We’re happy to say that last week, as part of the 2.12 release of our client SDKs, we graduated the OpenTok Windows Client SDK out of beta. This SDK allows Windows developers to add rich, immersive video chat to Windows native applications and to really let their creativity flow.
In June, we announced our latest beta, OpenTok.js SDK 2.12. With that release, developers could start building beta projects that are compatible with Safari 11, kicking off WebRTC availability in Safari for the first time. This release was announced at the WWDC keynote back in June, when Apple indicated WebRTC support for iOS 11.
Today, in light of Apple’s event, we’re excited to announce that WebRTC support for Safari 11 is here. With the number of devices that run the Safari browser, this provides greater device reach for TokBox customers and introduces a whole new set of use cases for browser based video chat.
Customers spanning across industries, from healthcare, to education, to professional services and even finance, are adapting to live-video as a way to stay engaged with their clients and exceed customer expectations. In fact, worldwide, we know the number of telehealth patients will increase by 10x by 2018. And, we know that 87% of students prefer to collaborate online than in person. There’s no doubt that live video is now an integral part of client engagement and brand loyalty, and will only continue to become more prevalent in the future.
Today, 66% of all internet traffic is being driven by live-streaming video, and by 2020, that number will grow to 82%, according to research by Cisco. Rapidly-successful User Generated Content apps, like Facebook Live and Periscope, are among the driving forces behind this growth, as live video and interactive online broadcasting is being widely adopted across industries, including webinar platforms.
NEWS: In the San Francisco Bay area? Come to our Developer Workshop on WebRTC in Safari on June 22 @6pm.
Today we’re rolling out an exciting new beta – the OpenTok.js SDK 2.12. With this release developers can begin building beta projects that are compatible with Safari 11. That’s right, WebRTC is available in Safari in beta.
Given the large number of devices running the Safari browser, this not only provides broader device reach for TokBox customers once it releases to general availability, but introduces a new set of use cases for browser based video chat on iPhones and iPads. On Monday our CEO Scott Lomond wrote about what this development means for WebRTC. Our goal today is to help you understand how you can start leveraging the OpenTok platform and WebRTC in the Safari beta.
We are excited to announce the release of the OpenTok 2.11 Client SDKs which were released recently.
What’s New?
In addition to powering live video experiences, TokBox is also in the business of making it simple to create content. Whether it’s for a social live stream that is delivered to millions of viewers, or a webinar recorded for post-event distribution, the OpenTok platform makes it possible.
There is no one-size-fits-all video layout that accommodates this wide range of use cases. You wouldn’t use the same UI/UX for a broadcast app as you would a customer service app, right? Developers using our platform need adequate control and flexibility to create UI/UX optimized for their experience.
For this reason, we’re excited to release new REST APIs to customize video layout for content creators using the Archiving API and Broadcast API for HLS & RTMP. Now developers using these two features can create a custom layout using CSS, or select one of the following prebuilt layouts:
Today we’re announcing the reduction of our minimum monthly fee from $50 to just $9.99. This rate includes your first 2,000 subscribed minutes. If you have an application that uses 2,000 minutes or less per month, you’ll save $40 per month with this change.
As the market for live video continues to grow, we want to make sure that the OpenTok platform is accessible to developers and organizations large and small, across the globe. We learned that $50 can be a barrier to entry for developers who are just testing, startups that are in prolonged trials before launch, or are in emerging markets.
We aren’t changing the underlying starting rate of $.005 per subscribed minute. Our goal with this update is to open the door to a broader audience and provide an accessible entry price point. For existing customers this pricing update will be effective for your account as of May 2, 2017. Your next bill will automatically reflect this new rate retroactively – no action is required on your part.
A new tool to test connectivity, expected call quality, client hardware, and client software
Whether you’re in the healthcare industry or have a social app, it’s likely you’ve had difficulties gathering diagnostic data from end-users. There are components beyond live video and basic app errors that can trip up an experience – network performance, low quality devices and more. In addition, the huge diversity among users’ system configurations means that there is no one-size fits all cause for errors.
We believe a big part of our job as your live video platform provider is to give you the tools you need to understand (in advance) call performance. That’s why we’re excited to introduce the new and improved Pre-call Test (formerly known as the Connectivity Doctor). Using network condition data, the new Pre-call Test tool will help you preemptively diagnose problems that your end-users may encounter as a result of poor connectivity. It will help you answer important questions like, “will my application work where it needs to?” and “what will the call quality be?”
Today we’re rolling out our new Windows SDK into public-beta. This means that you can build live video applications and services that work seamlessly across iOS, Android, Web and Windows desktops, laptops, and tablets. With this, TokBox is continuing to broaden our endpoint flexibility for our customers and partners.
SDK Features
The Windows SDK has all the great features that you’ve come to expect from the OpenTok Platform. In addition to being fully interoperable with all our existing client SDKs, it also includes support for:
