The key benefit of adding a countdown timer to your virtual webcam through OBS or mmhmm is that it enables you to help people better manage their time and their contributions in your online meetings. You can either use a countdown timer for the overall meeting, or you can use individual countdown timers for different activities within it.
OBS and mmhmm are the first in a growing trend for making more use of the webcam facility in meetings. You can add countdown timers to these tools using the instructions below:
Adding countdown timers to your OBS virtual webcam
OBS is free open-source software which has amazing versatility. It can be downloaded through OBSProject.com. Its versatility inevitably carries the price of a bit of extra complexity however, but there are many online videos to help you get the best from it. To add a timer to it, follow these steps:
Save the timer that you want to use to your computer by right-clicking it and clicking ‘Save image as …’- On the sources panel, click the plus button (or alternatively, right click the panel and select ‘add’)
- Click ‘image’
- In the window that opens check the ‘Create new’ radio button, and give your new timer a meaningful name, and click OK
- Click ‘Browse’, and navigate to where you saved the timer to select it. Check that it appears in the window,
- and click OK
- Use the red handles to position and resize your timer on your webcam
- If you are new to OBS, you may also need to repeat from step 2 to add your webcam (via ‘Video Capture Device’)
In OBS it is possible to add more than one timer to your webcam if you wish, just repeat the steps above. Different timers can be switched on and off by clicking the ‘eye’ symbol beside them in the ‘sources’ panel. They reset and restart as soon as you make them visible. You can even have two timers showing at once (if you move them to different areas on your webcam). This means you can use one for the session and another for the overall meeting.
You can also use video based timers if you choose. These have the advantage of video controls within OBS. The controls can be used to pause, start and reset the video. And a slider can be used to set the start time. An example timer video can be downloaded from this PUBLIC ACCESS FOLDER and then follow steps 2 to 7 above.
Adding countdown timers to your mmhmm virtual webcam
mmhmm is a simpler piece of software than OBS, and as a result it has less functionality. But that suits some people just fine. It is also free at the time of writing, but given that it is a commercial product, this may well change at some point.
Part of mmhmm’s reduced functionality is that you cannot add animated images to it – either in the form of GIFs or PowerPoint animations. You can however display a separate window within it, and that includes the timer windows generated when you simply click the Timers. To add your countdown timer to mmhmm:
Open up a timer window by clicking a timer at https://meeting.toolchest.org/timers/- In mmhmm, click the button to ‘Add Screen Share’
- In the panel that opens, scroll down to the section where you can ‘Share a window’ and select the timer window you have just opened
- Click the blue ‘Share’ button at the bottom of the panel
- Ensure the timer is selected snd click the ‘Shoulder’ arrangement
- Move the timer to the location you want
Please note – Since mmhmm is simply sharing the window, all the timer starting and resets needs to be done in the timer window itself.
Try it out in your virtual webcam software now using the timer on the right, or find your own timer at: https://meeting.toolchest.org/timersYou can also easily add virtual flipcharts to your webcam in OBS and mmhmm. To see how, click the relevant link in the preceding sentence.