SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Agora.io, the leading voice, video and live broadcasting platform, today announced the launch of Agora for Startups, a new program designed to help startups drive new innovations with the latest in real-time engagement technology.
The Agora for Startups program aims to support and nurture entrepreneurs and developers who are incorporating live voice and video into their applications as they work to make their fresh ideas and concepts a reality. Startups accepted into the program gain access to Agora’s cutting-edge real-time engagement solutions, a dedicated team of product experts, and generous free minutes that allow startups to scale up with minimal or no cost.
“Agora prides itself on working with pioneers and innovators across many different industry verticals, including social media, gaming, retail, telehealth, education, IoT, and many more,” said Reggie Yativ, CRO and COO at Agora.io. “We’re truly amazed at seeing the creative new use cases that go live every day and extremely excited to empower the next generation of killer apps that disrupt existing industries.”
Agora partners directly with the investment community, including venture capital firms, accelerators, and tech incubators, to give portfolio companies access to the best tools and resources to gain a competitive edge and get to market faster. New partners of the program include Berkeley SkyDeck, a startup accelerator created by UC Berkeley; Plug and Play, an innovation platform that brings together the best startups and the world’s largest corporations; and Coatue Management, a leading technology investor known for investments in Uber, SnapChat, Box.com, Lime, DoorDash, and others.
Applications for the Agora for Startups program are accepted on a rolling basis and open to all qualified startups associated with our partners.
About Agora.io
Founded in 2014, Agora is a global company with offices in Santa Clara, Shanghai, and customers in over 100 countries. Agora.io offers a real-time engagement platform as a service that allows developers to easily embed voice and video chat, interactive broadcasting, and messaging on a global scale for any mobile, Web or desktop application. With over 10 billion minutes of monthly usage on our network, Agora.io is trusted by developers and brands across the globe with use cases ranging from gaming, social, e-commerce, education, to healthcare and more.
The Agora platform is powered by the Agora Software-Defined Real-Time Network (SD-RTN), a global delivery network of 200 data centers. SD-RTN dynamically manages the routing of voice and video to overcome severe packet loss incidents and enable a seamless, uninterrupted, high-quality real-time delivery across the globe, even in the most remote locations and emerging markets.
Talk of the advent of 5G has been buzzing in the tech communities for some time, but now that numerous telecommunications companies have announced the launch of their 5G-enabled devices and networks at Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona, the future with fifth-generation cellular mobile technology is upon us.
While 5G is expected to have a major impact on the Internet-of-Things (IoT), its impact on real-time communications and user engagement, especially on mobile devices, will be transformative. In particular, mobile live video broadcast will reap the benefits of 5G, as the technology addresses some of the biggest challenges affecting the limitations and shortcomings of 4G and the public Internet, such as latency and data reliability, that exist today.
As access to 5G becomes a reality, developers and enterprises should consider how they take advantage of the cutting-edge technology to deepen mobile engagement experiences for the hyper-connected users of tomorrow.
Why the Speed Boost Matters
Every new generation of mobile connectivity brings about a new forward leap in the mobile experience. For example, moving from 2G to 3G took mobile from basic SMS texting to the era of basic web content connectivity. Subsequently, the increased wireless speeds and stability that 4G introduced gave rise to the era of on-demand mobile content and real-time communications such as video streaming and live broadcasting.
In turn, we witnessed mobile disruption across countless industries from social media and gaming to retail and telehealth. For example, YouTube Live, a live streaming feature from the video platform, allows its millions of creators to share live video while they’re gaming, attending a sports event, or even performing live at a concert, all for their subscribers to enjoy in real time. HQ Trivia, the live game show app that went viral in 2017, continues to allow more than one million players to tune in to a single gaming session on their mobile devices simultaneously. Taobao Live, a live video feature from the Chinese online shopping platform, allows thousands of merchants to live broadcast their products to thousands of eagers shoppers who tune in to watch﹘and pay for their purchases﹘on their mobile devices, the most popular tool for shopping and making payments in Asia, a mobile-first economy.
However, 4G isn’t without its limitations. It’s not always capable of supporting smooth and continuous high-resolution video on-the-go, like in the case of live broadcasting. When platforms and developers take advantage of live video, voice, interactive broadcasting and other forms of real-time communications technology but don’t have access to a network of globally distributed data centers, the quality of the user experience can vary depending on the device used and network stability. So, while flawless and uninterrupted live mobile experiences are possible through solutions like our Agora Video SDK, these seamless experiences are still far from the norm.
Enter 5G, the latest technology in the wireless network evolution. At launch, 5G will progressively replace existing 4G networks, increasing cellular real-world data transfer speed from 10-15 Mbps to 100+ Mbps. Faster speeds and faster connections will set new benchmarks for existing mobile experiences while creating new experiences that we have yet to imagine. In terms of live broadcasting on mobile devices, we can expect video quality at 4K HDR or better, even combined with AR and other experience enhancements.
Better Live Voice and Video Experiences
Along with increased speed, 5G is expected to bring more bandwidth and significantly lower latency, which will eliminate network delays, as well as increased throughput. In an increasingly connected world where people are using smart and mobile devices more than ever, 5G will enable people to communicate and interact in ways not possible with 4G.
Some companies have already started putting potential use cases with 5G into practice. Through a partnership with Qualcomm, Vodafone UK has begun a series of lab tests using a 5G smartphone form factor device, powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X50 5G modem. The tests will focus on developing live streaming 4K video and 3D holographic calling for on-the-go use. SK Telecom, the largest mobile network in South Korea, has already made strides in 5G by conducting the first live TV broadcast using the technology earlier this year. Deemed a success, the high-quality video was streamed under a second latency despite being broadcast from a congested environment.
5G is expected to bring new depth to real-time audio and video broadcasts. Ultra HD experiences will become the norm across all RTC-enabled features, such as group video chat and 3D surround audio, to deliver truly immersive mobile experiences. Near zero latency will also pave the path for previously blocked use cases, including cloud game streaming, connected self-driving vehicles, and large scale robot-operated factories, and greatly improve stability and smoothness experiences in real-time audio and video broadcasts.
Not the Be All and End All
While 5G will significantly impact the way we communicate over the public Internet, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution to every problem developers and enterprises face. After all, bandwidth is only one part of the equation when it comes to creating a high-quality real-time experience.
In order to have a smooth streaming experience with no unwanted effects like delay, jitter, and freeze, a global delivery network of data centers coupled with advanced encoding algorithms are needed to dynamically manage the routing of voice and video to overcome packet loss.
With over 200 globally distributed data centers, Agora’s Software-Defined Real-Time Network (SD-RTN) enables seamless, uninterrupted, high-quality real-time video delivery around the world. In the case of up to 40 percent packet loss, Agora can maintain a smooth video and voice call experience, so even if 5G improves the current state of mobile live video, SD-RTN will provide an extra layer of protection and security to ensure the best Real-Time Engagement experience possible. Want to learn more about integrating Agora’s live voice, video, and interactive broadcasting solutions into your application or platform? Talk to our team.
Something that makes all games more fun is having the ability to see and speak with other players in the game. Games have been including voice chat services for years but when it comes to video there are limited options especially when using Unity. The best option I’ve found is the Agora.io Video SDK for Unity available through the Unity Asset Store.
Getting a sample Android app up and running is simple and took less than 10 minutes. Let’s run through the steps together.
To start, open Unity and create a blank new project named Agora Video Demo.
The next step is to navigate to the Unity Store (if you are in the scene view, click the Unity Store tab) and search for “Agora voice SDK”. Once the plugin page has loaded, go ahead and click Download. Once the plugin page has loaded, go ahead and click Download. Once the download is complete, click and Import the assets into your project.
Update code
Great! Now that we have the plugin downloaded and imported to our project we need to make 1 quick update before we can build and run our app. Double click the TestSceneScript.cs file within the assets panel to edit it.
The file will open in Visual Studio (Unity’s default code editor). Let’s scroll down to line 19.
private string appId = "YOUR APP ID";
At this point we need to log into our Agora.io developer account and create a new AppID or select an existing one. I had previously created one so I’ll copy paste this appid into the “ ” on line 19. Make sure to save your changes.
We can scroll through the TestSceneScript.cs file to see all the various event callbacks the Agora.io Voice SDK for Unity offers.
Running the Sample Application
Open the Build Settings and drag the TestSceneHome.unity & TestSceneHomeWorld.unity scenes from the assets list into the “Scenes in Build” list. Select Android from the Platform list and click Switch Platform.
Once Unity finishes its setup process, open the Player Settings. We need to make some changes to the player settings. First deselect Multithreaded Rendering option and deselect the Auto Graphics API. Next, within the Graphics API options that are now visible, make sure only OpenGLES2 is on the list (you may need to add it using the `+` icon) and remove any other APIs that may appear on the list.
Lastly, be sure our Android app also has a unique package name, I chose com.agora.voicedemo. Make sure your Android device is plugged and click Build And Run. Unity will prompt you to save your project, I named my build Android.
Note: Newer versions of Unity will ship with a new version of gradle and this can cause compile errors. You may run into an issue when building for Android, where Unity throws an error “Unable to build gradle”. If this happens open your file explorer and navigate into the project Assets > Plugins > Android and delete the mainTemplate.gradle file.
All Done!
Thanks for following along, feel free to leave a comment below!
