Microsoft Teams now has a green screen feature to make virtual backgrounds better

/ This new green screen feature will improve the sharpness of a virtual background around your face so it’s not blurry.

The new green screen feature in Microsoft Teams.

 Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is adding a new green screen feature to Microsoft Teams today. It’s designed to improve Teams’ existing virtual backgrounds by increasing the sharpness and definition of the backgrounds around your face, head, ears, or hair. While it works best with a dedicated green screen, you can also take advantage of this feature with a solid color green or a clear background wall that’s behind you.

“The screen or background wall must be flat without stains or other irregularities,” says Jan Steberl, Microsoft Teams program manager, in a blog post. “Users must apply a background effect in Teams meetings to enable the green screen effect and should carefully select the backdrop color so that the effect is applied correctly and better quality is achieved.”

The green screen setting in Microsoft Teams.

 Image: Microsoft

The green screen feature is available now for everyone in the public preview channel of Microsoft Teams, and you’ll need to first apply a background effect in a Teams meeting before you can enable it. You can then pick the color of the wall behind you or green if you have a dedicated green screen.

Microsoft says the feature is only supported on Windows and macOS devices with Intel chips. That rules out any AMD-powered laptops and also Macs running M1 or M2 chips. The green screen feature will also disable any background blur and isn’t currently supported in Together Mode.