I am looking for suggestions for a Video Conferencing API which doesn’t use Flash.
The project I am working on will be a website which will be viewed primarily through Safari on an iPad, although may potentially be designed for other tablets too. This means the solution will not be able to use Flash (Apple doesn’t support it) and will be written in JavaScript, as it is a web site NOT an app.
There will need to be up to 12 people in one video conference, and must include features such as resizing windows, changing volume etc.
I’d be grateful if anyone has any suggestions or any links they can point me to?
Unfortunately, WebRTC just isn’t there for you yet. I feel your pain.
You could make due with Adobe AIR, but doing interactive streaming video with it really requires RTMFP (TCP is a killer) and video mixing on the server. This may be an option for you, if you’re willing to suffer actionscript. Technically this isn’t “Flash”, as AIR apps are fully encapsulated mobile applications.
The best alternative I can recommend for you is to use the SDK softclient from Mirial (recently acquired by Logitech’s LifeSize division), and embed that in your iOS app. This does require a rather expensive Mirial Carrier Server (MCS) to register those endpoints to, however.
Multiple Video Relay Service providers for the deaf and hard of hearing presently use this platform engine for their mobile application offerings. This includes Purple (HOVRS), ZVRS (CSDVRS), Convo Relay, and a couple of others.
Unfortunately, having many people in the same “room” requires something like an MCU to mix the video. There are two opensource projects worth noting that can do this today: OpenVCS, and OpenMCU.
There are other emergent technologies floating about, but most people appear to be waiting for WebRTC to get to the point where it can be seamlessly used on mobile devices.
This is the current state of the bleeding edge of video telepresence if you’re looking to embed it into your product offering.