​19.08.2020

No more messy shelves in the background – BR and ZDF bring variety to your video call

by Eyes & Ears of Europe

There has never been such a high frequency of video calls and glimpses into private offices, kitchens and living rooms as this year. BR and ZDF are offering the solution for all those who don't feel like constantly tidying up shelves – virtual backgrounds for digital meetings.

Since March, work has not been the same for many people. Offices are empty, home offices have taken a huge leap forward and meetings are almost exclusively digital. This unexpected insight into the home-based office, living room or kitchen by colleagues is something that doesn't go down well with everyone. The conference platform providers Zoom, Skype or Teams already recognised this a long time ago and have therefore made the use of virtual backgrounds possible. For those who don't really like the Golden Gate Bridge, grass in the wind or the northern lights, but still don't want to show off their untidy shelves, they can create their own virtual backgrounds – for example with motifs from BR and ZDF.

Sunbathing together with Edi on the park bench or rather splashing around with Fritzchen?

ZDF has a selection of lovingly designed pictures with the Mainzelmännchen for all colleagues working from home. Whether a gardening Anton, a sunbathing Edi or a mountain-grazing Berti, Anton and Det – ten different backgrounds promise surprised looks and positive vibes for the next video conference.

Of to the BR recording studio, the OB van or the set of the "Komödienstadel"

In the meantime, BR has also checked its own archive and uploaded around 40 – some of them still unpublished – pictures as video conference background images. Besides the large broadcast hall of the BR from 1929 and various studios in black and white, there are also pictures of the set of the "Komödienstadel". With just two clicks you are no longer sitting in your living room but directly in the garden from "Der letzte Bär von Bayern" from 2009 or on the terrace from "Alpenglühn und Männertreu" from 2013.

How to:

Simply click on the individual pictures and save them on your own PC by selecting "Download". In the video conferencing software, select your own "Virtual Background" under settings and you never have to worry about the messy office in the background again.

For more information and new backgrounds visit https://www.br.de/unternehmen/inhalt/veranstaltungen/hintergrundbilder/index.html and https://www.zdf.de/mainzelmaennchen