Video Calling App
Build A Video Conferencing App Like Zoom [2024]
Create a Video Chat App in Simple Steps!
The pandemic has boosted the remote working environment, which in turn has made video conferencing applications such as Zoom extremely popular, effective and successful.
Entrepreneurs and businesses of all types and sizes are adapting video chat app, as they are seeing this as an opportunity to enhance communication and save on infrastructure. Nonetheless, building a video chat app from scratch can be challenging.
Hence, in this article, we guide developers on;
→ How to build a video conferencing app?
→ What are the features to include?
→ How to Create a Video Conferencing App?
→ What kind of back-end technology and cloud-native infrastructure to adapt?
However, Before we get to the Technical Questions, Let’s Understand How Video Conferencing Apps Work.
How Does Video Chat App Work?
Video conferencing is when two or more participants from different locations come together to meet virtually. They use a computer, internet connection, audio, and video to connect. Video conferencing can be used for meetings, webinars, demos, interviews, etc.
A video conferencing system captures and transmits video images and audio sounds after digitally compressing them. An internet connection allows data to be transmitted from one participant to the other participant’s video conferencing system. During the transmission, the data is decompressed and translated back into analog in the form of videos and audios.
Features of Video Conferencing App
- Screen Sharing
Screen sharing is an innovative feature that allows participants to instantly share their computer screens with other participants during the meeting. Directing the meeting becomes easier, hence, it is usually used by participants for presentation purposes. - Chat
Chat is yet another important feature offered by apps for video conferencing. Chats within video meeting apps pave the way for better communication. Participants can exchange messages and create personal conversations or raise questions in a meeting with a large number of participants. - 3. Virtual Hand-Raising
The virtual hand raising feature in video conferencing app allows participants, panelists, and host to indicate the host or the moderator of the meeting. In some group video conference apps, all the users can be notified if a single participant uses the virtual hand raising feature. - Polls
As a meeting moderator or the host can create polls for the participants and then they can vote accordingly. At the end of the meeting, the host is automatically emailed a report of the poll results. This feature is widely used in Zoom and Google Meet. - Mute Participants
As the name suggests, this feature enables participants to be on mute and still participate in the meeting. Mainly used in group conference apps, mute participants are a feature that helps cut down background sound. - Record Meetings
A very important feature in video communication apps is record meetings. With a video recording feature the host can record the conferences and save the meeting for later reference. It also helps users to share the recordings with participants that missed the chat or would like to review the key points of the conversation. - Encryption
Last but not the least, to build a video conferencing app developers must ensure 128-bit encryption as it is the security measure that enables video conferencing systems to use a 128-bit key to encrypt and decrypt all video calls between systems.
How to Create a Video Conferencing App?
To create a video chat app like Zoom can be challenging and massively intense for the development team. There are a lot of parameters developers need to follow for the application to function rightly. However, below listed are the three-most basic parameters of developing a video conferencing app.
Backend Development
Developers are responsible to handle the backend of the app as it is the core. Backend developers really need to adapt and be experienced as it is always better to build the server from scratch instead of using ready-made technologies.
UI Design
The UI (user interface) of the video conferencing app must be built by developers in such a manner that it appeals to the users and creates a positive first impression of the service being offered.
iOS and Android Compatibility
Video conference apps for android and iOS increase the outreach and target market. Supporting both platforms that are iOS and Android devices is easy as developers can use Swift to create iOS apps and WebRTC for android video conferencing apps.
Cloud Video Conferencing Technology
Cloud video conferencing is a cloud-based digital solution that offers users to make use of HD-quality live video call meetings with anyone who has a connection to the Internet. Zoom video conferencing app also used the same cloud video conferencing technology that has data centers, interlinked through private connections. These are maintained, monitored, and optimized by cloud computing systems. It offers global connectivity. Because of cloud video conferencing technology, Zoom has 15+ co-located data centers worldwide.
The Video Architecture
Developers need to ensure that while building a video conferencing app they must optimize to handle video’s demanding requirements.
Here are four features that differentiate the back-end technology and cloud-native infrastructure:
Distributed Architecture:
Zoom’s data centers are spread across the globe. This distributed architecture for network declines latency, offering participants HD quality video experiences in every meeting, irrespective of their location.
Multimedia Routing:
Multimedia routing offered by Zoom is responsible for hosting meetings and webinars. These servers make sure that the formed voice, video and content is appropriately distributed between all participants in a given session.
Multi-Bitrate Encoding:
Multi-bitrate encoding ensures each stream can adjust to multiple resolutions during a video conferencing session. This disregards the need to encode and decode the streams for each endpoint, enhancing performance and scalability.
Application Layer Quality of Service:
Ensuring the quality-of-service and optimizing the video, audio, and screen-sharing experience for each device and every bandwidth is a key. All this gives an edge over competitors and results in the best possible user experience.
Conclusion:
Video conferencing applications have altered the way we communicate significantly on a personal as well as professional level. Not just Zoom, but Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and several other leading players in the market successfully showcase how to build a video conferencing app.
Hence, if developers are considering to build a video conferencing application they must strive to develop for the same or even a better version of Zoom. It’s time for you as a developer to get started!!!