Other Resources
The complete API documentation is available in the Document Center.
For technical support, submit a ticket using the Agora Dashboard.
When playing games with your friends, the real fun comes when you can trash-talk and gloat on how good you are! Whether you are playing a first-person shooter or playing a game of poker, you want to be able to communicate with your team or see the competitors’ reactions to see if they are bluffing. More mobile games are adding real-time communication within their app to increase user stickiness and user engagement.
The Agora Video SDK for Unity enables you to add in-game real-time communications to increase interactivity between players with minimum impact on the gameplay.
A sample app is included in the Unity Asset and demonstrates the basic Agora SDK features:
Join a Channel
Leave a Channel
Video Chat with multiple participants
This blog post will enable you to run the sample app on an iOS device within a few minutes.
Prerequisites
– Agora.io Developer Account
– Unity 3D 5.5+
Get an Agora Developer Account & App ID
To build and run the sample application you must obtain an App ID:
1. Create a developer account at agora.io. Once you finish the signup process, you will be redirected to the Dashboard.
Note: If you see a Terms of Service page, click Accept to add the project. Once the project has been added, a confirmation message will appear at the top of the screen.
2. Click Open in Unity to launch Unity.
3. When Unity opens, click New to start a new project.
4. Click Create project to create a new project.
5. Once your project is created, ensure the Asset Store tab is selected. If the Agora Video project is not already loaded, search for Agora in the search box.
Find the Agora Video SDK for Unity project. Click the project box to open the project details.
6. Scroll down and click Download.
Note: The button changes to a loading bar to show download progress.
7. When the download is complete, the Import button will appear. Click Import to load Agora Video into your project.
8. Scroll through the asset list to familiarize yourself with the project structure and click Import to add the Agora.io assets into your current project.
Note: Depending on your version of Unity, you may see and API Update Required alert window.
Once the assets are imported, double click the TestSceneScript.cs file. In the TestSceneScript class, update YOUR APP ID with your App ID.
private string appId = “YOUR APP ID”;
Running the Sample Application
Open the Build Settings and add the TestSceneHome.unity & TestSceneHomeWorld.unity scenes to the compilation and select the compilation platform (iOS)
Open the Player Settings panel deselect the Auto GraphicsAPIoption. Within the Graphics APIoptions that are visible, make sure that only OpenGLES2 is on the list and remove any other APIs that appear on the list.Note: You may need to add OpenGLES2 by using the + icon)
Next,deselect theMultithreadedRenderingoption.
Change the Bundle Identifier to your own Bundle identifier so XCode can properly codesign the application.
Ensure the microphone permission has a description to allow the user to know why the microphone is being accessed by the application
Ensure the camera permission has a description to allow the user to know why the camera is being accessed by the application
6. Once all the setup is complete click Build and Run. Once XCode opens up, enable auto-signing (or sign the project) and run the sample application on your iOS test device. Note: The sample app will not run in the simulator as there is no way to access the camera and microphone on a simulator.
Other Resources
The complete API documentation is available in the Document Center.
For technical support, submit a ticket using the Agora Dashboard.
One thing that makes any game more fun is having the ability to chat with other players in the game. Games have been including voice chat services for years but when it comes to Unity, there are a limited options. The best option I’ve found is the Agora.io Voice SDK for Unity available through the Unity Asset Store. Getting a sample app up and running is simple and took less than 10 minutes. Let’s run thought the steps together.
To start, let’s open Unity and create a blank new project, I chose to name my project Agora Voice Demo.
The next step is to navigate to the Unity Store (if you are in the scene view, click the Unity Store tab) and search for “Agora voice SDK”.
Once the plugin page has loaded, go ahead and click Download. Once the download is complete, click and Import the assets into your project.
Update code
Great! Now that we have the plugin downloaded and imported to our project we need to make 1 quick update before we can build and run our app. Double click the TestSceneScript.cs file within the assets panel to edit it.
The file will open in Visual Studio (Unity’s default code editor). Let’s scroll down to line 19.
private string appId = "YOUR APP ID";
At this point we need to log into our Agora.io developer account and create a new AppID or select an existing one. I had previously created one so I’ll copy paste this appid into the “ ” on line 19. Make sure to save your changes.
We can scroll through the TestSceneScript.cs file to see all the various event callbacks the Agora.io Voice SDK for Unity offers.
Building For iOS
Now we are ready to build the project, so click back into Unity and open the Build Settings (File > Build Settings). When the Build Settings dialog box appears, make sure to drag the TestScene from the assets list into the “Scenes in Build” list.
Next select iOS from the Platform list and click Switch Platform.
Once Unity finishes its setup process, open the Player Settings. We need to make sure we give our app a unique bundle id, I chose com.agora.voicedemo. The last step is to add a short sentence within the “Mic Usage Description”section. This will add the proper permissions to the info.plist and will allow use the mic.
We are now ready to build our app! Within the Build Settings dialog click the Build button, and Unity will prompt you for a location to save the build. I like to create a Builds folder to keep things organized. Save your build within the newly create Builds folder, I chose the name iOS.
After Unity finishes building the iOS app the Finder window will appear containing the Unity-iPhone.xcodeproj, double click the file to open XCode.
Once XCode is open, select the project (from the file navigator on the left) and enable Automatic Signing and select your team profile.
Lastly, make sure your test device is plugged in and click the Play button.
Building For Android
Now we are ready to build the project for Android, so click back into Unity and open the Build Settings (File > Build Settings).
When the Build Settings dialog box appears, select Android from the Platform list and click Switch Platform. Once Unity finishes its setup process, open the Player Settings. We need to make sure our Android app also has a unique bundle id, I chose com.agora.voicedemo.
Make sure your Android device is plugged and click Build And Run. Unity will prompt you to save your project, I named my build Android.
Unity will build and deploy your app to your Android device.
Note: Newer versions of Unity will ship with a new version of gradle and this can cause compile errors. You may run into an issue when building for Android, where Unity throws an error “Unable to build gradle”. If this happens open your file explorer and navigate into the project Assets > Plugins > Android and delete the mainTemplate.gradle file.
All Done!
Thanks for following along, feel free to leave a comment below!
Note: to really test the voice chat functionality you’ll have to deploy the app to two devices. When both devices connect to the same channel you will be able to speak and hear the audio on each device.
All apps become more fun when users have the ability to see and interact with each other. Options are limited especially when using Unity. The best option I’ve found is the Agora.io Video SDK for Unity available through the Unity Asset Store.
In this guide we’ll walk through all the steps you need to build a cross-platform video chat mobile app using Unity.
Prerequisites
Unity Editor
An understanding of the Unity editor, Game Objects, Unity scripting, and publishing Unity apps to mobile devices
To start, let’s open Unity and create a blank new project and name it Agora Video Demo. Once unity finishes setting up the project, we’ll navigate to the Unity Asset Store and search for “Agora Video SDK”. Next we’ll Import the Agora.io Video SDK for Unity into our project, when the prompt appears, make sure all the assists in the list are selected.
Now let’s create a new scene, name it WelcomeScene and double click the scene to open it in the Editor view. The WelcomeScene will be the first screen the users sees once the app loads. To start we’re going to remove the existing camera and lights from the scene. First we will add a Canvas Game Object.Next let’s add a Camera as a child of the Canvas. Since the screen is meant to be displayed in 2D, let’s switch our editor to 2D mode. Let’s also switch our Editor view into Game mode, so we can visualize placement relative to the camera view.
We are going to need a button that will trigger the app to join the chat, so we’ll add a button and name it JoinChannel and give it a label. Let’s adjust the scale and position of the button. We also need a way for the user to input their channel name so let’s create a text input and name it ChannelName and give it meaningful placeholder text. We should add a text box to explain a little bit about our app. Create a Text Game Object as a child of the Canvas, below is the text I wrote up but feel free to add in whatever message you’d like.
Agora Video SDK for Unity example shows how to use the Agora Gaming SDK to incorporate video content into a game’s scene.
This example supports 1-to-1 video communication. The two phones can communicate with each other by selecting the same mode and channel. Local preview will render on the 3D objects, and the remote video will render on a Plane.
Let’s take a moment to adjust the positions of each so we have ample space between Game Objects.
Next we are going to create a new scene and name it ChatScene, this will be the screen with the local and remote video streams playing. To test out some of the capabilities of the Agora.io Video SDK, let’s add a few shapes to our scene. Let’s start by adding a cube to our scene. Since our scene contains 3D let’s exit 2D mode in our editor. Now, we have a better view of our cube and it’s looking a bit small so let’s change its scale to 2 on all axes.
We want our Cube to render the local camera stream as a texture, so we need to addVideoSurface.cs as a component of our Cube. Let’s add a Cylinder Game Object, first we need to move it up so its not hidden by the Cube. Next we’ll give the Cylinder a unique scale and making sure to add the VideoSurface.cs as a component.
Lastly we are going to add a Canvas to the scene, this will allow us to also add in our 2D button to leave the chat, we’ll call it LeaveButton (very original) and give it a proper label. While we’re at it, let’s add a text box, name it VersionText; we can use it later to give us a visual confirmation things are working. Let’s place the VersionText in the upper right hand corner to keep it out of the way and set the color to white to make it easier to see.
