Hosted realtime audio/video conferencing
Use https://sip2sip.info/ for now, and try avoid more than 6 video streams
This is an overview of realtime audio/video conferencing option,
categorized as "good", "bad" or "ugly"
based on how recommendable they are
both politically, technically and practically.
Good
"Good" options use open standards and Free software,
is realistic to self-host on cheap, small computers
(even if concrete instance might be cloud-based),
and are readily usable.
Generally most reliable is https://sip2sip.info/,
so use that unless you need a specific feature unavailable there.
sip2sip.info
Login is intuitive and step-wise,
using ad-hoc identity.
Connect to https://sip2sip.info/ and select room name,
and you are redirected to a room URL
(room URL is however long to type and at another commercial site).
Media selection is done reliably
before entering the room
(except if you cancel browser dialog, then login page is trapped).
Streaming and rendering is efficient.
Video focus can optionally be locked onto 1-2 "speakers".
Unknown how larger meetings are handled.
Includes text chat
(crucial in case of audio trouble).
letsmeet.no
Login is intuitive and step-wise,
using either ad-hoc or Feide (EduGAIN, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) identity.
Connect to https://letsmeet.no/ and select room name,
and you are redirected to an intuitive room URL.
Media selection is done unreliably
(not reliably detecting available devices)
when entering the room
(if browser dialog is cancelled you enter room in a broken unrepariable state)
Streaming and rendering is inefficient
(heavy CPU load).
Video focus can optionally be limited to an arbitrary amount of "speakers"
(limiting only by number not locked onto specific participants).
Unknown how larger meetings are handled.
Includes text chat
(crucial in case of audio trouble).
Bad
"Bad" options use Free software,
but either uses non-standard protocols,
is too heavy for small-scale self-hosting,
or does not really work reliably.
These are only relevant if you need some specific feature,
or for inspiration when exploring what is possible.
tawk.space
No login.
Connect to https://tawk.space/
which is one big "room".
Media selection is done only using browser dialog.
(if browser dialog is cancelled you enter room in a broken unrepariable state)
Streaming is unreliable
(may fail to initiate video, and video freezes after ~10 seconds);
rendering is efficient.
Unknown how larger meetings are handled.
Includes text-based scratch-space.
Includes per-participant pointer.
roll.call
Roll Call
audio-only
hosted at https://roll.call
Jitsi
Jitsi Meet
using Jigasi and Jitsi Videobridge
hosted at https://meet.jit.si/
Matrix
Matrix
using Jigasi and Jitsi Videobridge
BigBlueButton
BigBlueButton
using Kurento
written in Java
Wire
Wire
proprietary-protocol Free Software stack
written in Haskell, Rust, C
Ugly
"Ugly" options use proprietary software.
Avoid them, they are bad for society.
Talky
Talky
cloud SFU service
hosted at https://talky.io/
Me
Me
cloud SFU service
GoToMeeting
cloud SFU service
Zoom
Zoom Meetings
cloud SFU service
supporting "up to 50 participants at once"
(but client bandwidth and resource demands and stability of such session is unknown)
Hangouts
Hangouts Meet
cloud SFU service
Webex
Webex Meetings
cloud SFU service
Skype
Skype
cloud SFU service
suporting "up to 25 participants at once"
(but client bandwidth and resource demands and stability of such session is unknown)
MoxieMeet
MoxieMeet
cloud SFU service
requiring Google account
supporting "up to 32 users all on video together"
(but client bandwidth and resource demands and stability of such session is unknown)
TeamViewer
TeamViewer
cloud SFU service
