It's becoming clearer, seemingly with each passing day, that Web-based real time communications (WebRTC) is the next big thing when it comes to communications. The idea that we can do with a Web browser what would have taken entire separate apps or just specialized components is staggering, and many companies are not only putting these tools to work, but are also developing the future of these tools. Vidyo is proving no exception, as it has brought WebRTC support to the newest versions of both its VidyoConferencing tools and VidyoWorks platform.
To that end, Vidyo offered up a new JavaScript application programming interface (API) for VidyoWorks that will allow developers to add on WebRTC client systems to Vidyo's current infrastructure, without requiring the user to make that installation at the user level. That makes such services more accessible for users, and thus, makes said users more likely to actually use such tools instead of making do with whatever is currently in use.
Vidyo also rolled out Vidyo Server for WebRTC, a tool that would allow users with WebRTC-capable browsers—a growing proportion of the whole thanks to moves from Microsoft to support WebRTC in Internet Explorer—to get in on Vidyo calls, without the need to download anything extra. With Vidyo Server, users will also be able to join Vidyo conferences in voice and content sharing capabilities, even if the user in question is joining from a browser that doesn't offer WebRTC support. That's also true of mobile devices, a development which provides plenty of added flexibility.
But that's not the end of Vidyo's expansion plans, with support for VP9 soon to follow, a development that both Vidyo and Google have been working on since 2013. But with the expansion to VP9, Vidyo will be able to allow those using VP9 to get in on the various benefits offered by the VidyoRouter architecture, as well as the VidyoWorks platform. Some of these benefits include a more resilient connection as well as a better quality connection, yielding a better overall experience for the user.
Vidyo's CEO, Ofer Shapiro, offered up some comment on the new release, saying “Vidyo’s WebRTC strategy provides a clear path to a richer video experience without client installation, today with VP8 and with scalable VP9 in future. Extending WebRTC support into Vidyo’s platform and product portfolio is a natural progression and a testament to our continued leadership role in emerging standards in both the WebRTC and h.26x worlds.”
With Vidyo planning to attend the upcoming WebRTC Conference & Expo V event at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, California from November 18 through 20, it's going to be a great opportunity to see just what Vidyo has in mind for the WebRTC market and beyond. Based on what we know right now, meanwhile, Vidyo already has plenty in store, with some extremely flexible systems offering quite a bit in the way of utility and easier connections to others. That's most of what WebRTC is about, after all, and seeing Vidyo embody these virtues in its product line is a comfort and a reason to look forward to WebRTC's future.
WebRTC is a platform clearly in a growth pattern, and soon, we might well all be talking to others via our Web browsers. This might bring in some issues of its own—we're going to need a lot more bandwidth for starters—but for now, Vidyo seems to have a good chunk of the market well in hand.
Edited by
Maurice Nagle