Handle Button Taps
During the process of setting up our scenes we created two buttons (JoinButton and LeaveButton) so now we need to create a script that will connect some actions to those buttons.
Start by creating a new C# Script in our assets, name it ButtonHandler.csand double click it to open the file in Visual Studio. Let’s add a single function OnButtonClick() and to keep things simple let’s add a Debug Log to the body of our function.
Debug.Log(“Button Clicked: “ + name);
Let’s go back to our WelcomeScene within Unity and connect our script and function to our button. First select the JoinButton and add the ButtonHandlerscript as a component. Next add an event and map the button click to OnButtonClick(). We’ll repeat this process for the LeaveButton within the ChatScene.
Now that we have two buttons invoking the same function, let’s add some logic to differentiate the between two. To prepare for our Agora implementation lets add a couple lines to get the user input from the ChannelName field. We’ll need to include the UI library, then we can get the InputField component from the ChannelName Game Object.
To start we’ll create a new C# Script in our assets, name it AgoraInterface.csand open the file in Visual Studio. The first variable we will create is appIdand this will hold our Agora App ID. Take a moment to log into your Agora Developer Account, copy your App ID and paste it into the value of appId . We also need to create a variable to hold a reference to the Agora RTC Engine, and a placeholder variable for the id of the remote stream.
private static string appId = "Agora App ID"; public IRtcEngine mRtcEngine; public uint mRemotePeer;
Let’s create a function to initialize the Agora RTC Engine, we’ll call it LoadEngine(). We need to make sure the engine is only initialized once, if the engine doesn’t already exist we’ll use IRtcEngine.getEngine(appId)¹ passing in our Agora App ID.
Here we can also set the log level to Debug, so we can see our Debug logs and that everything is working as expected. As you can tell by now I like to add lots of Debug logs to give us a clear understanding of what’s going on during execution.
Next we’ll declare the JoinChannel() function. First checking that the RTC engine exists, then we’ll EnableVideo and enable the VideoObserver, finally using the ChannelName we’ll call JoinChannel.
So far we’ve initialized the Agora RTC Engine and used it to join a channel, but now we need to add a way for users to leave the channel and “unload” the engine. We’ll start with LeaveChannel(), again we check that the engine exists, and then using the engine call leaveChannel() and DisabelVideoObserver(). Lastly, we’ll unload the engine by calling IRtcEngine.Destroy() and setting the local reference to null.
The fundamental engine lifecycle events are accounted for, so we are ready to add some callback functions that the engine can call based on various pre-defined events ². In this implementation we will focus on three callbacks: OnChannelJoinSuccess, OnUserJoined, and OnUserOffline.
OnChannelJoinSuccess will get called whenever the local device successfully joins the channel; OnUserJoined will get called whenever a remote stream joins the channel; OnUserOffline will get called whenever a remote stream leaves the channel. After we define each function, we’ll notice the editor has stopped complaining about the errors on lines 43–45.
For now let’s leave the OnChannelJoinSuccess fuction with just a log. We’ll revist this later.
Within the OnUserJoined function, we’ll add some logic to create an Empty Game Object and initialize it as a Plane. Let’s set the name of the Game Objectto the remote steam’s uid so we can easily reference it later. Since we want to use this plane to render the remote stream we need to add a VideoSurfacecomponent to the Game Object and we’ll set the VideoSurface to use the remote stream’s uid and use setEnable(true) to enable rendering on the plane. Let’s set the scale and randomly position the plane somewhere randomly on the y-axis. As an example that the video plane does not need to remain stationary, we’ll add a TransformDelegate to the VideoSurface and this gets on update() so we can see the Plane rotation around the x-axis.
To finish up the callbacks within OnUserOffline let’s add some logic to destroy the Game Object created within OnUserJoined.
Let’s add the TransformDelegate function to skew the shape of and rotate any Game Object that calls this function. You may have noticed that within the TransformDelegate we added some logic for when uid == 0 , which is only true if we call the TransformDelegate on a VideoSurface with a local stream. Let’s declare a function called OnChatSceneLoaded and within it add some logic to set the TransformDelegate on the Cylinder’s VideoSurface. Let’s jump back to our ButtonHandler.cs script and add the logic to call the OnChatLoaded function whenever the ChatScene has finished loading.
One thing we need to do before we can test our work on device, is to add some Permissions requests for Android. Starting in Unity 2018_3 the Permissions are no longer added automatically, so we need to add a few if-else statements to check and request permission for microphone and camera.
Lastly lets add some logic to fill in the VersionText whenever we successfully join the channel. To do this, let’s go back to the AgoraInterface.cs script and declare the function getSDKVersion the returns the SDK version from the Agora RTC Engine. Now its time connect this function with the OnChannelJoinSuccess that we created earlier. We’ll find the VersionText Game Object and set the text equal to "Version: " + getSdkVersion().
Build and Test on device (iOS and Android)
Its finally time to test out our app! Let’s go back into Unity and open the Build Settings. First we’ll drag the WelcomeScene and ChatScene into the Scene list within the Build Settings dialog box.
Before we can build and deploy our app we need to make some adjustments to the Player Settings for each platform. Select iOS from the Platform list and open the Player Settings. First we need to deselect the Auto Graphics API option. Next, within the Graphics API options, make sure only OpenGLES2 is on the list (you may need to add it using the + icon) and remove any other APIs that may appear on the list. We also have to deselect the Multithreaded Rendering option. Let’s update the Bundle ID and provide some text for the camera and microphone usage descriptions (enables the permissions prompts).
We are now ready to build our app! Within the Build Settings dialog click the Build button, and Unity will prompt you for a location to save the build. I like to create a Builds folder to keep things organized. Save your build within the newly create Builds folder, and save our build as iOS. After Unity finishes building the iOS app the Finder window will appear containing the Unity-iPhone.xcodeproj, double click the file to open XCode. Once XCode is open, select the project (from the file navigator on the left) and enable Automatic Signing and select your team profile. Lastly, make sure your test device is plugged in and click the Play button.
You can see the WelcomeScene loads first, then when we join the channel we are taken to the ChatScene and back to the WelcomeScene when we click the Leave button. The only thing missing is the remote stream, but for that we need a second device.
At this point we could plug in another iOS device and run the demo app agian but thats not fun. So let’s go back into Unity and build the project for Android.
Let’s select Android from the Platform list and follow the same steps as iOS. Open the Player Settings, make sure we are using OpenGLES2, have disabled Multithreaded Rendering option and provided a Package ID.
Make sure your Android device is plugged and click Build And Run. Unity will prompt you to save your project, I named my build Android.
All Done!
Pat yourself on the back because that was a big one! Well Done!! Thanks for following along, feel free to leave a comment below!
Note: At this point you can run the iOS app and the Android app to see both local and remote streams in the channel
The complete API documentation is available in the Document Center.
For technical support, submit a ticket using the Agora Dashboard.
Footnotes
You may ask, why getEngine() and not new IRtcEngine(), this has to do with Agora’s RTC Engine operating as a singleton, getEngine() will check if an instance exists and create a new on if it doesn’t. The getEngine()function can also be called later to get a reference to the engine from other parts of the code.
All callbacks are visible within the AgoraGameRtcEngine.cs (Assets → /Scripts → /AgoraGamingSDK ).
Note: each callback function passes a specific set of parameters so it’s important to look at the AgoraGameRtcEngine.csfile if you plan to add any of the other callbacks.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Agora.io, the leading voice, video and live broadcasting platform, will showcase its ultra low latency real-time communication and engagement solutions for web, desktop, and mobile games at Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. From March 20-22, Agora team members will be on hand at Moscone Center, South Hall, Booth # P1633 to host live gaming demonstrations, share additional information, and answer questions about Agora’s gaming solutions, which are setting a new standard for the next generation of games unveiled at GDC.
Agora’s Software Defined Real-Time Network (SD-RTN) is the first truly global network that utilizes advanced machine learning algorithms and 200 globally distributed data centers to deliver uninterrupted voice and video chat to gamers all across the world.
In addition to showcasing gaming use cases powered by its proprietary technology, Agora will host special partner and customer presentations at its booth:
March 20th at 11:00 AM PST, Selcuk Atli, Co-founder and CEO of Bunch, will share how he built the first group video chat app for mobile games with Agora’s Voice & Video SDK. Powered by Agora’s real-time engagement platform, Bunch lets people play their favorite mobile games with friends over group video chat—supporting up to eight simultaneous feeds with minimal battery drainage and slowdowns in gameplay, even for resource-intensive games like Fortnite and Minecraft.
March 20th at 1:00 PM PST, Or Ben Shimon, Founder and CEO of the groundbreaking video-based poker game Pokerface, will discuss the rise of embedded video chat and interaction in mobile games and the importance of scalability for game developers. Shimon will also discuss how group video chat can create an immersive in-game experience that boosts a game’s popularity, player retention, and stickiness.
Agora provides live video, voice, and live broadcasting solutions for a variety of industries, including eSports, entertainment, retail, telehealth, education and more, but the gaming sector’s rapid expansion in recent years has created higher demand for in-game engagement solutions like real-time voice and video chat. According to Newzoo, the global games market is expected to reach more than $180 billion in 2021.
“As the gaming sector becomes increasingly lucrative and social, especially in mobile, more developers are looking for new ways to boost in-game engagement and monetization without jeopardizing the player experience,” said Reggie Yativ, CRO & COO at Agora.io. “In response, we’ve released a variety of features that developers can integrate within hours and customize based on their games’ unique play style.”
