Release – RealTime Videoconference Version 2.4

The new RealTime Version 2.4 is now available.

In addition to many new functions, the performance has also been significantly improved.

New:
Many new functions which, among other things, also make event-typical scenarios feasible:

• (Picture-)Directing
  The moderator can pre-configure the layout visible to each participant and control it during the meeting if needed.
  In advance can be set
  – quality settings for pagination and
  – room settings for the display of the chat, the raised hand icon, etc.
  During the meeting, the moderator has e. g. the possibility
  – to pin a single participant so they can be seen first and with a larger video image,
  – to configure the view (e. g. video size) for all participants,
  – to set up more layout options in the 3-dot menu at the top right corner.
• Controlling layout centrally for all participants
  The moderator can determine the view (e.g. video size) for all participants.
• Video quality optionally up to 2 Mbits/s
  Ensures top quality for the main speaker’s video signal.
• Detailed participant and activity evaluation
  Duration of participation and activities can be evaluated individually for each participant.
• Audio / microphone test at the beginning
  The connection establishment has been significantly shortened.
• Change the background of your own video image
  Choose from different backgrounds or a “blur effect”.
• Arrangement of the individual elements next to or one below the other
  Shifts the video frames relative to the presentation.
• Better visibility of the speakers
  The current speaker appears at the far left of the list of active webcams (horizontal view) or at the top (vertical view).
• Connection performance icon
  At the top right there is now an icon for the connection display, which you can also use to deactivate the webcam and the screen sharing function.
• Pagination / share more webcam signals
  Limit the number of shared videos per page and show more videos on additional pages. On the first page, 16 video signals plus your own video image are displayed, other participants can be seen on other pages, which can be reached using the right / left arrows. If many video signals are divided, the video quality is adaptively adjusted by the RealTime system. If a participant (speaker) is pinned, his video signal is automatically displayed on the first page.
• Pin code
  A single participant can be pinned to display their video at the top (left) of the webcams list.
  The video quality remains the same (no adaptive quality).
• Focus
  The moderator can focus on himself or another participant, so that the relevant webcam signal is enlarged and displayed in the top left corner.
  In order to keep the video quality the same (no adaptive quality), we recommend additionally pinning the webcam signal.
• Notifications
  Each participant receives a notification for themselves if they want to speak but their microphone is muted
• Performance
  New media server system with
  – better use of system performance,
  – dynamic video profiles,
  – adaptation of the video formats to the available bandwidth,
  – 12 break out rooms (instead of 8 previously), which can be named individually,
  – faster audio test.

(!) In the Firefox browser, there are currently still limitations in functionality on the part of the BigBlueButton software.