When most people envision remote teams or remote businesses, what comes to mind is a group of people in front of a screen donning headphones and utilising video conferencing platforms for communication and collaboration. However, most people do not have any idea of the technology behind group video calls, virtual sessions and online meetings.
This is where WebRTC comes in. In today’s digital era, WebRTC plays a crucial role in enabling real-time, high-quality video calls directly from web browsers and mobile devices. In this article, we are going to explore the role WebRTC plays in group video calls, group chats and virtual meetings, as well as some of the technologies that facilitate WebRTC.
Table of Contents
Before we dive in, let’s first recap on what WebRTC is.
WebRTC is one of the most powerful technologies that facilitates real-time P2P communication through browsers without the need for plugins or other software. For starters, WebRTC consists of three main components that allow video group communication:
Secondly, WebRTC also relies on signalling protocols to establish group video calls across browsers. Simply put, Signaling protocols allow the exchange of information between participants to initiate and maintain calls using protocols such as Session Initiation Protocols or WebSocket. You can learn more about WebRTC Signaling here.
Additionally, WebRTC relies on signalling servers to enable group video communication. As we shall see later in the article, Signaling servers facilitate the initial connection setup and enable participants to find and connect with each other.
Lastly, WebRTC relies on a few additional servers - STUN (Session Traversal Utilities for NAT) and TURN (Traversal Using Relays around NAT) servers to handle network traversal and relay media streams, ensuring reliable communication even in challenging network environments.
Although WebRTC enables direct P2P connection between participants, it still relies on servers. But not in the conventional client-server. To provide smooth group video communication, WebRTC relies on the following servers.
So, how do these servers facilitate group video calls?
Bandwidth is crucial in ensuring a smooth and quality video call experience. In cases of insufficient bandwidth, video call participants will experience pixelated video, distorted and delayed audio, and overall poor call quality. As such, it’s crucial to optimise your bandwidth.
To optimise bandwidth usage in WebRTC group video calls:
Overview of group chat functionality in WebRTC
With WebRTC, you can enjoy robust group chat functionality during video calls. It allows participants to exchange text messages in real time, fostering collaboration, information sharing, and seamless communication alongside video interactions.
So, how do you get started with WebRTC group chat on your platform? Follow these steps:
However, if you want to get to market fast, you can always opt for pre-built low-code platforms like Digital Samba video conferencing platform. You'll save time, cut costs and get to enjoy a plethora of cool features.
To ensure smooth WebRTC group video calls:
Use quality audio and video devices.
When it comes to group video communication, ensuring seamless and effective communication among participants is paramount. However, you’ve probably experienced the challenge of finding a video conferencing platform that leverages WebRTC seamlessly to meet your needs.
Well, that's where Digital Samba's Video as a Service (VaaS) Conferencing platform comes in. As a trusted provider, we offer innovative solutions tailored to your specific needs. Allow you to experience enhanced collaboration, cost-effectiveness, and seamless integration with our WebRTC-powered VaaS API.
Don't miss out on the power of WebRTC. Unlock its potential with Digital Samba today and revolutionise your group's video communication.