Bristol Old Vic's Zoom Guide
Here are some tips on how to watch any of our performances that are powered by Zoom.
We’d recommend trying out these tips and tricks as far in advance of your performance as possible – you don’t need to wait until the day of the performance. If you haven't used Zoom before, try arranging a Zoom meeting with friends or family using your preferred set up.
Please note that for Zoom-powered performances we cannot guarantee that you will be able to connect your device to your TV. We'd recommend that you use a laptop or desktop to watch via the free Zoom app. Many of our Zoom performances and events use the Zoom Q&A and Chat functions, and some immersive shows require you to have a webcam on, which means watching through the TV can sometimes be less fun than having the show up close on a smaller device.
1. DOWNLOAD THE ZOOM APP
This is the most important step in the Zoom guide – download the free Zoom app to your device in advance of the performance. Click the button to download it now.
If you already have Zoom, please check that you have the most up to date version installed before you join the performance. You can check what the latest versions are here.
If you’re viewing using a mac or windows laptop or desktop, click your profile picture and then click CHECK FOR UPDATES. If there is a newer version, Zoom will download and install it.
If you’re viewing using a phone or tablet, visit your App or Play Store, search ‘Zoom Cloud Meeting’ – if it’s up to date it will say OPEN and you don’t need to do anything but if there is an update you will be able to select UPDATE.
If you have a smart TV, don’t try to open the link in the browser on your TV as this won’t work (there isn’t a Zoom TV app). If you’d like to watch on your TV, you’ll need to open on a device which has the app installed and connect using one of the options below.
2. CONNECTING TO A TV USING AN HDMI CABLE
If your TV has an HDMI cable port, you should be able to connect your laptop, phone or tablet. One end of the HDMI cable will connect to your TV and the other will connect to your device – you’ll need to make sure you have the correct HDMI cable compatible with the device you’re using.
If you’re using a phone or tablet it’s likely that this will connect to the same socket you use to charge your phone. If you’re using a laptop you’ll see that it will have slots along the side of the keyboard and if you’re using a computer, you’ll either connect to a slot along the side of your monitor (screen) or in the computer itself.
Once you have the right cable and your device is connected to your TV (we’d recommend connecting to HDMI port 1), it will either automatically begin sharing your screen or you will need to access your TV’s menu using your remote control to change the source or input to HDMI – this will correspond to the HDMI slot you’ve connected to on your TV and there may be more than one to choose from.
Once you’re connected the sound should be coming out of your TV rather than your device. If not, check your audio settings in Zoom by selecting the arrow next to ‘Mute’ in the bottom of your screen and either choose ‘Same as system’ or your TV speakers if that appears as an option under ‘Select a speaker’.
Watch: How to connect to your TV with your phone / your tablet / your laptop
3. CASTING TO YOUR TV
Depending on your phone, tablet, laptop and TV, it may be possible to wirelessly cast from your phone or laptop to your TV if you have access to Chromecast or AirPlay.
There is no Cast icon available on the Zoom Meeting app. You need to mirror the whole screen of your smartphone or laptop to your chosen device.
Note: you can mirror your whole screen to Chromecast from an Android device but not an iOS device. You can mirror your whole screen to an Apple TV via AirPlay from an iOS device but not an Android device.
We advise against using casting from Google Chrome browser to a Chromecast as this requires you to watch the performance in your web browser rather than in the Zoom app, which delivers a poorer experience.
HOW TO: CHROMECAST / AIRPLAY
In both instances, please test in advance (particularly check that the sound is coming for your TV and not the device you’re casting from).
4. TESTING YOUR SET UP IN ADVANCE
It’s really important to test out how you'll connect to the show in advance – whether you just plan on watching on your phone, laptop or tablet or if you’re planning on connecting to your TV, we’d recommend arranging a Zoom meeting with friends or family so you can see if you’re happy with the picture and the sound in whatever set up you choose.
Try out: Test your Zoom audio
5. WHEN WE SEND YOUR LINK TO THE SHOW
You’ll receive your unique login either the day before or the day of your performance (depending on when you booked your ticket). Open your email and click on your unique link or 'join the show' button, which will open in your browser – you might be shown a message which asks ‘Open zoom.us?‘. Select ‘open zoom.us‘ and the performance will then open in your Zoom app (which you should have already downloaded). Don’t worry about muting yourself or turning off your camera – these will be automatically turned off.
Because only one person can watch on your link, and you can only watch on one device at a time, it’s really important that you don’t first select the link on your phone and then try to also open it on your laptop or computer. If you’re asked to register when opening your link this means someone else is watching using your link (usually this just means you’re logged into the performance on another device already). If this happens, you just need to close the show and reopen it on the device you’d like to use.