6 Reasons Why Testing Screen Sharing Quality Matters

Remote work has become more common than ever and alongside virtual meetings, online education, and game streaming, screen sharing has emerged as a crucial tool. Whether you're presenting a business report, teaching a class, or streaming a game, the quality of your screen sharing can make or break the experience. But have you ever wondered why testing screen sharing quality is so important? 

This blog covers the top 6 reasons to test screen sharing quality. Let’s dive in.

1. Ensuring great user experience

One of the biggest reasons to test screen sharing is to ensure excellent user experience. This includes great image quality, fluency of the video feed, minimized delay in both audio and video, optimized bandwidth consumption, and an easy-to-use and intuitive user interface. Each of those aspects is crucial, as when one of those things is missing, the user experience will be ruined. 

Testing these elements can give you an idea of how well your app performs and how true the screen sharing is to the original material. Let’s break them down:

• Image quality. Used to determine the quality of the image after it was sent to the end user and can be measured using different algorithms, like VMAF or VQTDL. 
• Fluency. The smoothness of the video. It is composed of FPS and freezes, which can be detected using markers in the video feed, algorithms to evaluate the amount of frames per second, and an algorithm that reads FPS in sequence to detect freezes. 
• Video delay. A core component of the video feed, and it is measured by the sequence of markers to determine the gap between the source material and the end user.
• Audio delay. Similarly to video delay, it is an important aspect of the experience, which uses source material in comparison to the result to detect any differences between the two, using which it can determine the delay.
• Audio quality. Clarity of speech. It can be measured using various algorithms like POLQA or VISQOL, but the core idea is the same - how true it is to the original audio. Ensuring a good audio quality, in most cases, is the most important aspect of the call.

2. Minimizing latency & lag

Nothing is more frustrating than a delayed screen share, especially during live presentations or fast-paced gaming sessions. Testing helps you measure latency and find ways to reduce lag, ensuring a smooth experience for your audience. 

Thorough testing can help you determine if there is a discrepancy between the audio and video feed, as well as overall delay between the sender and receiver under various network conditions. To see the discrepancies between the audio and video feeds, we use algorithms and predetermined content.

Measuring latency is done by comparing the original video or audio source with the one that is seen on the receiver. Using this method, we can accurately determine the delay using comparison tools along with markers that are set in a specific sequence to ensure no errors.

You may be interested in: Video Call Reliability and Quality Review—Introducing Our New Service.

3. Assessing bandwidth usage

Screen sharing can be a bandwidth-heavy activity. If your internet connection isn’t strong enough, it can lead to choppy visuals and audio disruptions. Testing allows you to check whether your connection can handle screen sharing without negatively impacting other online activities. 

Testing can assess how much bandwidth your app is using under various loads and how this changes when packet loss, delay, or jitter are introduced. Through gathering metrics like bandwidth, packet loss, and jitter, video quality testers can find out what is the primary reason an app might not be performing as well as it could under certain circumstances.

4. Checking audio & video sync

If you're sharing a video or a multimedia presentation, keeping the audio and visuals in sync is crucial for a smooth viewing experience. Testing helps ensure that the sound doesn’t lag or play ahead of the visuals, which can be a major distraction and diminish the overall quality. 

Poor synchronization can lead to viewer frustration, misinterpretation of content, and a lack of engagement. Thorough video testing and fine-tuning audio-visual alignment, you create a more polished and professional presentation that keeps your audience focused on the message rather than technical issues.

5. Optimizing for different devices

A high-end PC screen might display content beautifully, but that doesn’t guarantee the same experience on a mobile phone or tablet. Testing across multiple devices ensures that everyone can access and interact with your content properly, regardless of their device.

Performance testing plays a crucial role in making sure your product functions seamlessly across different platforms—and that’s where we come in. Our testing process helps identify potential bottlenecks, whether it’s a CPU limitation, GPU performance issue, RAM (memory) constraints, or another factor affecting efficiency. By pinpointing these blockers, testing can help optimize your product for a smoother, more responsive user experience.

6. Identifying platform limitations

Not all screen-sharing platforms are created equal. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Discord each have their own strengths and limitations. Testing helps you evaluate how an application performs compared to others, identify potential weaknesses, and uncover areas for improvement.

At TestDevLab, we have an extensive inventory of physical devices—over 4,000 different models! This allows us to test any platform interacting with any other platform, ensuring seamless compatibility across diverse environments. Whether it's Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, iPadOS, Linux, or other operating systems, we conduct thorough cross-platform testing to detect and resolve potential issues. By simulating real-world usage scenarios, we help you refine your product and deliver a seamless user experience.

You may be interested in: Simple Guide to Testing Android TV Apps.

TDL x Zoom case study

When COVID-19 emerged, remote work and online learning became essential, driving widespread adoption of video conferencing applications like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. However, earlier versions of these platforms faced performance challenges, especially with large groups.

One of our clients, Zoom, recognized these issues and partnered with us to enhance their product. Through continuous collaboration and targeted feedback, we helped refine their releases, significantly improving functionality and scalability. As a result, Zoom has become a leading platform in its field. Our partnership continues today as we work together to enhance their existing and future products.

You can read more about it here: Zoom Video SDK Performance Guide.

Since then, many other companies, including Discord and Microsoft, have chosen to work with us to optimize their platforms.

Final thoughts

Screen sharing is essential to digital communication, but poor quality can quickly ruin the experience for everyone involved. You can ensure smooth performance, reliability, and a seamless user experience by thoroughly testing your application.

We offer flexible testing solutions tailored to your needs. Whether you require manual testing, automated testing, or a combination of both, we can test your application across any platform or device, using the metrics that matter most to you. Our goal is to help you deliver a high-quality product with confidence.

Ready to ensure flawless screen sharing with our tailored testing solutions? Contact us today to learn more about our audio and video testing services and how we can optimize your application's performance to deliver the best user experience!