Zoom’s Linux VDI plugins have begun to support Smart Virtual Backgrounds (Smart VBs), which was introduced in VDI release version 5.8.4. Smart VBs allow you to select a virtual background without the use of a green screen.

The Smart VB feature on your computer can be automatically enabled if you have the required hardware and software installed. There is not only a requirement for a new client and VDI plugin in order to implement this new feature, but to implement the new functionality there are new bundled libraries for the Linux operating system that must be added in order to support the new feature.

Prerequisites for the Smart VB feature allow list

• VDI Client plugin for 5.8.4
• compatible with Zoom desktop client for Linux, version 5.8.4 or higher

Additional library requirements

For those of you who are using software packages from several different vendors such as iGel, Dell, or HP, we recommend contacting them to find out if there is an update available which contains these libraries. Our team works closely with our partners, and new releases may be available of both Zoom VDI Plugin and Zoom VDI operating system in the near future.

If you want the new functionality to work, you will need to add the following libraries to your Linux operating system.

intel-opencl-icd_20.12.16259-1~ppa1~xenial2_amd64.deb
libigc_1.0.3586-1~ppa1~xenial1_amd64.deb
libigdgmm11_19.4.1-1~ppa1~xenial1_amd64.deb
libnuma1_2.0.11-1ubuntu1_amd64.deb
libze-loader_0.91.2-1~ppa1~xenial1_amd64.deb
libze-intel-gpu_20.12.16259-1~ppa1~xenial2_amd64.deb
Ocl-icd-libopencl1_2.2.8-1_amd64.deb

OpenCL requirements

Note: OpenCL 1.2 is not supported.

Depending on the model, some Thin Clients can use a GPU to optimize performance and reduce the workload placed on the CPU. In models where the GPU can be used, Intel-OpenCL runtime must be at least OpenCL 2.1. If the GPU cannot be used, Intel-OpenCL runtime is required. The following link can guide you through how to set up the correct Intel OpenCL runtime library on a regular Linux client in cases where it does not come with it:

https://github.com/intel/compute-runtime/blob/master/opencl/doc/DISTRIBUTIONS.md

As the Smart VB features used by the original client are not supported by older versions of OpenCL or the thin client model does not support the use of the GPU, the Smart VB application will resort to using the CPU.

VDI Client release requirements

Use the VDI Zoom desktop client, version 5.8.4.21112 or higher, to install and use the desktop client.

To install Linux plugins, you will need to first install the appropriate version of the Linux plugin, which is 5.8.4.21112.

Note: The Zoom VDI Plugin is required to be equal to the VDI Zoom desktop client and thus should be installed with the Zoom VDI desktop client.

Hardware requirements

Based on our tests, Smart VB has been tested on the following platforms.

With the advent of Zoom Virtual Desktop, the client supports virtual background support for a broad range of CPUs, starting with the CPUs that meet the specified system requirements. Zoom VDI Client is compatible with both Windows and Linux and supports 360p x 15FPS video for the following CPUs since VDI 5.8.4.

ThinClient model	Hardware Details	Max Gallery Participants	Smart VB Support
Dell 5070	Intel®️ Celeron®️ J4105 CPU @ 1.5GHz	5×5	✔
Dell Wyse 5470 All-In-One	Intel Celeron™ J4105 (4 Cores/4MB/4T/Base 1.5GHz, up to 2.5GHz/10W)	5×5	✔
Dell 5070	Intel®️ Pentium®️ J5005 CPU @ 1.5GHz	5×5	✔
T740	AMD Ryzen Embedded V1756B with Radeon Vega Gfx	5×5	✔
T638	Intel(R) Celeron(R) J4125 CPU @ 2.00GHz	5×5	✔
T540 (TBD)	AMD Ryzen Embedded R1305G with Radeon Vega Gfx	5×5	✔
T640	AMD Ryzen Embedded R5305G with Radeon Vega Gfx	5×5	✔
MT46	AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 4450U with Radeon Graphics	5×5	✔
MT45	AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 3300U	5×5	✔
MT32	AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 4300U	5×5	✔
Lenovo M715Q (Raven Rage)	AMD Ryzen 5 2400GE	5×5	✔
Lenovo M715Q-1 (Picasso)	AMD Ryzen 5 pro 3400GE	5×5	✔
All-in-One LG 38CK900G	AMD Ryzen 3 2200U	5×5	✔

How to enable Smart Virtual Backgrounds for Linux

Zoom automatically turns on Smart VB for the models illustrated in the above table. Zoom automatically turns on Smart VB for all clients with the capabilities shown in the above table. As long as you’re using a green screen instead of a virtual background, you’ll only be able to choose a virtual background with models that do not meet the hardware requirements.

In the past several weeks Zoom has been working diligently to ensure that the requirements for Smart VB make sure it runs as expected on various platforms. However, it may be necessary to manually override those limitations imposed by the allow list to test devices that are not automatically recognized for Smart VB. Zoom does not recommend using this option for overriding the allow list except for testing purposes. As a result of your testing, if you see that one of the models not currently supported could be added to the allow list, please contact Zoom to let them know about your testing results.