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Audio Visual Insights for Web-Conferencing and Live Streaming

Top 5 Features for Web Conferencing Software Review

Posted by Paul Richards on Jan 14, 2015 12:28:10 PM

Web Conferencing Software Top 5 Feature Lists:

In this review we take the our Top 5 Features we feel are most important for video conferencing software and name our Top 5 software providers who exemplify these features.

  • Affordability
  • Ease of Use
  • Interoperability
  • Mobile Perfomance
  • Security

Affordability

  • GoToMeeting
  • Skype
  • MeetFree.US
  • OpenTok
  • Zoom.US

zooms_affordable1Affordability is an important feature for web video conferencing software users. For our results we tallied up our top features and compared them to the cost of the monthly service. Optional free services are a added bonus which we have included. But most importantly we took into consideration the overall experience, look and feel of our first impression using the software. 

Features:

 

OooVoo

oovoo

Hangouts

hangouts

MeetFree.US

MeetFree

Skype

skype

Zoom.US

zoomUS

Max Video Participants (Standard)

12

9

25

10

25

Participants / Price per Mo

Free w/ Ads

12 / 2.99 = 4

9 / Free = 9

25 / Free = 25

10 / Free = 10

25 / 10 = 2.25

Free Option

Yes 3 Participant Max

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes, up to 40 minutes  per meeting

Recording

Yes, *PC Only

Yes

No

No

Yes

Screen Share

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Ease of Use

  • GoToMeeting
  • Skype
  • MeetFree.US
  • Google Hangouts
  • Zoom.US

ipad_zoom_USEase of use is probably the most popular feature request. Video conferencing is become more and more commonplace yet somehow most software providers find a way to clutter their interfaces with advanced features that simply “get in the way”. This comparison is certainly difficult and up for discussion (please use comments). To be fair we simply tried each software as if it was the first time we had ever made a video call. Then we took into consideration the client download process. And we reviewed out the experience from multiple platforms like Mac, PC, ChromeBox iPhone, iPad and Android Phones.

Features:

 

GoToMeeting

GoToMeeting-1

OoVoo

oovoo

Skype

skype

Hangouts

hangouts

Zoom.US

zoomUS

One-Click Login

Meeting ID or GoToMeeting Login

Yes. Facebook Login.

Yes, Facebook or Microsoft  Login

Yes, Gmail or Google Login

Yes, Facebook or Google Login

Download Client Size

27MB

12MB

59MB

Cloud Based

23MB

iPhone /iPad Support

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Android Support

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

ChromeBox

No

No

No

Yes

No

Free Option

Yes

Yes (Includes Ads)

Yes

Yes

Yes

First Impression 0/5

3/5

2/5

4/5

3/5

5/5

 Interoperability

  • BlueJeans
  • Acano
  • Pexip
  • Zoom.US
  • Spontnia

Interoperability is an extremely important feature for dynamic work environments where everyone needs to join the meeting no matter the device or protocol. BlueJeans wins this match with flying colors but they are followed closely behind Pexip and Zoom.US. Don't be surprised to find that BlueJeans is the most expensive option. Pexip comes in a close second with support for almost every device and operating system with support for multiple protocols such as H.323 and SIP. Zoom.US provides BYOD support for almost all devices as well plus adds in H.323 and SIP Support which is scalable. The difference here is that BlueJeans offers unlimited support for H.323/SIP devices and Zoom.US provides a scalable option where you pay for only what you need. 

Features:

 

Acano

acano

BlueJeans

bluejeans

Pexip

pexip-1

Spontania

spontania-2

Zoom.US

zoomUS

Unified Communications

Lync Integration

Lync, Skype, Google Integration

Lync Integration

Lync Integration

Google Integration

H.323 Integration

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

SIP Integration

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Deployment Options

VM Ware Ready, On-Premise

Cloud Only

VM Ware, On-Premise and Microsoft Hyper-V

 

 

WebRTC

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Cloud Architecture

Saas & On Premise

Saas only

Saas, PaaS & On-Premise

Saas, PaaS & On-Premise

SaaS, API, and On-Premise

 Mobile Performance & Support

iphone-zoom-usFor the purpose of this review we use BYOD as a term that means “Bring Your Own Device”. We assume 100% BYOD supports all major mobile device platforms including: Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android based systems and Windows mobile OS. Then we look at the features that are available from each app and what version they are currently operating in. Then finally the most important factor user reviews! We found it interesting who many more reviews were found on the Google Play store! Are the apps made for Google Android devices just better? Well we did some looking into things and mostly the apps look and feel the same with slight tendency for Androids to offer additional features.

Features

BlueJeans

bluejeans

GoToMeeting

GoToMeeting-1

Skype

skype

WebEX

webex

Zoom.US

zoomUS

1st Mobile App

2010

2010

2007

2005

2013

Lastest Version

1.9.72

6.3

5.8

6.6.1

3.5

iOS

Yes

Yes

 

 

 

Android

Yes

Yes

 

 

 

Windows

Yes

Yes

 

 

 

Annotation

No

No

No

No

Yes

Price

Free w/ subscription

$2.99 for 1 Day Pass

Free

Free w/ subscription

Free w/ subscription

 

 

Mobile App User Reviews

BlueJeans

bluejeans

GoTo Meeting

GoToMeeting-1

Skype

skype

WebEX

webex

Zoom.US

zoomUS

Rating on App Store

4 Stars

35 Reviews

4 Stars

1,747 Reviews

3.5 Stars

361,603 Reviews

3.5 Stars

7,118 Reviews

4.5 Stars

249 Reviews

Ratings on GooglePlay

3.9/5 Stars

(387 Users)

3.5 Stars

(13,561 Users)

4 Stars

(5,827,000 Users)

4 Stars

(9,658 Users)

4 Stars

(4,539 Users)

5 More!

 

Mobile App User

Reviews

AT&T Connect

ATT_Connect

Adobe Connect

Adobe_Connect-2

 

 

Fuze

Fuze-1

Vidyo

VidyoMobile

VeeSee

VSee-1

 

Rating on App Store

3 Stars

635 Reviews

3.5 Stars

429 Reviews

2.5 Stars

1,355 Reviews

4 Stars

61 Reviews

4.5 Stars

18 Reviews

Ratings on GooglePlay

4.1 Stars

(487 Users)

4 Stars

(5,502 Users)

4 Stars

(308 Users)

4 Stars

(507 Users)

4 Stars

(570 Users)

Security

  • VSee
  • SecureVideo.com
  • Acano
  • MS Lync
  • Polycom

Security is an important feature for many organizations using web video conferencing. For the purposes of this review we assume you are not using a “on-premise” software deployment. On-Premise video conferencing deployments are always the most secure but to connect to the outside world encryption will be required and these 5 web conferencing providers made the top of our list. We added 10% point increase for web conferencing software that is HIPAA compliant right out of the box and a 10% point increase for web conferencing software with “on-premise deployment” options.

 

Acano

acano

BlueJeans

bluejeans

Polycom

Polycom

SecureVideo

SecureVideo

VSee

VSee

Encryption

Server Encryption

Server Encryption

Server Encryption

End to End Encryption

End to End Encryption

Ports on firewall

Required

Multiple

Multiple

Multiple

1

1

Auto HTTP/SSL Tunneling

HTTP/SSL

HTTP/SSL

HTTP/SSL

UDP with HTTP/SSL backup

UDP with HTTP/SSL backup

Cloud Control

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No-Install Client

Using WebRTC Yes

Using WebRTC Yes

No

Yes

Yes

HIPPA Compliant

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

  CRS System Builder

Sources:


https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bluejeansnet.Base&hl=en

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.skype.raider&hl=en

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cisco.webex.meetings&hl=en

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.citrixonline.android.gotomeeting&hl=en

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=us.zoom.videomeetings&hl=en

http://acano.com.com

http://bluejeans.com/

http://zoom.us/

http://www.conferenceroomsystems.com/

http://www.pexip.com/

http://www.skype.com/en/

http://vsee.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPad

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebEx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebRTC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VSee

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoom_Video_Communications

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Audio_Technologies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoToMeeting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logitech

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifesize

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FaceTime

 

Topics: Video Conferencing, web conferencing

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