Agora’s SDKs are optimized for gaming and allow game developers to embed high-quality voice, video, and live broadcasting functionality with minimal overhead and CPU usage. Agora’s gaming-focused features include group voice and video chat, chat rooms, 3-D spatial audio, sound and voice effects, live interactive broadcasting, AR/VR implementations, and more. In addition to supporting popular game engines like Unity (the SDK is available for download in the Unity Asset Store), Cocos2Dx, and Unreal, Agora also powers in-game voice and video for games like Vainglory, Gravy, Xiamoi Mi Combat, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Hello Ludo, MPL gaming, and many others.
Yativ continued, “As social engagement continues to play an increasingly larger role in the gaming industry and in maintaining player retention, Agora is committed to helping game developers across the world access reliable, high-quality live video audio, video streaming, and broadcasting solutions to take their games to the next level.”
Ever built a cross-platform mobile multiplayer game in Unity and wanted to add in some group video chat capabilities? If you answered yes, first let me tip my hat to you because thats a big task! If you answered no (or yes but are still interested) today is your lucky day! I will spend some time explaining how to easily add cross-platform video chat to your existing Unity project.
For those that don’t have a multiplayer game but are still interested? Well don’t worry because you’ve come to the right place. I chose to use a pre-built Tanks!!! reference project (based on Unity’s popular Tanks tutorial) which has a nice set of video tutorials for those interested in learning more about the game build.
Before we get started, there are a few prerequisites for anyone reading this article.
At least two mobile devices (one iOS & one Android is ideal)
Project Setup
If you plan to use your own existing Unity project, go ahead and open it now and skip down to “Integrating Group Voice Chat”.
For those readers that don’t have an existing project, keep reading (the next few sections are for you).
New Unity Project
Please bear with me as the basic setup has a few steps and I’ll do my best to cover it swiftly with lots of images. Let’s start by opening Untiy, creating a blank project.
I named my project Tanks!!! with Agora.io
If you’ve previously downloaded the Tanks!!! asset package, you can select Tanks!!! using the “Add Asset Package” button
Theres a couple more steps to getting the Tanks!!! reference project ready for building on mobile. First we need to enable Unity Live Mode for the project through the Unity dashboard. (select project → Multiplayer → Unet Config).
Set max players to 6 even though Tanks!!! limits the game to 4 players and click saveOnce Unity Live Mode is enabled
Building for iOS
Now that we have Unity’s multiplayer enable, we are ready to build the iOS version. Let’s start by opening our Build Settings and switch our platform to iOS and build the project for testing.
after switching platform to iOS make sure to update the Bundle Identifier
Please note: you need to have Xcode installed and setup before attempting to build the project for iOS
when building for the first time, I create a new folder “Builds” and save the build as iOSafter the project has successfully built for iOS, we will see the project in the Builds folder
Let’s open Unity-iPhone.xcodeproj, sign, and build / run on our test device.
I enabled automatic signing to simplify the signing process
Don’t start celebrating just yet. Now that we have a working iOS build we still need to get the Android build running.
Building for Android
Android is a bit simpler than iOS since Unity can build, sign, and deploy to Android without the need to open Android Studio. For this section I’m going to assume everyone reading this has already linked Unity with their Android SDK folder. Let’s start by opening our Build Settings and switching our platform to Android.
Before we try to “Build and Run” the project on Android we need to make a couple adjustments to the code. Don’t worry this part is really simple, we only need to comment out a few lines of code, add a simple return statement, and replace one file.
Some background: the Tanks!!! Android build contains the Everyplay plugin for screen recording and sharing your game session. Unfortunately Everyplay shutdown in October 2018 and the plugin contains some issues that if not addressed will cause the project to fail to compile and to quit unexpectedly once it compiles.
The first change we need to make is to correct a mistake in the syntax within the Everplay plugin’s build.gradle file. Start by navigating to our project’s Plugins folder and click into the Android folder and then go into the everyplay folder and open the build.gradle file in your favorite code editor.
Now that we have the Gradle file open, select all and replace it with the code below. The team that built Tanks!!! updated the code on GitHub but for some reason it didn’t make its way into the Unity Store plugin.
The last change we need to make is to disable EveryPlay. Why would we want to disable EveryPlay, you may ask. Thats because when the plugin tries to initialize itself it causes the Android app to crash. The fastest way I found was to update a couple lines within the EveryPlaySettings.cs, (Assets → Plugins → EveryPlay → Scripts) so that whenever EveryPlay attempts to check if it’s supported or enabled, we return false.
Now we are finaly ready to build the project for Android! Within Unity open the Build Settings (File > Build Settings), select Android from the Platformlist and click Switch Platform. Once Unity finishes its setup process, open the Player Settings. We need to make sure our Android app also has a unique bundle id, I chose com.agora.tanks.voicedemo
Integrating Voice Chat
For this project I chose to use the Agora.io Voice SDK for Unity, because it makes implementation into our cross-platform mobile project, really simple.
Let’s open up the Unity Store and search for “Agora voice SDK”.
Once the plugin page has loaded, go ahead and click Download. Once the download is complete, click and Import the assets into your project.
We need to create a script to interface between our game and the Agora Voice SDK. Open the LobbyScene, select the PersistantUIAudioGame Object, and add a C# Script component, AgoraInterfaceScript.cs. Next, let’s open the C# file in Visual Studio.
There are two important variables that we need to declare:
static IRtcEngine mRtcEngine;
public static string appId = "Your Agora AppId Here";
Be sure to replace Your Agora AppID Here with an Agora AppID from yourAgora developer dashboard. The mRtcEngine needs to be a static so the reference doesn’t get lost when it gets called during OnUpdate also the appIdshould be public and static so that we can reference it from other scripts within the game.
In the interest of time and keeping this article concise, I’ve included the code of the AgoraInterface.cs below. Lets skim through it together quickly.
First we notice that on Start, we include some logic to check/request the Permissions for Android. Next we initialize the Agora RTC Engine using our appId and then we attach some callback functions for the various engine events (pretty straightforward and self explanatory). The main one we care about is mRtcEngine.OnJoinChannelSuccess, as this one will log to the console when we’ve successfully joined the channel.
The final critical function is the Update, while the Agora RTC Engine is active (not null) we want to call the engine’s .Poll() method, this is crucial for the plugin to work!
view raw on Github This code is generic and can be applied to any Unity project that includes the Agora Voice SDK.
You may have noticed that we are missing methods to actually Join/Leave the channel. Let’s start with leaving the channel, create a new C# script, LeaveHandler.cs and we want theLeaveHandler to get called whenever the user returns to the Main Menu. The simplest way is to tap into the OnEnablemethod for one of the Game Objects that gets enabled when that part of the LobbyScene is activated.
The Game Object we are looking for is LeftSubPanel its a child of MainPanelwhich is a child of MenuUI.
Within the Tanks!!! game there are two ways to join a multiplayer game, wither Create a Game or Find a Game. These are the two areas where we want to add in our command to join the channel.
Let’s start in order, navigate into the UI Scripts folder (Assets → Scripts → UI) and open CreateGame.cs. If we scroll down to line 61 we can see that this is where the game does the match making, and we can add some logic to connect to the channel. Start by including the Agora SDK library.
using agora_gaming_rtc;
Within the StartMatchmakingGame() starting on line 78 we’ll add in some logic to get a reference to the Agora RTC Engine (thats currently running), and then use the user input (m_MatchNameInput.text) as the channel name.
view raw on Github StartMatchmakingGame() including call to join channel
Now we need to open the LobbyServerEntry.cs (Assets → Scripts → UI) and add logic for users that Find a Game, to also be able to join the same channel.
Let’s open LobbyServerEntry.cs in Visual Studio and scroll down to line 63, here we can see the JoinMatch(). Starting at line 80 lets add some code similar to that above.
We’ve integrated the Agora SDK and now we are ready to build and test the game on both iOS and Android. We can follow the same steps we did above, for building and deploying!
Thanks for following along, feel free to leave a comment below!
Other Resources
The complete API documentation is available in the Document Center.
For technical support, submit a ticket using the Agora Dashboard.
The excitement level at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), in San Francisco yesterday was epic as the latest and greatest developments in the gaming industry were being showcased and demonstrated among industry experts. The view from the Agora.io Booth #P1633 confirms some of the world’s best video game technology companies are here to present cutting-edge video game advancements.
Here are some of our favorite products/solutions from the first day at the GDC exhibit hall. Read on to glimpse the highlights . . .
Google Stadia: What does Google’s cloud gaming service mean for the future of gaming? According to Google, Stadia will run on an AMD chip, allowing Google data centers to 4K gaming content at 60 frames per second with HDR color and surround sound over any of your favorite hardware – smartphone, tablet, Chromecast enabled TV or PC. Stadia is built for players and developers; with a new controller ‘capture’ feature via YouTube, that will allows gamers to instantly livestream gameplay, capture shares, save experiences and post online while offering unique development tools and cloud infrastructure capabilities for developers. A key benefit to Stadia streaming is you will never have to worry about updates ever again, while the intuitive ‘State save’, capabilities allow gamers the ability to ask for help in online communities and share favorite wins. Stadia also aims to improve multiplayer experiences. Google Stadia’s initial game lineup will only feature Doom: Eternal and AC: Odyssey, for now. Leaving us all curious about when this will drop, as Google did not announce a hard launch date (2019) or pricing specifics. We heard hints of a subscription model but we secretly hope they gift the first 100,000 units in a gamer competition. A gamer can dream . . . Coming soon to gamers in the US, Canada, UK & Europe.
