Prepare Zoom for streaming classes

How to configure your Zoom Pro account to integrate correctly with FitGrid LIVE

Christina Pischel avatar
Written by Christina Pischel
Updated over a week ago

Because you will be delivering your livestream classes via Zoom, understanding the options Zoom provides is essential. In this article, we'll walk you through several of the options we recommend configuring.

  • Some of the options discussed below will be marked as critical–deviating from these may result in the integration not working properly.

  • Others are merely recommended. You can deviate from them, but that may result in our other Zoom-related help articles being less useful.

IMPORTANT: If your Zoom account is single-user, you can access your settings simply by logging in at zoom.us and clicking "Settings" on the left side of the screen. If your Zoom account is multi-user and you are the administrator, you will have access to personal settings (only affects you) and account-level settings (affects all users). We recommend updating account-level settings.

Critical

You must configure a handful of settings in Zoom to ensure that your integration with FitGrid LIVE functions predictably. Read this article carefully and ensure you've completed these steps before integrating with FitGrid.

  1. Create a Zoom account using an email address unassociated with a client.
    If the email address you use to set up Zoom is the same as the email address used in a client's MINDBODY account, that account won't receive client emails. Thus we recommend using a generic studio email address that is not connected to any client accounts when you set up Zoom.

  2. Verify that you've signed up for a Zoom Pro account.
    You can check your current account status or sign up for a new Zoom Pro account here.

  3. Only connect one Zoom account to one FitGrid account.
    If you attempt to integrate multiple FitGrid accounts with the same Zoom account, none of them will work properly.

  4. Set your time zone.
    This must match the time zone you have set in MINDBODY. This setting can be found in the "Date and Time" section of the "Profile" screen.

  5. Turn OFF "Use Personal Meeting ID (PMI) when scheduling a meeting."
    Using your PMI means every meeting will have the same ID. This is a serious security risk, plus it creates a conflict with FitGrid LIVE that will lead to a variety of issues.

  6. Embed password in meeting link for one-click join: ON

Recommended

Meeting Settings

Schedule Meeting

  • Host video: FITGRID OVERRIDE–when a class starts, host video will always be ON by default, regardless of what you select here.

  • Participants video: FITGRID OVERRIDE–when a class starts, participant video will always be OFF by default, regardless of what you select here.

  • Join before host: FITGRID OVERRIDE–when a class starts, this setting will always be OFF by default regardless of what you select here.

  • Mute participants upon entry: FITGRID OVERRIDE–when a class starts, this setting will always be ON by default regardless of what you select here.

In Meeting (Basic)

  • Play sound when participants join or leave: ON; heard by the host only

  • Co-host: ON

  • Always show meeting control toolbar: ON

  • Screen-sharing: ON; host only

  • Annotation: OFF

  • Whiteboard: OFF

  • Remote control: OFF

  • Nonverbal feedback: OFF

  • Allow removed participants to rejoin: OFF

In Meeting (Advanced)

  • Far end camera control: OFF

  • Group HD video: OFF (note: turning this ON will improve video quality but could overwhelm your participants' internet connections and lead to skipping and lagging)

  • Allow users to select original sound in their client settings: ON

  • Waiting room: FITGRID OVERRIDE–when a class starts, this setting will always be OFF by default regardless of what you select here (note: we were forced to disable waiting rooms temporarily starting on 4/4/20 when Zoom suddenly turned them ON for all users, leading to significant disruption. We acted quickly to override Zoom's new default, but this means waiting rooms are not available with FitGrid LIVE for the time being).

  • Show a "Join from your browser" link: OFF (note: turning this ON makes it easier for clients to access your streams without downloading the Zoom app. We actually don't recommend this, because without the app, the stream quality goes way down)

Email Notification

  • When a cloud recording is available: ON

  • When attendees join meeting before host: OFF

Recording Settings

  • Local recording: OFF

  • Cloud recording: ON; select "Record active speaker with shared screen" only

  • Automatic recording: ON (note: this is the most effective way to ensure that you have replays for your clients–just keep in mind that you'll either have to delete your recordings from Zoom over time OR pay for storage space)

  • Auto delete cloud recordings after days: OFF (note: turning this ON will allow you to share the link to a recording for a limited period of time–it's a great setting, but should only be enabled as part of a strategy)

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