Getting the perfect video background for my online meeting not only boosts my confidence, but it also gives me a chance to market my new book in the background. But as good as the video chat tools are at editing out my real-world background, they struggle to figure out what is my head and what is the pile of books behind me – and it’s even worse when I wear my headphones!
My background in real life is hard for the computer to distinguish from my head. But, I don’t have space for a great big green screen in my office. So, until now I was left with the glitches in my video. I don’t know if others were distracted, but I certainly was.
I am really excited that I have found a solution. Recently, I got ahold of a Kshioe collapsible greenscreen and it has almost totally solved my glitchy video background problem!
When it showed up, I was skeptical that it was the right thing, because it was such a small package – about the size of a pizza box. But sure enough, inside there was a slick black zip-up carrying bag holding my green screen. The screen is double-sided – blue on one side, green on the other, and it’s about a 5’ by 7’ oval.
I was excited – maybe a little too excited – to try it out. I opened it up right away. Here’s a word of warning: once you take the screen out of the bag it is not hard to set up. The outer spring that holds the material tight jumps into action immediately (I may have knocked over a lamp in the living room!).
That outer spring is well worth it though – the screen material lays flat, and although there are a few wrinkles there’s no sagging and the wrinkles don’t interfere with the green-screen effect.
One thing that I hadn’t realized was that the greenscreen comes with three spring clips and that there are attachment loops at three points around the outside of the screen. Right now, the screen is hanging behind me using just one of those clips. Like a lot of folks working from home these days, I’m in the basement and the clip is big enough that it can grab onto an exposed joist in the ceiling.
The easy setup meant that it took less than 30 seconds to set up and install this screen. Putting it away is slightly more complicated. It reminds me of those fold-up shades for car windows. It takes a little work to get the fold pattern down, and the spring is strong enough that it takes some maneuvering.
I’ve tried using my new screen with both Zoom and Teams, and it works well for both. Surprisingly, Zoom actually does better with the green screen than Teams does – a reversal of my typical experience.
Whatever service you use, the low price point, easy setup, and good results of this screen mean that it is definitely worth your attention!
