Join MS Teams meetings with standard video conferencing systems – it’s easy.

There are two ways NHS Scotland VC systems can join Teams meetings.

Recommended Setup

Many newer VC systems have now been reconfigured for use as video-bars, controlled by a PC, allowing them to be used for any video calls running on that PC.

If your system has not already been converted, please see our advice and guidance on converting VC systems to video-bar use. This effectively turns the VC unit into a combination of webcam, microphone and speakers which can then be selected for use by any software-based video call package, eg Teams, Near Me etc.

Webex Control Hub Service (from late July 2024)

NHS Scotland no longer hosts in-house registration and calling infrastructure for standards compliant video conferencing systems.

However, from late July 2024, a small number of compatible systems, mostly located within NHS Tayside, will be registered to the Cisco Webex Control Hub cloud-based service, allowing them to join Teams meetings via an entry on their ‘Favourites’ menu. This can be done either by choosing a preconfigured Teams meeting entry or by selecting the entry labelled Call Teams (and enter Video ID#).

All scheduled Teams meetings include a 10-digit ‘Video ID’ number that VC units can use to join the meeting, this can be found at the bottom of the invitation.

To join a Teams meeting from a Webex-registered system, choose the Call Teams (and enter Video ID#) Favourite and then enter the 10-digit Video ID number for your meeting, followed by a #, when prompted.

Joining meetings in this way allows shared PC content to be sent/received by any attendees, whether they’re using their VC system or Teams running on their PC.

Video conferencing systems from outwith NHS Scotland can also join scheduled Teams meetings, so long as they dial the full SIP address and then enter the Video Conference ID. For example, for the Teams meeting pictured above, they would dial nhsscot@m.webex.com and then enter 1234567890# when prompted.

Alternatively, they can dial the Video ID followed by a dot and then the video address as a suffix, for example – 1234567890.nhsscot@m.webex.com – in this instance.

Scheduling your Teams meeting using Outlook.

A VC-compatible meeting can be booked directly within the online version of Outlook or in Teams.

If using Outlook, create a meeting invitation as normal, but be sure to select ‘Teams meeting’ (as highlighted) to generate the dial-in information for standard VC units.

When a standard video conferencing system enters your meeting, they’ll appear in the lobby, just like any other external participant. You can simply admit them into the meeting when you’re ready.

It’s worth remembering that Teams attendees, connected on laptops or desktops in the same room as the VC unit, will need to mute their microphones and set the speaker volume to zero on their PC to prevent audio feedback.