microsoft limitation

For a list of other Microsoft Teams limitations on VDI, see the Microsoft documentation Meetings and live events.

Limitations of Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams With Specific Clients

Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams has the following limitations for certain client platforms.


Limitation	Comments
In optimized mode, screen sharing is not supported on Mac Client or Linux Client if Microsoft Teams is published as an application.	VMware limitation
Volume control from remote desktop is not supported on Linux clients. To change the volume during the call, change the volume of the Linux client.	VMware limitation
Media Optimization on Linux and Mac clients does not support proxy configuration.	VMware limitation
Support for Media Optimization on the HTML Access Web client is dependent on the launch of the WebRTC 1.0 update for Microsoft software. If the WebRTC 1.0 update is not in effect when you enable Media Optimization for HTML Access, audio and video calls in Teams will fail. For more information, see Configure Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams in HTML Access.	Microsoft limitation
The following screen-sharing limitations apply to the Chrome client and HTML Access Web client: Content in the screen-sharing window turns black when the window is minimized. The mouse cursor disappears when a native client window moves in front of the screen-sharing window. Screen-sharing content disappears when the user locks and then unlocks the client operating system.	VMware limitations
The following screen-sharing limitations apply to the Chrome client and HTML Access Web client: When a user shares all or part of their screen, the shared area is not surrounded by a red outline as expected. When a user selects an option in the "Share your screen" dialog other than the specific browser tab being used by the client, that user can inadvertently share their local desktop.	Google limitations
On the HTML Access Web client, Media Optimization becomes unavailable when the browser page is refreshed. To use Media Optimization after a page refresh, restart Microsoft Teams on the remote desktop.	VMware limitation
Media Optimization does not support multiple-monitor configurations with the Chrome client and HTML Access Web client.	VMware limitation
Media Optimization is not supported on the Chrome client and HTML Access Web client if Microsoft Teams is published as an application.	VMware limitation
On a Windows 11 client machine running Horizon Client 2106 or later, when you share a remote desktop using Microsoft Teams without using a full-screen display mode, the title bar and borders of the desktop flicker. Change the display mode to Fullscreen - All Monitors before sharing the desktop.	Microsoft limitation
If you enable or disable location sharing to support the E911 feature using the VDI client or agent GPO policy, the cached E911 location status continues to display on the VDI Teams call page until Teams is restarted on the VDI desktop.	VMware limitation
In both native and VDI Teams, locations shown by the E911 feature might not match those shown in Google apps.	Microsoft limitation
Due to a Microsoft issue, if you log out and then back into either native or VDI Teams, there can be a delay of up to two minutes before the emergency location of the client device is displayed by the E911 feature.	Microsoft limitation

Pairing Modes for a Session

A user can check if Microsoft Teams is running in optimized mode, fallback mode, or natively in the virtual desktop (no optimization). On the top right corner of the Microsoft Teams interface, click the user icon and navigate to About->Version to see a banner under the user icon describing the Microsoft Teams version and pairing modes:

Optimized: If the banner shows VMware Media Optimized, then Microsoft Teams is running in the optimized mode. In this mode, the Enable Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams GPO is enabled, Microsoft Teams is running in the virtual desktop, and audio and video is offloaded to the client machine.
Fallback: If the banner shows VMware Media Not Connected, then Microsoft Teams is running in fallback mode. In this mode, the Enable Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams GPO is enabled and Microsoft Teams has tried to start in Optimized mode, but the Horizon Client being used does not support Microsoft Teams optimization. RTAV is used and audio and video from Microsoft Teams is not offloaded to the client machine. Fallback mode has the same limitations as Optimized mode. When you make a call in fallback mode, you see a warning sign on the call:
Your device does not support VMware optimization. Audio and video quality may be reduced. Talk to your IT admin.
No optimization: If the banner does not show VMware text in the message, the Enable Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams GPO is not enabled. RTAV is used and audio and video from Microsoft Teams is not offloaded to the client machine.