Local webmeeting server?

[NicholasBarnes]

During my 3CX training, I noticed that at times the video quality was pretty awful - even after I upped the quality to maximum. I also received various warnings about limited bandwidth. A customer we are consulting for has also mentioned poor video quality and moved to their video conferences to Zoom because of this.

Doing some testing on my office connectivity (1Gb with connectivity direct to several peers), my home connection (76/19Mb FTTC down/up) and several customers (various speeds from slow to fast), this seems to be a common problem.

Given the bandwidth/quality issues don't appear to be under our control, I'm wondering whether the issues are with 3CX's connectivity or servers.

The question, therefore, is, will there ever be an option of running a webmeeting server locally? We already host Jitsi and BigBlueButton instances for our customers with no issues and it would be nice to be able to offer local webmeeting services - plus, being able to offer it without the "<myhost>.3cx.net" domain would look more professional too.

 

[NicholasBarnes]

Reading through the forum, it seems that this is the MCU. OK. I understand this won't be an option until after v18 has been released. I am puzzled by the poor video quality recently though - I can understand why there were issues back in March/April 2020 when there was huge demand for video services, but it does concern me why those issues are still ongoing. In terms of the training, whilst the course was very well taught, the video quality wasn't a very good advert for 3CX :-(

 

[VasilisV_3CX]

Hi @NicholasBarnes,

There are some factors that play a part in video quality scaling. If someone in the conference is struggling to keep up with the rest in terms of speed and quality, a warning will display for others to turn down the quality. If they do not, the person's video will suffer.

Due to many people connecting from various locations, the MCU is not always selected as the closest to your location.

Lastly, the quality of equipment also plays a role. We've recently overhauled all of our equipment in our recording room to increase the quality delivered during Webinars. These should be superior to our previous recordings.

 

[A.Takacs]

Lastly, the quality of equipment also plays a role. We've recently overhauled all of our equipment in our recording room to increase the quality delivered during Webinars. These should be superior to our previous recordings.

Any specifics you could share ?

 

[VasilisV_3CX]

Hi @A.Takacs,

We try to remain impartial with regards to hardware specifications, as we don't list any supported recording / broadcasting (Web Meeting) hardware. Suffice to say, we've upgraded our own set up to include 2 cameras, one of which is 4k and another outputting Full HD, which we've combined with a semi-professional USB microphone for webinars. The two coupled together have greatly improved the quality of our Webinars and future recordings.

If you're planning on upgrading your own set up, bear in mind that bandwidth also plays an important role.

 

[A.Takacs]

Thanks for the input. 4k seems definitely overkill... does 3CX Webmeeting actually support it (assuming enough processign power and bandwith end to end) ?

 

[NickD_3CX]

Hi! No, 4k is not supported, but having hardware capable of it certainly helps due to the build quality (better lenses, focusing, etc).
The maximum that can currently be transmitted, due to bandwidth mainly, is 1080p.