Google at GDC’19
Facebook Oculus Rift S & Viveport VR Play: The big hardware news yesterday comes from Oculus, announcing their Rift S, a new VR headset for PC with support from Viveport with VR Play, their app store for Oculus Rift users. This new technology provides a key advantage in that it has a higher resolution display with built-in tracking. Even better, with five built-in sensors featuring Oculus’ Insight tracking tech, you can combine it with the new sensitive Touch controllers – which looks as if they will be included with the headset (fingers crossed). With over 1280×1440 per eye for a total of 2560×1440 of increased resolution, light blocking and comfort – perhaps our favorite benefit is its compatibility with the OG Rift’s hardware. Coming soon to a preferred vendor near you!
Unity, Nvidia, Epic & Google Stadia, Ray Tracing: Ray tracing may be the hottest trend we identified today, brought to you in products from Unity, Nvidia, Epic and Google Stadia. According to Techradar.com, “Ray tracing is a rendering technique that can produce incredibly realistic lighting effects. Essentially, an algorithm can trace the path of light, and then simulate the way that the light interacts with the virtual objects it ultimately hits in the computer-generated world.” Nvidia’s RTX technology is producing high-quality (dank) graphics “film-quality” algorithms and GPU’s. Developers will agree, this will be a vital tool allowing creators to mimic lights real behaviors, altering the line between real-time and reality. Embedded in new products available soon from Unity, Nvidia, Epic, Google Stadia, and many more.
Well, that’s our take on day one here at GDC. We hope you agree, it is easy to see how Agora’s Software Defined Real-Time Network (SD-RTN) live video, voice and live broadcasting solution is a perfect match for the GDC. We just have one question: Developers! What are you waiting for? #Randogameroftheday
We’re looking forward to another amazing day filled with the latest innovative features, tomorrow at day two of the GDC. Stay tuned for a sneak peek at more of 2019’s most disruptive gaming trends, live from the Agora booth P1633!
Agora strives to empower developers around the world to create innovative apps and projects. From disaster recovery drones to augmented reality collaboration platforms, Agora’s customizable SDKs allow devs to create their own experiences with real-time communications. Whether you’re an ambitious startup founder or an enthusiastic hackathon developer, Agora’s wide array of products allow you to get started easily for free and scale immediately.
After seeing all the helpfulness and hard work the Agora developer community provides to all of its members, the Agora DevRel team wanted to launch an official program for these superstars — showcasing their contributions to the whole Agora developer community.
The Agora Superstars program is an exciting platform to help developers expand their knowledge and personal brand through online and offline Developer Relations-related activities such as meetups, conference talks, and being spotlighted in the Superstar Developer Gallery as well as our monthly newsletters.
How You Can Join:
To become an Agora Superstar, you must complete at least 3 of the following requirements:
1 Tutorial blog post using the Agora SDK
1 Demo app built on the Agora SDK
1 Technical talk about Agora
1 Tutorial video using the Agora SDK
1 Meetup hosted about Agora
10 Stack Overflow questions answered with the Agora.io tag
Perks of the Superstars Program:
As a member of the Superstars program, you get:
Exclusive Agora.io Gear just for Agora Superstars
Cool prizes like tech goodies, travel experiences, gift cards, and much more through our Agora AllStars portal
Contribute to shaping our product roadmap in alpha stages of our new products
Exclusive access to the Agora beta programs
Agora food & drink sponsorship at developer meetups (where your talk is about RTC)
Travel & lodging covered for events or talks superstars gives about RTC
One conference pass of your choice each year (subject to terms)
Agora Superstars of the Month Spotlight on our Developer Gallery and newsletter
Mentorship by the Agora DevRel team to help you become a developer advocate/evangelist
You’ll also have the opportunity for further training by the Agora Developer Relations team on the best RTC coding practice, as well as in-depth training on the Agora SDKs.
Get started!
To be an Agora Superstar, submit your application on the Agora Superstars page. The DevRel team will get in touch to help with your onboarding.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Agora.io, the leading voice, video and live broadcasting platform, today announced a strategic partnership with Mech Mocha, an India-focused digital entertainment startup that creates live interactive mobile experiences for vernacular users.
With over 730 million mobile internet users expected by 2020, India is one of the fastest-growing mobile economies in the world. The new partnership with Mech Mocha will allow Agora.io to tap into the massive Indian market as consumer demand for local interactive entertainment apps and mobile games grows.
Backed by global venture capital firms Accel Partners, Shunwei Capital, Blume Ventures, and others, Mech Mocha develops mobile entertainment platforms that utilize in-app voice and video chat to introduce an interactive social layer to the user experience. As Mech Mocha expands its product portfolio, Agora.io will be the exclusive provider of real-time engagement solutions, including voice, video, and live broadcasting.
“We’re incredibly excited to partner with Agora.io at such a critical juncture for Mech Mocha,” said Arpita Kapoor, co-founder and CEO of Mech Mocha. “Not only does Agora.io consistently deliver high-quality communications for our users despite the challenges of India’s network connectivity, but they also have a dedicated local team that has been invaluable as we push mobile boundaries with innovative new features.”
Agora.io currently powers live voice chat for Mech Mocha’s latest mobile hit,Hello Ludo. Based on a popular local Indian board game, Hello Ludo lets players chat with each other in real time while they compete to win. By combining synchronous mobile gameplay with live social engagement, Hello Ludo gives users an interactive experience that’s as thrilling and enjoyable as playing the board game with friends in person.
Launched in October 2018, Hello Ludo is quickly gaining in popularity among vernacular Indian users, with more than 25 minutes spent per daily active user (DAU) and 60 million minutes of real-time voice chats last quarter. Kapoor adds, “We see Agora.io as a long-term partner who is capable of scaling with our ambitions to become one of the top digital publishers in India.”
Agora.io’s industry-leading SDKs enable developers to embed crystal-clear voice and video into any application. Powered by its proprietary Software Defined Real-Time Network (SD-RTN), Agora.io utilizes machine learning algorithms to dynamically route transmissions across 200 globally distributed data centers, which ensures high-definition, low latency voice, and video communications to end users regardless of their geographic location, device type, and network condition.
“Our partnership with Mech Mocha is an exciting opportunity to collaborate with an innovative company that is building social components to localized games for a truly first-of-its-kind mobile experience,” says Reggie Yativ, CRO & COO at Agora.io. “Connecting with local entrepreneurs and developers will continue to be one of our main priorities as we expand our services and solutions throughout the region.”
About Agora.io
Founded in 2014, Agora is a global company with offices in Santa Clara and Shanghai and customers in over 100 countries. Agora.io offers a real-time engagement platform as a service that allows developers to easily embed voice and video chat, interactive broadcasting, and messaging on a global scale for any mobile, Web or desktop application. With over 12 billion minutes of monthly usage on our network, Agora.io is trusted by developers and brands across the globe with use cases ranging from gaming, social, e-commerce, education, to healthcare and more.
The Agora platform is powered by the Agora Software Defined Real Time Network (SD-RTN), a global delivery network of data centers. SD-RTN dynamically manages the routing of voice and video to overcome severe packet loss incidents and enable a seamless, uninterrupted, high-quality real-time delivery across the globe, even in the most remote locations and emerging markets.
To run a production app using Agora.io’s Voice and Video SDK, developers need to implement a token server.
This requires efforts on both the front-end and backend. Sometimes when trying to coordinate, the two teams realize they need to develop both in parallel. But how can the front-end get built and tested without a backend?
Luckily some of the great developers in the Agora.io dev community put together a repo of a NodeJS implementation with a quick setup/deployment button that you can use for testing your front-end implementation. To make things even simpler, I’ve included everything you need below.
Make sure you are logged into your Heroku account and have logged in to your Agora.io Developer account. You’re also going to need to have an app setup with the App Certificate enabled.
Have you ever tried to plan a trip with friends or decide where to go to dinner and end up sending too many screenshots?
Online screen sharing makes life easier and is gaining popularity. It is a convenient way to share data and collaborate with friends and colleagues from across the street or across the globe. We often use screen sharing in meetings for business. The use of online screen sharing has proved to be beneficial for many companies, as it creates opportunity and increases productivity.
Let’s look at some of the ways screen sharing is transforming the way we engage.
Technology, Lightbeam – Lightbeam is an innovative cross-platform screen sharing app, that lets you connect from your mobile (Android and iOS) and share your media consumption with friends, in real-time. This collaborative screen sharing app allows you to connect with your friends while you do what you do online. With Lightbeam screen sharing, you can get advice on purchases you’re contemplating from trusted friends, a group of friends around the country can book travel together or plan a celebration together. Maybe your mom needs help troubleshooting her new iPad or iPhone settings. Clear video chat, voice/audio chat, and chat messaging allow you to connect with your favorite subject matter expert, wherever they may be.
