What’s the difference between peer-to-peer video calling and video conferencing?

QuickBlox audio & video calling is built on WebRTC technology (Web Real-Time Communication). WebRTC allows real-time media (audio/video streams) exchange between client-side devices.

There are two approaches for WebRTC audio/video calls implementation in QuickBlox:

    1. Client side - Peer-to-Peer or Mesh

    2. Server side - SFU (Selective Forwarding Unit) - routing software

   

P2P (Mesh) scheme - This is a peer-to-peer connection in which no routing software is required. With a standard WebRTC approach, it's possible to have up to 4 users in a group video call simultaneously. More than 4 users can negatively impact connectivity. Due to the peculiarities and limitations of this approach, P2P doesn't support video streaming.

Multiparty Video calls (SFU) - This functionality relies on the same WebRTC standards, but it involves deploying a separate server with associated software to process video calls. With a separate server for multiparty video calls, it’s possible to include up to 12 users in a group call and to have video streaming as well.

QuickBlox currently uses Janus for its SFU solution.

A separate (dedicated) Janus server is available as an add-on for Starter / Growth / HIPAA / Enterprise Plan customers: Pricing | QuickBlox

Please refer to the following links to find out more about WebRTC client side (peer to peer) implementations:

iOS, Android, JavaScript samples can be found here: Code Samples | QuickBlox

Feel free to check our official documentation for more information that will help you to integrate QuickBlox services into your applications / projects or contact our Sales team by submitting a ticket if you have any other questions.