Do you still remember the time when uninterrupted audio/video calling over the Internet seemed like daydreaming? Well, technology has evolved, and everything is transforming at a fast pace. You no longer need to install third-party plugins or download native apps for video streaming purpose. Instead, you can easily achieve the same with the help of an advanced web conferencing technology called WebRTC, which is gaining a lot of popularity and is being used by many online media streaming platforms.
What is WebRTC?
WebRTC is an acronym for Web Real-Time Communication. It allows website and web applications to make audio/video calls and stream media over the Internet without having to install plugins or download native apps. The technology uses simple APIs and protocols for real-time communication purposes.
Browsers that support WebRTC
Desktop PC
- Microsoft Edge 12+
- Google Chrome 28+
- Mozilla Firefox 22+
- Safari 11+
- Opera 18+
Android
- Google Chrome 28+
- Mozilla Firefox 24+
- Opera Mobile 12+
iOS
- Mobile Safari
- WebKit (for iOS 11+)
How does WebRTC work?
To connect two devices and enable communication between them, the WebRTC technology requires:
- The local IP of the devices
- Session description protocol (SDP)
Further, communication over the Internet also involves firewalls and network address translation (NAT) due to which they cannot see each other’s local IP. For this reason, we use STUN (Session Traversal Utilities for NAT) and TURN (Traversal Using Relays around NAT) servers to help the peers get connected and exchange data.
The following diagram shows how the media streaming technology works:
Benefits of WebRTC
Following are the reasons why you should use WebRTC:
1. Independent of any device or operating systems
2. High-quality audio/video codecs for seamless media streaming experience
3. Guaranteed privacy with Secure RTP Protocol (SRTP) for audio & video encryption + authentication
5. Easily adaptable to a variety of network conditions
6. Integration of WebRTC doesn’t require much expertise
Given the benefits WebRTC offers and how easily it can be integrated into websites or web apps, we at Softobiz have been actively using the technology in various enterprise apps for our clients. One of our popular projects that use the technology is EasyWebinar, which is an online webinar streaming platform with over 8000 active users and popular enterprises as clients. The success of EasyWebinar is a story which you can read here.