Accounting – Intuit Turbo Tax added year-round access to experienced certified public accountants (CPAs) or enrolled agents (EAs) via video chat in addition to a review of your return before you file. Customers can review a document together, gain a better understanding of why their taxes may have increased or get general advice. Screen sharing for accounting is brilliant, as not all of us like doing creative math with our free time.
courtesy: turbotax.intuit.com
Tele-Health – The American Telemedicine Administration (ATA), is a billion dollar industry with innovative virtual health care companies like Zipnosis, Bright MD, Virtwell and DOXIVA all using screen sharing and AI to provide faster asynchronous care to their patients. Screen sharing saves time and allows telemedicine platforms to provide patients faster care with convenience – from the comfort of their own home. This benefits the patients overall experience while reducing physician burnout from cancelled and missed appointments.
EdTech – Kid’s ask the craziest questions, and in case you don’t know everything, EdTech is dedicated to empower children, supplement education and provide equal access. The EdTech market is expected to hit around $129 Billion in 2020. EdTech companies like Vivi, aim to improve student engagement in the classroom by using video chat and screen sharing features to teach new skills in the digital age and revolutionize teaching. Internet-based methods of teaching, known as Massive Online Open Courses or MOOC’s, feature screen sharing to enhance user experience. There are inspirational EdTech data platforms like TORSH, that provide teachers with video-based online communities where more experienced teachers can help less seasoned teachers from remote and challenged regions improve by providing observation, coaching, and positive feedback.
These industries are transforming businesses into collaborative activities that people have a need for. They are optimizing how we engage, personally and professionally. Screen sharing is an efficient tool that is disrupting business and connecting people all over the world.
Huge shifts in interactive broadcasting are coming as major sports leagues like the NBA and the NHL are now embracing daily fantasy leagues and online sports gambling. The shift in supporting both legislation and the industry as a whole signals a new era in how fans are able to watch games and interact with each other.
Imagine being able to tune into a big game with all your old college buddies from the comfort of your home. Buddies from New York, New Jersey, Austin, Denver, and San Francisco could all tune into the same game and interact with each other through real-time text chat and video group chat. Not only are you hanging out with your buddies in real-time, you will be able to talk smack and even place wagers against each other during the game.
Daily fantasy sports leagues like DraftKings, FanDuel and countless others service are now in a position to integrate interactive broadcasting directly into their mobile apps which will ultimately result in billions of dollars changing hands in real-time.
courtesy: onlinegambling.com
For today’s sports fan, connectivity is vital. As we navigate modern technology, we are constantly called upon to direct our attention to the latest advances in real-time streaming which can be used to dramatically enhance game viewing and the interactive broadcasting experience for fans around the globe.
As interactive broadcast technology advances, so does the expectations of the fans using it, making companies who can deliver real-time low-latency connectivity, poised to succeed. Providing best-in-class high-end capabilities to fans globally while achieving higher levels of efficiency is the goal. But how can this be accomplished? The future of interactive broadcasting includes exclusive content, live in-game coverage, interviews, and the ability to use text chat, voice and video chat while placing bets.
The Effects of Live Interaction in Broadcasting
The use of effective content is only a part of how fantasy sports league engages it’s audience. It is through the use of interactive, high-quality video engagements that fantasy league apps will drive user and brand engagement. Voice and video chat is the first step in moving apps from being places to consume to becoming places we socialize and interact with content. By ensuring fans experience seamless real-time voice and video chat, viewer base loyalty will increase as the popularity of fantasy leagues and online gambling increases.
In today’s world, fans expect to be provided with real-time information and interaction. In fact, their success depends on it. Competitive fantasy sports leagues apps understand that broadcast companies cannot just provide capabilities to their customers, rather, they must provide innovative ways to increase user engagement.
Innovation in this industry is presented as empowering your fans with the ability to connect in novel ways that they identify with. For example, consider gambling in esports; these audiences demand true personalization that allows them to tune in to their preferred device; offering them the ability to engage via text and or chat, record, enjoy multiple camera viewpoints, and all of this viewing experience comes with the expectation that the audio and video are in real-time, flawless, and delivered globally – regardless of remote location.
Wanna bet? The Growth in Online Fantasy Gambling
The more sports grows, the more online fantasy leagues grow. Today there is a palpable shift in how people are engaging with online and mobile gambling apps. With increased screen time leading to the high probability of placing online bets, the diversification of mobile gambling are on the rise. From this perspective high-quality, live interactive broadcasting solutions can drive beneficial business outcomes while increasing fan engagement.
According to esports entertainment group, “In 2016 it is estimated that $5.5 Billion was wagered on major eSports titles worldwide. It is estimated in 2020 the growth will be to around $12.9 Billion. This is over 100% growth in just four years thus clearly showing just how quickly the market is expanding”. Thus, confirming that smartphone gambling is convenient and effective with easy access. Add in standardized secure mobile payment features, and today’s gambling ecosystem is poised for rapid growth.
The Win-Win Solution
Interactive broadcasting is turning sports and fantasy sports leagues into a collaborative, social activity that allows all fans to feel involved in the game. They are disrupting the norms of social media and traditional news outlets – and it’s a good thing. Now fans get to become part of the game in creative new ways.
The future of successful interactive broadcasting belongs to those who are brave enough to dive in and embrace visionary communication technology. Brands who create interactive real-time engagement will win BIG in 2019 and beyond.
The industry event will bring together experts, product owners, and developers to explore the future of RTC technology
SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Agora.io, the leading voice, video and live broadcasting platform, today announced open registrations for AllThingsRTC, the premier real-time communications (RTC) event in the U.S. The conference will take place at the Parc 55 in downtown San Francisco on Thursday, June 13, 2019.
RTC technology is widely used across all industries, from social engagement and gaming to telehealth and education. At AllThingsRTC, innovators, developers, and practitioners from a variety of professional backgrounds will share insights on how they’ve successfully implemented RTC technology into their products and services, the technical and business challenges they overcame, and what the future holds for RTC technology.
“Live voice and video communications technology has had a profound impact on the way we live, work, and interact with each other and will continue to do so,” said Reggie Yativ, Agora.io’s CRO & COO. “Like all emerging technology, however, RTC comes with its own set of challenges. At AllThingsRTC, we’ll address these issues and more, giving both developers and product owners the insights and tools they need to take their customer and user experiences to the next level.”
AllThingsRTC will bring together over 300 top technologists, business leaders, and RTC enthusiasts to connect, network, and share knowledge. Attendees will have the option to choose between use case-focused and technology-focused tracks during the full-day event.
Confirmed speakers include Shravan Goli, Chief Product Officer of Coursera; Hemal Thaker, Senior Associate, Digital Gaming at Goldman Sachs; Tina Kuan, CMO of Castbox; Or Ben Shimon, CEO of Comunix; Selcuk Alti, CEO of Bunch; Carter Williams, CEO of lightbeam, as well as Agora’s own Chief Scientist Shawn Zhong, CRO & COO Reggie Yativ, Head of Emerging Technology & Markets Tony Wang, and founder and CEO Tony Zhao.
AllThingsRTC is not the first RTC-focused event Agora has hosted. RTC Bejing, also known as the Real-Time Web Solutions Conference, is one of the largest annual RTC conferences in the world, attracting thousands of developers across the globe and speakers from some of the world’s leading tech companies, including Google, Twitch, Slack, and MeetMe. Agora has hosted the world-class event alongside partners like Geekbang and CSDN for four consecutive years.
For more information on AllThingsRTC or to purchase tickets, visit allthingsrtc.org. For sponsorship opportunities, email agora@credpr.com.
About Agora.io
Founded in 2014, Agora is a global company with offices in Santa Clara and Shanghai and customers in over 100 countries. Agora.io offers a real-time engagement platform as a service that allows developers to easily embed voice and video chat, interactive broadcasting, and messaging on a global scale for any mobile, Web or desktop application. With over 12 billion minutes of monthly usage on our network, Agora.io is trusted by developers and brands across the globe with use cases ranging from gaming, social, e-commerce, education, to healthcare and more.
The Agora platform is powered by the Agora Software Defined Real Time Network (SD-RTN), a global delivery network of data centers. SD-RTN dynamically manages the routing of voice and video to overcome severe packet loss incidents and enable a seamless, uninterrupted, high-quality real-time delivery across the globe, even in the most remote locations and emerging markets.
The live video shopping experience has become a new normal for online shoppers in Asia who frequent platforms like Tmall and Taobao, but it’s now gaining momentum in the United States and the West as more companies experiment with the technology.
Amazon recently announced the launch of Amazon Live, a “home-shopping streaming-video hub” on its website and app. While the retailer has experimented with live streaming in the past, the move represents a new chapter for the company and its investment in live video. Amazon’s not the only retail giant taking advantage of the power of live video, however. For the past few years, QVC has been streaming its shows online, and in 2016, e-commerce sales accounted for nearly half ($4 billion) of the home shopping network’s annual revenue.
As more consumers begin to look to live video to do their shopping online, e-commerce retailers should look to live video broadcasting for new opportunities to interact and engage with their customers all over the world while opening up new channels of revenue.
Here are a few tips for creating your own live video broadcasting experience﹘no Amazon seller account required.
Add Value Through Your Video Content Though Amazon Live has only been “live” for a short time, retailers have already taken to the platform, posting a variety of live content. From professionally-produced cooking segments to casual, funny toy demonstrations, each retailer brings their unique products, perspective and style to their videos.
