Systems and methods for adaptively improving the perceived quality of a video conference by passive users

1. A method comprising:

designating, by a computer device, a user of a video conferencing application as a passive user;

generating, by the computer device, a delay between receiving content via the video conferencing application and playing the content by the video conferencing application, wherein the delay progressively increases to a particular delay value, based on designating the user of the video conferencing application as a passive user; and

playing, by the computer device, the received content using the video conferencing application based on the generated delay.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein playing the received content using the video conferencing application based on the generated delay includes:

storing the received content in a buffer before playing the content by the video conferencing application; and

playing the received content from the buffer using the video conferencing application.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein designating the user of the video conferencing application as a passive user includes:

detecting that the user has activated a mute setting.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein designating the user of the video conferencing application as a passive user includes:

determining that the user is a passive user using a computer vision analysis of a video stream of the user captured by a camera.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein designating the user of the video conferencing application as a passive user includes:

providing a passive mode prompt to the user; and

receiving a selection of the passive mode from the user.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein playing the received content using the video conferencing application based on the generated delay includes:

determining that a packet in the received content has been corrupted; and

requesting that the packet be re-sent, in response to determining that the packet in the received content has been corrupted.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining that the user has switched from being a passive user to an active user; and

switching the setting for the video conferencing application for the user from video streaming to real-time video, in response to determining that the user has switched from being a passive user to an active user.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein determining that the user has switched from being a passive user to an active user includes at least one of:

detecting that the user has deactivated a mute setting, or

determining that the user has switched from being a passive user to an active user using a computer vision analysis of a video stream of the user captured by a camera.

9. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

speeding up the playing of the received content using the video conferencing application until the content being played is corresponds to the real-time video received via the video conferencing application.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein speeding up the playing of the received content using the video conferencing application includes:

skipping a period of silence in an audio stream included in the received content.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein speeding up the playing of the received content using the video conferencing application includes:

skipping at least one video frame included in the received content.

12. A device comprising:

a processor configured to:

designate a user of a video conferencing application as a passive user;

generate a delay between receiving content via the video conferencing application and playing the content by the video conferencing application, wherein the delay progressively increases to a particular delay value, based on designating the user of the video conferencing application as a passive user; and

play the received content using the video conferencing application based on the generated delay.

13. The device of claim 12 , wherein, when designating the user of the video conferencing application as a passive user, the processor is further configured to at last one of:

detect that the user has activated a mute setting, or

determine that the user is a passive user using a computer vision analysis of a video stream of the user captured by a camera.

14. The device of claim 12 , wherein, when designating the user of the video conferencing application as a passive user, the processor is further configured to at last one of:

prompt the user to select a passive mode; and

receive a selection of a passive mode from the user.

15. The device of claim 12 , wherein, when playing the received content using the video conferencing application based on the generated delay the processor is further configured to:

determine that a packet in the received content has been corrupted; and

request that the packet be re-sent, in response to determining that the packet in the received content has been corrupted.

16. The device of claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine that the user has switched from being a passive user to an active user; and

switch the setting for the video conferencing application for the user from video streaming to real-time video, in response to determining that the user has switched from a being passive user to an active user.

17. The device of claim 16 , wherein, when determining that the user has switched from being a passive user to an active user, the processor is further configured to at least one of:

detect that the user has deactivated a mute setting, or

determine that the user has switched from being a passive user to an active user using a computer vision analysis of a video stream of the user captured by a camera.

18. The device of claim 16 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

speed up the playing of the received content using the video conferencing application until the content being played corresponds to the real-time video received via the video conferencing application.

19. The device of claim 18 , wherein, when speeding up the playing of the received content using the video conferencing application, the processor is further configured to at least one of:

skip a period of silence in an audio stream included in the received content, or

skip a video frame included in the received content.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable memory device storing instructions executable by a processor, the non-transitory computer-readable memory device comprising:

one or more instructions to designate a user of a video conferencing application as a passive user;

one or more instructions to generate a delay between receiving content via the video conferencing application and playing the content by the video conferencing application, wherein the delay progressively increases to a particular delay value, based on designating the user of the video conferencing application as a passive user; and

one or more instructions to play the received content using the video conferencing application based on the generated delay.