Experience-based comparison of leading audio and video call conferencing providers based on integration complexity, time, and pricing.
Here I would like to share our experience integrating audio/video calls into LiveBoard, an all-in-one online tutoring platform. LiveBoard is an excellent example of audio-video integration and real-time communication application since it has mobile and web applications and requires 1-on-1 and group video conferencing calls with audio/video recording.
Before going into the full details, let’s describe our journey, and I will share every problem we have faced with integrations. I hope this article will help other founders to avoid the mistakes we have made.
Understanding main requirements and concepts
Before comparing different providers, let’s understand the main requirements and learn some key concepts.
API/SDK availability and integration complexity — first of all, we should understand if there is an SDK for WEB, iOS, and Android platforms and the ease of integration.
UI flexibility is another Key requirement since some providers may give you UI components that are not designed to be customized, and there is no way to embed them into your application UI smoothly.
Recording — audio/video call recording on the server and accessing them via the API. Some providers claim they have a recording, but it seems you need to record it on the client side, and in case the browser is closed or crashed, the recording will be lost.
Pricing is the most critical requirement in this industry since the price calculation could be very surprising for newbies.
It is also important to mention that our goal was to have a deep integration when users interact inside LiveBoard only. Many applications choose the easy path by generating Zoom links and opening Zoom on another tab or placing the Zoom app inside an iFrame, in both cases losing control and user experience.
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