As we mentioned last week, SPCC’s in-house legal videography company McCloskey & Associates has seen a lot when it comes to Zoom. Dropped participants, bad audio, and even some unfolded laundry in the background.
While our participation on Zoom is solely legal, our experience overall is pretty typical of what can happen on Zoom every day. We’ve encountered so much in our almost two years of remote work that we started to wonder: just how many issues are we seeing on a regular basis? So for a couple months, we decided to log every technical issue we had while on Zoom.
We participated in 83 total remote depositions in September and October, and logged 58 individual problems.
Keep in mind that these are proceedings, all participants except for our videographers were at their own homes or offices. When clients come here to use our conference center for Zoom/hybrid meetings and depositions, they enjoy the security of our hardwired fail-safe dual internet and the knowledge that there are employees on hand if they have questions or issues.
What issues were the most common?
| Video Issues | 30% |
| Distracting Background | 27% |
| Audio Issues | 19% |
| Dropped Participant | 7% |
| Other Issues | 7% |
Blurry or grainy webcams contributed the most to the video issues, while muffled or otherwise hard to hear voices were the majority of the audio problems. Distracting backgrounds included windows directly behind the witness that caused lighting/video issues, or pictures and other personal items instead of a blank background like you would expect at an in-person deposition. In the “other” category a few curious pets made an appearance.
Our suggestion to avoid pesky Zoom problems? Come to SPCC! Whether you need a quiet space for yourself for your own meeting, or you’re concerned about the reliability of your witness’s internet, we have a room that’s right for you. All of our conference rooms are furnished, professional, and have videographer-friendly neutral wall space. Call or email us today to see how we can help take some of the stress out of your workday.