Content Camera – User Manual

The Content Camera is a desktop application that serves all of the features and functionality of ShareTheBoard as a virtual camera. This camera can then be made available to any camera-using application. Install the app once and enjoy legible, interactive, and secured whiteboard contents inside any of your favorite video conferencing applications.

User manual contents:

1. Overview
2. System requirements
3. Installation
4. Running the app
5. Using the app with video conferencing solutions
6. Known issues / Troubleshooting
7. Supported applications

Initial flow:

1. Install Content Camera on your PC (Section 3)
2. Login to your ShareTheBoard account (4.1)
3A. For fixed-camera setups (e.g., classrooms or conference rooms)

1. Complete onboarding (4.2)/(4.3) and start the session
2. Save selected work area identified during onboarding as a default to leverage the quick-start feature (4.5). Close the app window.
3. Open your favorite conferencing tool (e.g., Zoom), select the Content Camera as the video source (section 5) and start your conference

3B. When not using a fixed-position camera

1. Open your favorite conferencing tool (e.g., Zoom), select the Content Camera as the video source (section 5) and start your conference
2. Starting a conference will make the ShareTheBoard app pop-up with an onboarding screen. Complete the onboarding and close the app window.

Now use your conferencing tool as you normally would… and enjoy all ShareTheBoard functionality right inside the tool!

Ongoing usage:

• After the initial setup, if you have saved the default work area, the app will work in the background every time you start a video conference (e.g., in Zoom, MS Teams, Google Meet). This will offer the most comfortable use of ShareTheBoard (zero-click launch).
• If you did not save your default work area, the onboarding screen will pop up every time you use the Content Camera (the app is triggered simply by using your video conference app)
• You can manage ShareTheBoard sessions (e.g., display session links, clear digital annotations) from the Windows Tray or directly inside the application

NOTE for school administrators:
Our recommendation is to leverage the “save as default” feature in any pilot. As a result – assuming cameras are fixed – each classroom will need to be set up only once by an administrator. After that – assuming STB can be set as the default camera – lecturers will automatically trigger it when they use video conferencing or lecture capture applications.

• Windows 10/11
• Recommended minimum RAM 16GB
• Graphics card Intel® UHD Graphics 770 (recommended comparable or better)
• Admin rights are needed to install the application
• Static webcam (external or internal) with min. 720p. We recommend using a FHD (1080p) camera. Consider using a wider angle camera when working with long horizontal working areas (e.g., 3 contiguous whiteboards).

3.1 Execute installer:

File format = “ShareTheBoard-[version]-Setup.msi”

3.2 Allow the application to make changes on the PC

3.3 Select installation folder and press Install

3.4 Finish installation process (you may choose to run the application)

4.1 Log in to the app

Log in to your PRO/TEAM/ENTERPRISE account using your email and password

(if you forget you or lose your password, please use the retrieval option available on the login page)

4.2 Start session

On the dashboard, click Share The Board Now

4.3 Identify the board (set work area)

Here, you have two options:

1. Automatic board detection: simply point your camera at the surface to be shared. If you’re happy with the selection, click Yes, start session
2. Setup your work area manually: if the app doesn’t find your surface or if you just want to override it, select No, set it manually Then adjust the sides and corners of the work area to match the shape of the surface you’d like to share

Note: If you have multiple cameras available, the Content Camera may not select the one you’re hoping to use. If needed, open Camera settings and change the source camera

(If desired camera is not available, please make sure it is not in use by another application)

4.4 Complete onboarding

After setting your work area and activating your session, please wait a few seconds to make sure your content is detected.

Congratulations, your content camera is working, and you are ready to use it in other applications!

If you’d like to set your selected work area as a default, see section 4.5 below; otherwise, you may close this application window (ShareTheBoard’s Content Camera will continue to run in the background) and proceed to section 5.

4.5 Quick start

If you’re working with a fixed-position camera (e.g., in a specific classroom), you can set your selected work area as a default. This option will allow you to use the ShareTheBoard quick-start feature.

With a default work area set, triggering ShareTheBoard in another application (see section 5) will result in skipping the board identification step. This will provide users with the fastest and simplest access to ShareTheBoard.

Please note that this setting is tied to a given PC/device and not to your ShareTheBoard account. This means that the default selection will be shared with all the users using this physical machine. Different physical machines can have different setups (even if using the same ShareTheBoard account).

4.5.1 Set work area as default

To set your selected work area as a default, click the Settings icon, then click Set as Default under the in Quick start setup section

With default work area settings in place, you can end your session and close this application window.

4.5.2 Work area management

Later on, you can update your settings by adjusting your work area and clicking the Set as Default button again.

If you changed the work area during manually, you can quickly restore it using the Restore option.

You can also clear your default settings, using the Clear button. This disables the quick-start feature (i.e., triggering ShareTheBoard will first trigger the onboarding step in which you identify your work area).

4.6 Managing your session with the Content Camera window closed

As the Content Camera runs in the background, you do not need its window to remain visibly open. Instead, you can use the shortcuts available to you directly in the Windows app tray.

Click on the carrot in the system bar at the bottom right of your screen. Then, right click the ShareTheBoard icon to reveal a menu of shortcuts.

