# Best practices

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These recommendations help you ship a polished video experience with the Video SDK for macOS.

## Permissions

The SDK cannot capture from the camera until the user has granted camera access. Add an `NSCameraUsageDescription` entry to your app's `Info.plist` and request permission _before_ you call `startVideo`.

-   Request camera access at the moment the user takes an action that needs video (such as clicking a "Start camera" button), not at app launch. This makes the prompt feel justified.
-   If the user denies access, surface a clear message and a path to retry by opening **System Settings > Privacy & Security > Camera**.
-   If you also need audio, add an `NSMicrophoneUsageDescription` entry and request microphone access at the same time.

For the macOS permission flow, see [Requesting Authorization for Media Capture on macOS](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/avfoundation/cameras_and_media_capture/requesting_authorization_for_media_capture_on_macos?language=objc).

## Camera selection

-   **Offer a chooser.** Use [`getCameraList`](/docs/video-sdk/macos/video/camera-controls/#get-the-camera-list) to populate a settings UI so users can pick their preferred camera. Many desktop setups have multiple cameras attached.
-   **Mirror the preview.** Call `mirrorMyVideo(true)` so users see themselves the way they would in a mirror. Toggle the mirror when the user switches cameras.
-   **Persist the choice.** Remember the user's selected camera between sessions and re-apply it with [`selectCamera`](/docs/video-sdk/macos/video/camera-controls/#select-a-camera).

## Layout and density

The SDK doesn't enforce a maximum number of rendered videos, but performance and screen real estate do. On macOS, where window sizes vary widely, base your grid on the current window size rather than a fixed count, and paginate when the user count exceeds your grid. When video tiles are too small, the content is no longer useful.

## Show video status in your UI

When a user has their camera off, render a placeholder (an avatar, initials, or a "camera off" icon) instead of a blank tile. Implement [`onUserVideoStatusChanged`](/docs/video-sdk/macos/video/video-events/#user-video-status) so you can switch between the rendered video and the placeholder as users toggle their cameras.

## Lifecycle

-   Subscribe to a user's video pipe when its view appears and unsubscribe when the view is removed or the window closes, to avoid leaking renderers.
-   Stop video when the user explicitly leaves the session. Keep video-related state in your view model so it survives view reloads.

## Network resilience

Use [`setVideoQualityPreference`](/docs/video-sdk/macos/video/video-quality/#video-preference-modes) to bias the SDK toward smoothness or sharpness depending on your use case. For most video conferencing scenarios, the default `Balance` mode is appropriate; switch to `Sharpness` for content where image detail matters (medical imaging, document cameras) and `Smoothness` for motion-heavy content (sports, demos).

## Hardware

Check [`isDeviceSupportAlphaChannelMode`](/docs/video-sdk/macos/video/camera-controls/#alpha-channel-mode) before exposing alpha-channel video features, since not all devices support them.