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Hey everyone welcome back seems like you are really ready to jump into open source video

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conferencing and we've got a ton of we've got articles case studies even some like futuristic

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ideas about where virtual interaction is headed.

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You know it's really interesting to me like the common thread I see in what you've given

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us is this real like need for control and transparency you know it's almost as if you're

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saying I want to know how my tools work and I want to be able to change them if I need

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to.

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Yeah it's like choosing to build your own furniture instead of buying something pre

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made it might take a little more work a little more effort but the end you've got something

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that's uniquely yours that you know is really perfect for what you need so let's unpack

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this whole open source advantage a little bit especially when we're talking about something

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as important as you know video conferencing.

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Imagine using video conferencing where anybody can just look at the code they can change

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it they can even share it that is open source and that transparency is really important

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when we're thinking about things like privacy and security because it means that you know

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there's this constant review like having a thousand security experts constantly checking

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for back doors checking for vulnerabilities.

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Yeah it makes me think about that GZEVD case study that we saw you know they switched over

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to big blue button and the main reason data privacy they wanted to know exactly where

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their data was who had access to it to be in complete control yeah and it's not just

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about you know keeping things safe and secure but open source allows you to customize things

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in a way that you just can't with some of their platforms you need a very specific feature

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well someone can build it or you could build it and you can integrate it it's like yeah

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constantly being able to reshape your digital workspace and we see that with a lot of platforms

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especially big blue button ah big blue button what's fascinating about big blue button is

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that it started in education and that's really important right because it's baked into how

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it works classrooms need engagement right they thrive on participation and big blue button

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really reflects that okay so it's more than just video and chat then I'm intrigued way

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more this isn't about just taking a physical class when putting it online we're talking

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about taking those dynamics that energy and enhancing it so yeah we've got interactive

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whiteboards we've got breakout rooms for those smaller group discussions tools that are really

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meant to keep students engaged and you know make learning active and it's clearly something

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that works beyond the classroom too I mean did you see that stat about big blue button

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usage in Germany during the pandemic over a million daily users it seems like when people

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needed a platform that was you know reliable that had all the features they needed they

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turn to this it really shows you that people are looking for solutions that put them first

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not profit so we're not just talking about recreating a classroom online we're talking

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about bringing those same ideas of participation and engagement into a digital space but how

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about we get a little practical we've talked about the open source advantage and how big

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blue button is doing things a bit differently but you also pointed out a lot of other platforms

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too it's like we've got this I don't know a buffet of options here it is a lot and just

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like a buffet the key is to choose what works best for you you know what you've gathered

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really lays out a clear way to think about this it's like a decision tree to help you

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choose the right platform all right so what's the first branch we should be looking at on

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this tree first thing to ask is what are you really using this for how big are these meetings

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and what are you actually doing if it's just a quick chat something small and casual then

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platforms like Jitsi meet or Copano meet even next cloud talk those are great they're all

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about being easy to use and they often work right alongside your chat apps right it's

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like okay we need to talk about this face to face and boom you're right there video chatting

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without any hassle exactly but then you start thinking about things that are a bit more

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structured like imagine you're running a workshop online or you need to do some training or

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you need to be in control of how it all flows that's where big blue button with its features

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starts to shine right like having a whole toolbox ready to go to make sure everyone

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is engaged and you know that things are actually productive you know I really liked that big

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blue button has this whole role-based system it's not just a free-for-all chat it's clear

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who's in charge who's a participant and that's really important that clarity especially when

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you're trying to get things done whether it's in a classroom or a business meeting the moderator

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can mute people if they need to control who's sharing their screen even split everyone up

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into smaller groups for more focused discussions it just brings a level of organization that

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a lot of those other tools don't have it's like i don't know the difference between having

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a casual conversation in a coffee shop and a serious board meeting sometimes you need

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that structure right okay so you know me i love to get a little technical and something

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i kept seeing throughout all of this research was this html5 what's so special about that

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especially with big blue button oh great question big blue button going to html5 was huge not