While there is no right or wrong to live broadcast, every live video a brand or retailer releases should add value to the audience. How-to demonstrations and tutorials are popular among fashion and beauty retailers, as they show shoppers how they can incorporate a particular product into an outfit or makeup look. On the other hand, a fireside chat may be useful for a retailer that is introducing a new service to the market and wants to spark more conversation about it. No matter the type of content, whether it be a daily product show or a quarterly fashion show, live video broadcasting is a way for brands and retailers to inform, entertain, and bring value to their customers in new, authentic ways.
Make it Easy for Customers to Interact and Shop One of the most useful Amazon Live features is the image that appears at the bottom of each broadcast. Instead of having to search the Amazon website for the particular product mentioned in the video, viewers can just click “see more details” and buy it directly.
Brands and retailers should take a cue from Amazon Live and customize their live broadcasts with easy-to-access product information and links to ensure customers know where to find their goods and services. Social share buttons also encourage viewers to share their finds with friends and family.
One feature Amazon Live does not yet utilize is real-time interactive video and voice chat, where buyers directly interact and communicate with the seller. By allowing shoppers to actively engage with the content, ask their questions, and provide their feedback through live video and voice, retailers can encourage more participation, as well as obtain useful information that will help them tweak their broadcasts to better connect with customers. Create a Customized Live Video Experience While Amazon Live offers retailers and brands a new way to reach shoppers, it’s only available to Amazon sellers in the U.S, excluding a large portion of e-commerce retailers from participating. Also, because the platform is hosted by Amazon, retailers can’t personalize the user experience outside of the video content itself.
By integrating a solution like Agora’s live video SDK into their platforms or applications, retailers of any size and location can build live audio and video broadcast experiences that are unique to their business’s products, services, and brand voice.
Agora is helping e-commerce retailers and clients across a variety of industries, including social, gaming, and education, connect with the customers and build new revenue channels through meaningful real-time engagement experiences. Want to learn more about our live video, voice, and interactive broadcasting services? Talk to our our team.
LinkedIn is the latest major social media network to integrate live video broadcasting into its platform, joining the ranks of Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. According to the popular business-focused social networking app, live video was the most requested feature from members. The new “LinkedIn Live” feature will allow companies to live stream conferences, product announcements, Q&As and other events led by influencers and mentors, office hours from a big tech company, earnings calls, graduation and awards ceremonies and more.
Incorporating live video broadcasting isn’t a feature exclusive to major social media apps like LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, however. Social apps of all kinds, whether the focus is on dating, networking, or gaming, can take advantage of live video broadcasting with the help of a third-party live video and voice solutions provider.
Creating your own social app? Here are three reasons why you should consider integrating live video broadcasting.
Live video boosts engagement Live video has been entertaining viewers and increasing user engagement on Facebook and other social networking platforms for the past few years, but as more developers integrate real-time communications into their apps and more brands take advantage of live video broadcasting, the trend shows no sign of stopping.
Part of the appeal of live video broadcasting is the direct interaction a user can have with the host or other users during a session. MeetMe, a social discovery and dating app, has Live, a feature which allows users to broadcast themselves, watch other broadcasts, invite others to join their streams, and chat with users in real time.
“Think of the live band that plays at your local coffee shop and how that entertainment adds to the overall social experience. It’s dynamic and it’s happening right now. That’s what live video is to MeetMe,” says Geoff Cook, Co-founder and CEO of The Meet Group.
Since first launching the feature, over 25 percent of MeetMe’s mobile daily active users (Mobile DAU) have taken advantage of the future and use it on a daily basis. Live made such a significant impact on engagement that The Meet Group decided to implement live video across its portfolio.
Cook told Global Dating Insights, “Our apps – LOVOO, MeetMe, Tagged, and Skout – have more than 20 million minutes of live video every day, and we have not experienced cannibalization of our core text-based chat. Instead, live video fills the product gaps.”
Strong community = strong app A successful social engagement app needs a strong, engaged community. Through live video broadcasts, users can see, hear, and communicate with each other in real time, adding a layer of transparency to their interactions.
For users on apps like MeetMe and LiveMe, a live broadcasting app, live video is especially important as users are often cultivating relationships from a distance. Rather than rely on text messages, static photos, written profiles, or even pre-recorded video, users can have a real-time interaction without having to actually meet in person.
“You can see not just how people interact with you, but with other people, so you can see how they interact with everyone so then you don’t see just one side of the person,” Andy, a LiveMe broadcaster in England, told Elite Daily about the app’s flagship live video feature. He met his fiancée Michelle, who lives in California, on the app during one of her live broadcasts and the two have maintained their relationship by broadcasting on the app, as well as Skype and Facebook Messenger.
In order for the live broadcasting experience to be impactful for all users, however, it has to be high-quality. Sixty-seven percent of viewers believe video quality is the most important factor when watching a livestream broadcast. As a social engagement app scales, a dependable, global network is needed to ensure each user sees and hears each other in real-time, no matter their location or device.
More opportunities, more monetization One of the most appealing benefits of implementing live video broadcasting in a social engagement platform is that it opens up new channels of revenue.
Perhaps the most obvious, direct way for social engagement apps to monetize is through advertising and partnership opportunities. As companies look to spend some of their television and traditional advertising budgets elsewhere, they’re looking for new platforms and apps with highly engaged audiences to promote their products and services. For social engagement apps (especially those that are free to download), offering ad placements during live broadcasts is a simple, effective way to earn make money.
Another way social apps can monetize their live video broadcasts is through virtual gifts. Virtual gifting has been a popular way for broadcasters to earn from revenue from their content for years, but apps like LiveMe and Periscope introduced the concept to the U.S. Now many apps have virtual gifting mechanisms, as well as offer exclusive content and other features like special filters, stickers, and more, that users can buy. The benefit is twofold for the social engagement app, as it incentivizes its creators to create quality content and gives them the chance to earn cash for their skills, talent, and efforts.
Integrating live video broadcasting into their platforms is a no-brainer for social engagement apps. The opportunities for increased engagement, a stronger community, and more revenue are ones they can’t pass up.
Need a partner to help you integrate live video into your social app? Learn how Agora is helping social engagement apps and startups like MeetMe, Gravy, and Mech Mocha boost their platforms through live video, voice, and interactive broadcasting.
Live Video is expanding educational opportunities in meaningful ways. In this new era of communication, people are looking for online learning to augment the traditional in-classroom experience. Having real-time live video chat features allows students and teachers to work to their full potential. Live video chat is a trend that is transforming the way we connect and learn. Here’s why we think this trend is here to stay.
Communication. No matter where you are in the world – being connected matters. In online education, real-time connectivity is essential. Online learning is growing and evolving in creative digital ways, all designed to attract the best talent and engage bright students.
Engagement. What used to be dull pre-recorded sessions have been replaced by real-time video chat that allows students and teachers to connect face to face. Today we are seeing live 1:1 and group classroom learning. From Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC’s) to the intimacy of pupil and tutor one on ones, digital advances are benefiting online students globally. We see seamless real-time video chat providing access, creating engaging and positive user experiences in safe environments for all.
A New Way to Educate
VIPKids: VIPKids uses live interactive video calls, enabling students to educate themselves from the comfort and convenience of their homes. VIPKids is an online English language education program that allows educators the flexibility to work where and when they want, without the responsibility of building a curriculum, lesson plans, or grading. Instructors get to do what they love, teach globally, and work locally making this the perfect example of how to use live video as the new way to educate. Students get to thrive in personalized, one-on-one sessions. By including dynamic elements like the interactive one on one classes that keep the students engaged, VIPKids is changing the future of education, one video lesson at a time.
courtesy: theeducatorsspinonit.com
Other use cases of live video education include recording bite-size lessons that can be viewed on demand, or again and again, appealing to even the shortest of attention spans. Instructors can use live video to add personalized touches to connect with students and build rapport. In addition, they can flip lessons so students can view ahead of time and come to class prepared and ready to engage in dialogue that helps imprint the days’days lesson.
Teaching hands-on skills or even letting the student make appropriate videos to share online – all of this is disrupting education as we know it.
But wait! There’s more . . . According to the American Public Broadcasting Service’s (PBS) annual teacher survey on media and technology, the majority of teachers believe that video is an effective great learning tool:
68% believe that video stimulates discussions
66% believe that video increases student motivation, and
41% believe that video increases student achievement.
Pop Quiz.
Just kidding. Okay, but seriously . . . what did we learn?
Today’s students are digital natives and love their screen time. Check. Live video taps into their lifestyle and makes learning fun. Check. Live video provides endless possibilities that enable students, tutors, and certified instructors to to seamlessly connect globally. Check. More and more today, people are educating themselves from the comfort and convenience of their homes or maximizing their commute time while furthering their education using online live video.
These forward-thinking companies (Udemy, Coursera, LearnCube, and VIPKids), are meeting the needs of students around the world. By offering exciting/effective new ways to learn and engage with educational content. Providing creative online teaching solutions via live video is the key to combat the rising costs of education.
Anytime, Anywhere Education
With education rapidly expanding when, how, and where we interact with each other, live video allows us to create a space that we define in terms of privacy, collaboration, and productivity – anytime, anywhere. Because of live video, we are more productive participants in life, more focused students of learning.