If you use ShareTheBoard regularly, consider attaching the ShareTheBoard icon directly onto your system bar. To do so, simply drag the icon onto the bar.

4.6.1 Show session links

By default, the Content Camera generates unique links for each session. These links lead to the Board View for your specific session. Here, viewers can save board contents, zoom in on them as needed, and even contribute digital content of their own, directly to your board.

To trigger the visibility of the links – both as a shortened URL and as a QR code – select Show session links in the shortcut menu. To then hide these links, select Hide session links.

You can also trigger visibility of the QR code with the app window open – simply click the QR toggle button.

NOTE: some video conference providers (e.g., Google Meet) show a mirrored image to their presenters by default. This means, that any session links may appear backward to presenters (though they’ll always appear correctly to viewers).

4.6.2 Manage annotations

Your viewers can contribute content directly to your board, using digital annotations. Annotations are available to all  session participants. Presenters can contribute digital annotations directly in the app window. Viewers must open Board View in a browser (via session-specific links — see 4.6.1) to contribute annotations

Annotations are disabled by default in the Content Camera. This is done to allow presenters to focus on their (actual) whiteboard and to control when/how viewers contribute content of their own. Annotations can be enabled during your session inside the application window or via the shortcut Tray menu.

The shortcut menu provides two convenient options for managing your viewers’ digital content contributions:

1. You can easily turn on (and turn off) digital annotations (NOTE: by default, digital annotations are turned off)
2. You can easily clear all annotations with one click

After you’ve completed installation (section 3) and setup of the application (section 4), you simply need to select the Content Camera as the video source in your conferencing solution of choice.

5.1 Google Meet

During your session, click the 3 dots menu and select Settings

Then go to the Video settings and from the dropdown menu of available cameras, select ShareTheBoard Content Camera 

NOTE: this may also appear as “ShareTheBoard Virtual Camera”

5.2 Zoom

During your meeting, press the arrow near the camera icon. Select ShareTheBoard Content Camera

NOTE: may appear as “ShareTheBoard Virtual Camera”

5.2.1 Zoom Troubleshooting

If you notice any issues with the Zoom interface (i.e., lags while using the ShareTheBoard Content Camera):

• Open Settings in the Zoom Desktop application
• Go to Video options
• Press Advanced button

Then, select Direct3D11 under “Video Rendering Method”

This should eliminate the lags inside of the Zoom interface.

5.3 Microsoft Teams

In the pre-meeting configuration screen open Settings (gear icon)

Under “Video settings” click the Camera dropdown and select ShareTheBoard Content Camera

NOTE: it may also appear as “ShareTheBoard Virtual Camera”

6.1 During installation 

During installation or app updates, when prompted with information about processes you need to close:

• Close ShareTheBoard Content Camera application (right click on icon inside the shortcut Tray menu and select Quit). Note that pressing [x] on the application window will only minimize it and it will still be active in the background.
• If prompted, close the video conference application blocking the installation process

6.2 Opening session in ShareTheBoard application fails

This is a very rare issue, but if you’re not be able to open a session in the ShareTheBoard application (that is, after pressing “Share The Board Now” for a moment the video feed appears and then the screen turns to white), simply logout/login from Windows or restart your PC. Then use the application normally.

This issue should only occur in the following conditions:

• Quit the ShareTheBoard application while using it in a conference app (using short cut menu)
• Force quit the conference application in questions (by stopping the process in the Task Manager)

6.3 Virtual Camera doesn’t appear within other applications

First, try restarting the application in question (e.g., Zoom or Skype); otherwise:

• Most likely cause: the Content Camera was not installed with admin rights
  FIX: Please uninstall the application, then install it again with admin rights
• Other potential cause: the DLL required to install the virtual camera was not properly implemented
  FIX: Restart your computer

6.4 Zoom UI lag (for more info, see section 5.2.1)

If you notice any issues within the Zoom interface (ie. lags within the interface while using the ShareTheBoard Content Camera)

• Open Settings in Zoom Desktop application
• Go to Video options
• Press Advanced button
• Select Direct3D11

6.5 Auto-start is not working after startup

The ShareTheBoard application opens at system startup along with other applications. A meeting in a conference app (e.g., MS Teams) can be started before the ShareTheBoard Content Camera is initialized and in such cases, the auto start feature will not work.

• FIX: Disable and enable video in the conference application – after this operation, the auto-start feature should be available.

6.6. Frozen ShareTheBoard screen in the conference application

In rare cases you may see a frozen frame or static STB default screen. In such situations, try these steps to unblock the application:

• Restart the ShareTheBoard Content Camera
  Right-click on the application icon inside the shortcut Tray and select Quit; then start the application once again.
• If this will not fix the issue, try restarting your conference application
• Finally, in very rare cases you may need to:
  • restart your PC
  • reinstall the ShareTheBoard application

List of tested/supported applications:

• Video conferencing providers (including but not limited to…)
  • Zoom
  • Google Meet
  • MS Teams
  • Skype
  • Whereby
• Unless otherwise noted, any camera-using application

Input stream:

• Any webcam
• OBS virtual camera
• Snap Camera

We are aware that at the moment our application is not compatible with:

• Panopto (legacy desktop version only)
• Camdroid