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just for them but for how we do video conferencing on the web before you used to need all these

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plugins and downloads and it was a pain not to mention the security risks html5 meant

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that all of a sudden you could just use your browser no downloads no extra stuff just pure

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simple connection so it's not just the features themselves it's the tech underneath that makes

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them possible it's like building a house on solid ground versus you know something much

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less stable but i want to look ahead a bit your research takes us into some pretty futuristic

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stuff about where video conferencing might be going and what a future we see more and

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more signs that we're moving beyond these flat screens into actual virtual environments

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imagine instead of just seeing your co-workers through a webcam you're right there with them

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in a virtual space wait we're talking full-on vr meetings now like i put on a headset and

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suddenly i'm in a meeting room with people from all over the world yeah and there are

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already platforms pushing the boundaries with this stuff like vr chat and alt space vr instead

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of a crowded auditorium you're attending a product launch in a massive virtual space

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overlooking an ocean you can walk around brainstorm with your team in 3d it's a whole different

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ball game okay a part of me still thinks this is like straight out of some sci-fi movie but

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i've got to admit it's pretty cool but how realistic is this are we anywhere close to

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vr meetings becoming the norm that's the big question right and while vr tech is definitely

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getting better all the time there are still challenges like those good headsets they're

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still really expensive for a lot of people and not everyone loves the idea of wearing

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a screen on their face plus there's a whole learning curve there right like figuring out

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how to move around in virtual spaces how to interact with these avatars it's a whole new

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way of communicating that not everyone might be ready for yet but i think the big takeaway

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here even if vr is still a bit off is that there are so many more options than just those big

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platforms everyone knows about your research showed us that there is this whole world of

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open source solutions out there each with its own pros and cons and best uses it's really amazing

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to see how many different paths there are and with open source you're not limited to just one you can

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really create a setup that's perfect for you and you know what you believe in absolutely yeah you

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know something else that really caught my eye especially when we start thinking about bigger

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events like webinars conferences things like that i mean it's one thing to have a video call with a

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few people but when you're talking about hundreds thousands that's got to be a whole different ball

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game right oh yeah for sure when you've got a big audience like that you need a totally different

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approach and that's where that rtmp streaming comes in it's what makes those really smooth

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live broadcasts possible the kind you see on youtube or twitch okay so remind me what exactly

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is rtmp streaming and why is it so important here so let's say you're doing a live webinar

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people watching from all over rtmp which stands for real-time messaging protocol basically takes

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that live video and audio from your computer sends it to a server and then that server makes

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sure everyone watching gets it without any lag or interruptions even with a ton of people watching

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it's smooth so it's like you're running your own tv station right from your computer but what's

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really cool is that you don't need some fancy expensive software for this you mentioned obs

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which is what completely open source right exactly obs or open broadcaster software it's amazing

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it's like a professional level tool for streaming and recording and anyone can use it for free you

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can add your camera record your screen you can even switch between different scenes and stuff just

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like a pro it's mind-blowing when you think about it the same tools that these big broadcasters use

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are available to anyone but it's bigger than just the tools isn't it it's about what open source

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represents breaking down those barriers you know giving people the power to do these things

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themselves and encouraging everyone to work together that's what's so exciting about it

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it's not just about finding something that works it's about joining this whole community seeing

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what's possible and shaping how we connect with each other in the future so to wrap things up for

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our listeners who are as fascinated by this world of open source video conferencing as we are

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it seems like you're not just looking for a quick fix you want something better something you can

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control and there are so many options out there from something as simple as jitsi meat to the

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power of big blue button and education to even vr and rtmp streaming the future of how we connect

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is up to all of us and as we've seen that future is all about flexibility adapting to new technology

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and a real push for transparency security and putting users first it's exciting to think about

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what we might come up with next i completely agree we'll leave you all to think about that whether

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you're just starting with open source or you're ready to dive head first into vr it's all there

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waiting for you until next time keep exploring keep asking those questions and keep diving deep