Students now have access to education by motivated teachers and can have fun interacting with fellow classmates. Languages, coding, cooking, math, science, art, and wellness – just about anything you can imagine is being successfully taught online. Unique classes are offered from qualified independent teachers online, providing equality and diversity for all.
In academia, hard work, determination, and tenacity are required but not always possible unless you have access to enter these spaces. One tremendous benefit Live Video learning brings to students of the world, is access. Geographical challenges are no longer obstacles blocking the curiosity and brilliance in students around the world.
Live video classes are fun, convenient and safe. Passionate teachers provide customized learning 24×7. Whether you seek enrichment classes or core academics, live video can deliver it to your favorite device.
Need a partner to help you integrate live video? Learn how Agora is helping educational institutions through live video, voice, and interactive broadcasting.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Agora.io, the leading voice, video and live broadcasting platform, today announced a partnership with KENT CamEye, a first-of-its-kind car security device that uses dual cameras to live stream and record everything happening inside and outside of the vehicle.
According to data from India’s Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, the number of registered passenger cars in India has more than doubled to approximately 29 million since 2010. Ongoing efforts have been made to prioritize road safety and penalize drivers more heavily for traffic offenses, but speeding and negligent driving are still common problems on the country’s busy roads. Additionally, the rise of ride-sharing and chauffeurs for hire come with a new set of challenges, as cars are sometimes damaged or driven to unauthorized destinations.
To combat these issues and keep vehicles and passengers safe, KENT CamEye automatically records all activity happening inside and outside of the monitored vehicle and broadcasts a live feed of the video to the connected mobile app. KENT CamEye also tracks the real-time GPS location of the car, provides playback of the driver’s route, and sends push notifications when it detects unusual activity, such as an unfamiliar driver, sleeping in the car with the AC on, or going over the speed limit. The device also features a built-in microphone and speakers to enable seamless two-way voice calling so owners can get in touch with drivers and passengers with the tap of a button.
Unlike other GPS trackers and dash cams on the market, KENT CamEye provides an all-in-one solution that combines real-time location tracking, live streaming, time-lapse video recording, active monitoring, and voice communication from a single device. Under the new partnership, Agora will be the exclusive provider of real-time voice and video solutions to power KENT CamEye’s live streaming and voice calling features.
“We tested other RTC solutions but we needed a provider that could power one-to-many video broadcasting to ensure multiple users could access the live streaming feature at the same time,” said Jaibeer Malik, CTO at KENT CamEye. “With Agora, our users experience reliable, high-quality video and voice, no matter their network connection or location.”
Agora’s partnership with KENT CamEye comes on the heels of the company’s expansion in India, where it has established a dedicated local team to serve clients in the region. Other new partners in the region include Mech Mocha, the digital entertainment startup behind the mobile gaming hit Hello Ludo popular among vernacular Indian users.
Malik added, “As we look to expand internationally, we know we can rely on Agora to provide the scalable real-time communications solutions we’ll need.”
“Our partnership with KENT CamEye is an exciting opportunity to not only use live broadcasting to connect and entertain users but also to truly keep them safe as they travel to and from their homes,” said Reggie Yativ, CRO and COO at Agora.io. “We’re pleased to work with the KENT team to improve the safety of the country’s drivers and passengers.”
In addition to the partnership with KENT CamEye and several other projects, Agora will host AllThingsRTC, the premier real-time communications (RTC) event, next month in San Francisco. The conference will bring together over 300 top technologists, business leaders, and RTC enthusiasts along with speakers from Google, Microsoft, T-Mobile, and Amazon to explore innovations in live interactive communication technologies.
For more information on AllThingsRTC or to purchase tickets, visit allthingsrtc.org.
About Agora.io
Founded in 2014, Agora is a global company with offices in Santa Clara and Shanghai and customers in over 100 countries. Agora.io offers a real-time engagement platform as a service that allows developers to easily embed voice and video chat, interactive broadcasting, and messaging on a global scale for any mobile, Web or desktop application. With over 12 billion minutes of monthly usage on our network, Agora.io is trusted by developers and brands across the globe with use cases ranging from gaming, social, e-commerce, education, to healthcare and more.
The Agora platform is powered by the Agora Software Defined Real Time Network (SD-RTN), a global delivery network of data centers. SD-RTN dynamically manages the routing of voice and video to overcome severe packet loss incidents and enable a seamless, uninterrupted, high-quality real-time delivery across the globe, even in the most remote locations and emerging markets.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Agora.io, the leading voice, video and live interactive streaming platform, today announced speakers for AllThingsRTC, the premier real-time communications (RTC) event in the U.S., which will take place this Thursday, June 13th at the Parc 55 in downtown San Francisco.
AllThingsRTC will bring together over 400 top technologists, business leaders, and RTC enthusiasts to connect, network, and share knowledge. Attendees will have the option to choose between ‘Use Case’ and ‘Technology’ tracks during the full-day event.
Keynote Speaker
The Opening Keynote, which will explore the past, present, and future of AV1, will be given by Debargha Mukherjee, Principal Software Engineer at Google. After earning his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California in Santa Barbara, Debargha worked as a Research Scientist at Hewlett-Packard and conducted research on video/image coding and processing. In 2010, he joined Google, where he concentrates on open-source video codec research and development. Debargha has authored/co-authored more than 100 papers on various signal processing topics and holds more than 60 U.S. patents, with many more pending.
Agora.io’s own CEO Tony Zhao, COO/CRO Reggie Yativ, and VP of Developer & Ecosystems Virginia Liu will give the Welcome Keynote.
Featured Speakers
Among the Featured Speakers revealed today are Principal Architect at Microsoft and Co-chair of the W3C WebRTC Working Group Bernard Aboba; founder of Pion WebRTC and Amazon Web Services (AWS) developer Sean DuBois; Vice President of IoT and M2M at T-Mobile Balaji Sridharan; Director of Brand Publishing and Enterprise Social Media at Adobe Matt Rozen; and Principal Product Lead at LinkedIn Live Jessica Chan.
C-Level Executives to Talk RTC
Other speakers who will share the ways they’ve utilized RTC technology to innovate in their respective fields include Agora.io’s Chief Scientist Shawn Zhong; CEO of FORTË Lauren Foundos; CMO of Castbox Tina Kuan; Chief of Product at Rokid Reynold Wu; CEO and founder of Socialive David Moricca; CEO and founder of One Touch Video Chat Carrie Chitsey Wells; CEO and co-founder of Switchboard Live Rudiger J. Ellis; CEO of Comunix, Or Ben Shimon; CEO and founder of AMPLive Eddie Vaca; Founder of Meditation.Live D Sharma; CEO and founder of Bunch Selcuk Atli; CEO and founder of Lightmob Carter Williams; Co-founder of TickTalk Ying Gong; CTO and co-founder of SignalWire Evan McGee; Founder at Learn It Live Sidney Slover; CEO and co-founder of Yondo Tony Jarboe; CEO and founder of Livekick Yarden Tadmor; CEO and founder of Mighteor Elizabeth Giorgi; CTO and co-founder of Wishlife Lei Wang; Technologist at Callstats.io Chad Hart; Co-founder and Chief Scientist at Visionular Zoe Liu; Principal Technical Architect at Mech Mocha Parijat Bandyopadhyay; Software Engineer at Mux Inc. Nick Chadwick; CEO of Deepgram Scott Stephenson; Senior Developer at WebRTC.ventures Alberto Gonzalez Trastoy; and Developer Evangelist at Agora.io Hermes Frangoudis.
Discussing the Future of RTC Technology
“We’re excited to welcome speakers from a wide range of industries, professional backgrounds, and companies—from prominent enterprises like Google and Microsoft to disruptive startups behind innovative new products and services. These individuals and their contributions to creating a more connected world are a testament to RTC technology’s massive opportunities, which extend far beyond a single industry, product, or use case,” says Agora.io’s COO/CRO Reggie Yativ. “We look forward to hosting hundreds of attendees from across the country and around the world as they glean insights from some of the top experts in the space.”
At AllThingsRTC, innovators, developers, and practitioners from a variety of professional backgrounds will share insights on how they’ve successfully implemented RTC technology into their products and services, the technical and business challenges they overcame, and what the future holds for RTC technology.
For more information on AllThingsRTC or to get tickets, visit allthingsrtc.org.
About Agora.io
Founded in 2014, Agora.io is a global company with offices in Santa Clara, London, Bangalore, and Shanghai and customers in over 100 countries. Agora.io offers a real-time engagement platform-as-a-service that allows developers to easily embed voice, video, interactive streaming, and messaging for any mobile, web or desktop application and go live globally in a matter of days.
With over 20 billion minutes of monthly usage on our network, Agora.io is trusted by developers and business managers and powers live streaming and video interaction for leading social and enterprise brands across the globe, with use cases in a wide variety of industries such as social, gaming, workflow collaboration, enterprise training & branding, e-commerce, healthcare and more. Agora.io services are backed by an SLA, priced very competitively, and GDPR compliant.
The Agora.io platform is powered by the Agora Software Defined Real Time Network (SD-RTN), a global delivery network of 200 data centers. SD-RTN that dynamically manages the routing of voice and video to overcome severe packet loss incidents and enables seamless, uninterrupted, high-quality real-time streaming delivery across the globe, even in the most remote locations and emerging markets.
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