The Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams redirects audio calls, video calls, and viewing desktop shares for a seamless experience between the client system and the remote session without negatively affecting the virtual infrastructure and overloading the network. Microsoft Teams media processing takes place on the client machine instead of in the virtual desktop and does not rely on Real-Time Audio-Video (RTAV).
Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams Features
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
- Gallery View (2x2)
- Large Gallery (7x7)
- Together Mode
- Call Queue
- Live Webinar (optimized)
- Call Quality Dashboard
Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams System Requirements
| System | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Server | Microsoft 365 |
| Microsoft Teams Client (Optimized) |
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 | Windows: Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams supports the same Windows operating systems as those supported by Horizon Client. Minimum hardware requirement is 2.4 GHz dual core. Mac: Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams supports the same Mac operating systems as those supported by Horizon Client. Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams with Mac client is not supported with versions prior to Horizon Client 2103. Linux: Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams supports the same Linux operating systems as those supported by Horizon Client. Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams with Linux client is not supported with versions prior to Horizon Client 2106.
Note: For Linux clients, to support the German, French, and Spanish (DE/FR/ES) locales in optimization mode, you must update to Horizon Client for Linux 2106.1. For more information, see
VMware Horizon Client for Linux 2106.1 Release Notes.
|
| Deployments | On premise and cloud:
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.
|
| Video codecs | For details, see https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Media/Formats/WebRTC_codecs.
|
| 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.
The Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams feature is installed by default with Horizon Client for Mac and Horizon Client for Linux.
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.
Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams Limitations
| Limitation | Comments |
|---|---|
| In optimized mode, screensharing 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 |
| 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 |
| E911 and location-based routing are not supported. | VMware 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 |
| Live caption in meetings is not supported. | Microsoft and VMware 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 |
Pairing Modes for a Session
- 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.
