ZeXtras Chat - Video call

[dsiminiuk]

I upgraded to the latest suite 2.0 and Chat 1.27 today.

When make a video call I can see my own image in the corner, the other party can see their image from their webcam in the corner, but we can't see each other. There is also no audio.

I don't see any settings in the admin interface for this feature, nor any configurations to select a camera or audio devices.

Am I missing something?

Thanks
dsiminiuk

[dsiminiuk]

I suppose I should add that I am on a corporate LAN behind a proxy connected to a Zimbra instance at the other party's location behind a home router (the other party is on the same LAN where the Zimbra server resides).

[d0s0n]

Hi dsiminiuk,

the videochat feature is mainly based on WebRTC tecnology (WebRTC) and we have done our best to ensure the best user experience but some network envrioment can be difficult to debug. We are working on the documentation but in the meanwhile I can suggest to use the latest versions of browsers (chrome or firefox) and ensure that the 2 end-points can make a "direct" connection because both video and audio streams doesn't pass through the Zimbra server.

D0s0n.

[dsiminiuk]

Ok I understand now why it was not working. It will be an instant success for corporate users of Zimbra and ZeXtras Chat when everybody is on the same LAN. However, for this to be usable in any way for dispersed users there will need to be settings to set a proxy server.

I suppose the solutions already exist, things like WebRTC Port Forwarding Pseudo TURN Proxy | Sourcey

I'll keep reading and see if I can figure out how to build a proxy server at home with port forwarding to allow connections from outside.

Thanks
dsiminiuk

[bud]

Hello dsiminiuk,

The issue you are experiencing is related to a configuration of your firewall. The link you have reported describe the issue well.

WebRTC is a technology made to create direct connections between two clients and the server is not involved.
Actually the ZeXtras Chat Client Zimlet use some STUN servers (provided by Google and Mozilla) to figure out how the host can be reached from the outside of the local network.

A fall back can be a TURN server integrated in the ZeXtras Core, the dev team has planned the development in a future release.

[OpenSourceRules]

hello...I am curious if you solved your issue with remote users not seeing each other and not hearing ....It works fine for me if users on the same LAN. Thank you

[Cine]

Hello!

The issues you are experiencing are usually caused by the impossibility of establishing NAT Traversal connections, which are often required by WebRTC since it's a point-to-point protocol: I'm working on a guide about how to use ZeXtras Chat through a TURN server, which will greatly improve ZxChat's usability over the internet.

I'll open a dedicated thread on the "News and Announcements" subforum when the guide is done and published, stay tuned!

Have a nice day,
Cine
the ZeXtras Team