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🔉 Decrease Volume on Speak

Decrease Volume on Speak plugin

The Decrease Volume on Speak plugin is an official BigBlueButton add-on that ducks (reduces) the volume of any external video playing in the meeting whenever a participant is speaking. When no one is talking, the video volume fades back up.

Why it’s useful​

  • 🎤 Keeps voices intelligible over background videos
  • 🎚️ Smooth auto-ducking and fade-back for a natural feel
  • 🧩 Works seamlessly with BBB’s External Video feature

How it works (quick overview)​

  • Detects active speaker in the room
  • Temporarily reduces the external video player volume for all viewers
  • Restores volume after speech ends (with a short fade)

Notes & limits​

  • Applies to External Video playback (e.g., YouTube links shared in BBB), not screen share.
  • Effect is client-side and does not alter the recording’s audio mix.
  • Must be enabled by your admin on your BBB server/tenant.

Tips​

  • If your session mixes talk + background videos, keep this plugin enabled for clearer discussions.
  • You can still adjust your local player volume as needed.

Need help enabling it on your deployment? Ask your BBB admin to turn on the Decrease Volume on Speak plugin in the server’s plugin settings.