Sharing a video in a live webinar

Zoom Webinars allows you to share a video file within a live webinar session with chat and Q&A. Zoom supports this through its built-in video player. Sharing your video with the built-in player improves the quality of the shared video. The webinar host simply needs to have a locally stored MOV or MP4 file of the video.

Note: Hosts with Zoom Events or Zoom Sessions licenses can also use the simulive feature, which allows you to schedule a webinar with a previously recorded cloud recording as a video file within a webinar.

This article covers:

• How to play a video in a live webinar
• Helpful tips for showing a video during a live webinar session

Prerequisites hosting live webinars with pre-recorded presentation

• Zoom Webinars add-on
• Scheduled webinar
  Note: It's recommended to schedule the webinar with Practice Session enabled so that you have time to set up before attendees are able to enter.
• Meet the video playback prerequisites
  • Zoom desktop client
    • Windows: version 5.4.3 or higher
    • macOS: version 5.4.3 or higher
  • At least 1.5Mbps (up/down) full screen HD.
    Note: Wired internet connection strongly recommended.
  • A MOV or MP4 video file.

How to play a video in a live webinar

1. Start a webinar as the host.
2. In the webinar controls, click Share Screen .
3. At the top of the pop-up, switch to the Advanced tab, and then select Video  .
4. (Optional) Clear the check box next to Optimize for video clip if your video includes a lot of text-heavy presentation slides, as this feature will make text appear fuzzy. Optimize for video clip prioritizes framerate and is generally recommended for sharing videos with images, not text.
5. Click Share.
6. Navigate to and select the video you want to share, then click Open.
   The video will open within the Zoom webinar and be visible to all.
7. (Optional) If you are in a practice session, click Start Webinar and allow a few minutes for attendees to join.
8. Play the video.
9. Click Stop Share when the video is done.

Helpful tips for showing a video during a live webinar session

• While sharing the video, you will have some common playback controls, which are not visible to anyone besides the person sharing.
• Hosts can still use chat and Q&A during a live webinar that shares a pre-recorded video.