Hangouts on Air (HoA) the broadcast live feature to Google+ and YouTube received 3 wonderful updates today.

Now you can hide the filmstrip that appears below hangout video (that allows to record as a full screen video), when there are just 1 or 2 people on the hangout it automatically treats as a screen cast and a new setting to auto mute when new people enter hangouts (reduces background noises).

Hangouts on Air gets 3 new features today (Images: Google+)

More details according to Tim Milligan of Google+

1) Hide the film strip at any time. The updated Cameraman app (http://goo.gl/NBbjc) lets you broadcast and record only the main video feed whenever you want. Bringing back the film strip is likewise just a click away.

2) Mute new participants, automatically. To reduce interruptions during your broadcast, the new Cameraman app also lets you mute new participants whenever they join.

3) Better screen casts and 1-2 person broadcasts, by default. Regardless whether you use the Cameraman app, we’ll hide the film strip whenever you’re screencasting and/or when there’s only 1-2 participants.

Now, with these wonderful updates it is free and easier to run web meeting / screencasting and have it automatically uploaded and shared on Google+ & YouTube without any extra work. Cool huh?

Enjoy the updates and please share your thoughts.