Video Vendors Rush to Support WebRTC

As WebRTC awareness starts to ripple throughout the industry, video conferencing companies, too, are planning ahead. Some expect to support WebRTC soon, while others already do so.

WebRTC, or Real Time Communications, is an emerging open source video standard being developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Backed by Google and Mozilla, WebRTC enables browser-to-browser applications for video chat, voice calling and peer-to-peer file sharing without plug-ins.

Here are some of the products and services that either accommodate WebRTC now, or will in the coming months.

ACT Conferencing ACT Conferencings new Forum service connects conference participants on any video-enabled device and standards-based video platform. As a result, users with smartphones, laptops, desktop computers and laptops all can take part in a Forum conference. Forum works with Skype, Google Talk and ClearSea; Forum will accommodate WebRTC later in 2013.

AddLive AddLive offers an API that provides support to non-WebRTC browsers and applications, such as multiparty conferencing. That means people running browsers other than Chrome or Firefox can take advantage of WebRTC functionality. The API does not replace WebRTC, but is a supplement to the emerging standard.

Tely Labs Tely Labs‘ telyHD appliance will support WebRTC later this year. The product is the core piece required for all three of the Tely video conferencing platforms (telyMed, Business Edition and Enterprise Edition). telyHD turns any HDTV into an HD video calling system. It comes with an HD camera, four noise-canceling microphones and the Skype video calling app.

Thrupoint Thrupoints WebRTC-to-SIP platform provides interworking without the need for overhauls of enterprise infrastructure. Fusion Web Gateway and Fusion Media Broker provide for bridging signaling and media, respectively, between WebRTC endpoints and enterprise domains. The Fusion Client SDK provides APIs that let Web developers put communications capabilities into business applications on iOS, JavaScript and, soon, Android platforms.

Unified Office The Unified Office Receptionist Panel lets an admin perform typical front-desk functions, but from one application running in a Web browser rather than on a desktop phone. Through WebRTC and HTML5 technologies, the receptionist can initiate voice and video calls, monitor who’s on the phone, pick up incoming calls and transfer calls to other users or to voicemail.

Vidtel Vidtel‘s WebRTC service is enhances the company’s gateway service, which lets enterprises connect to video conferencing endpoints and MCUs running on SIP, H.323, Google Talk, Skype, and now WebRTC. Vidtel says its WebRTC service requires no downloads and is not proprietary. Users just need a video-capable computer, a WebRTC-enabled browser (new versions of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox) and a high-speed Internet connection.