Frequently Asked Questions

Product

1. How does AVChat 3 work?
2. Can I install AVChat 3 on my web site?
3. What can I change about the looks of AVChat 3?
4. How many users can connect at once to AVChat 3?
5. Can I view more than one video stream at a time ?
6. Can I change the quality of the video and audio?
7. What video and audio codecs is AVChat 3 using?
8. Can users make their audio/video streams private?
9. Does it have emote icons?
10. How much bandwidth does it consume?
11. Is the video and audio sent directly from one user to the other (Peer 2 Peer)?
12. Why is AVChat 3 not p2p?

Purchasing/Ordering

1. Can I pay for your products and services by Pay Pal ?
2. After I place an order how fast is the ordered software delivered?
3. Can I get a refund if I do not like the software?
4. Will your software display any ads or other outgoing links on my web site?
5. Can I upgrade? If yes how much is the upgrade?

Requirements:

1. What is Flash Media Interactive Server ?
2. How can I use Flash Media Interactive Server ?
3. What is Red5 ?
4. How can I use Red5?
5. What is Wowza Media Server?
6. How can I use Wowza Media Server?
7. My host does not provide media server hosting/services, do I have to move my web site?
8. Can I install FMIS, Red5 or Wowza ona shared hosting account or on a free shared hosting account?
9. Do my users need any special plugin installed in their browser?
10. Can I integrate AVChat 3 with my users database?
11. If I do not use the audio/video features of your software (I need only text chat) do I still need a media server?

Questions related to AVChat 3

Q: How does AVChat 3 work?

A: AVChat 3 is a Flash application that you can download and install on your web site. When run (in the browser) AVChat 3 makes a connection to a media server. Once the connection is made, video, audio and text data can be sent over this connection in real time. The video, audio and text data travel from the broadcaster to the media server and from there to the receiver (hopefully in less than 200ms :D ).

Q: Can I install AVChat 3 on my web site?

A: If your web site runs ASP or PHP (or any other server side scripting language), and you have access to a media server (Red5/FMIS/Wowza), the answer is YES. Read the requirements page for more details.

Q: What can I change about the looks of AVChat 3?

A: The size , the background color, the background image, the panel colors, borders, rounded border radius, the font faces, sizes and colors, etc.... Most of these options can be controlled via CSS.

Q: How many users can connect at once to AVChat 3?

A: AVChat 3 comes in different versions/prices with different maximum users limits.

Q: Can I view more than one video stream at a time ?

A: Yes you can.
As a webmaster with access to the configuration files you can also limit how many video streams users can view at one time.

Q: Can I change the quality of the video and audio?

A: Yes, AVChat 3 offers total control over the encoding settings for the video/audio data. Here's what you can change:

• the resolution of the video stream
• the number of frames per second
• the number of key frames per second
• the maximum video bandwidth/second to use
• the picture quality
• the sound quality

More details in this article.

Q: What video and audio codecs is AVChat 3 using?

A: When streaming AVChat 3 grabs the video data from the web cam, encodes it using the Sorenson h.263 video codec, grabs the audio from the microphone, encodes it using the NellyMoser audio codec and then it sends all this data to the media server. Other codecs can not be used since Flash Player only knows how to encode using those 2 codecs!

Q: Can users make their audio/video streams private?

A: Yes.

Q: Does it have emote icons?

A: Yes, and you can add your own emote icons if you like!

Q: How much bandwidth does it consume?

A: A typical audio+video steam will use about 256Kbits/s of data. If a user broadcasts such a stream and at the same time is watching a similar audio/video stream he we ill be using 256 * 2 = 512Kbits/s of data.

AVChat 3 will show in real time for each super how much data he is sending/receiving per second. The admin can also see these values aggregated for the entire chat server. You can also adjust the audio/video quality so that a stream uses less or more bandwidth.

More info on the topic in this blog post: http://www.avchat.net/blog/calculating-bandwidth-usage/

Q: Is the video and audio sent directly from one user to the other (Peer 2 Peer)?

A: No, all data is exchanged between the users trough the media server.

Q: Why is AVChat 3 not p2p ?

A: There are a few reasons: Red5, Wowza and FMIS do not support p2p. Flash Media Enterprise Server (the only version of FMS that supports p2p) costs $45.000+, p2p is not that great for many2many video chat scenarios (it's very good for one2one), in some cases p2p connections can not be established.

Purchasing/Ordering

Q: Can I pay for your products and services by Pay Pal ?

A: Yes, go to the purchase page and follow the BUY buttons. You will have the option to chose PayPal as a payment method!

Q: After I place an order how fast is the ordered software delivered?

A: Right away unless the payment method chosen requires additional verifications (checks or direct debit for example)

Q: Can I get a refund if I do not like the software?

A: Yes, see our Refund Policy.

Q: Will your software display any ads or other outgoing links on my web site?

A: No, our software is completely ads free, and has no outgoing links in it.

Q: Can I upgrade? If yes how much is the upgrade?

A: Yes you can upgarde at any time between AVChat versions. When upgrading you only pay the price difference. Once you make the first purchase there will be special UPGRADE buttons/links in your client area. When upgrading you do not have to reinstall, you just change the license key.

Requirements and Media Servers

Q: What is Flash Media Interactive Server ?

A: Flash Media Interactive Server is a media server developed by Adobe. Link to the FMIS section on the Adobe web site.

Q: How can I use Flash Media Interactive Server ?

A: Our software needs a media server to send the video, audio and text data between users. If you have never worked with FMIS before, here's how you can use it:

• You can download the free FMIS Developer Edition (download from here, registration required) from Adobe and install it on your own dedicated servers. The Dev edition is free for commercial uses but you can only connect 10 users at the same time.
• You can purchase FMIS from Adobe ($4500) and install it on your own dedicated server. You will find details about licensing and pricing here.
• You can purchase a FMIS hosting package from one of the available FMIS hosting providers. Check out the requirements page for a list of FMIS hosting providers.

Q: What is Red5?

A: Red 5 is a free open source media server developed in Java. Link to the Red5 web site on Google Code.

Q: How can I use Red5?

A: Our software needs a media server to send the video, audio and text data between users. If you have never worked with Red5 before, here's how you can use it:

• You can download it and install it on your own dedicated or VPS server.
• We can install it and configure it for you on your own dedicated server ($99).
• You can purchase a dedicated server with Red5 already installed from hostv.com.

Q: What is Wowza Media Server?

A: Wowza ia a commercial media server developed in Java. Link to the Wowza web site.

Q: How can I use Wowza Media Server?

A: There are many licenses available for using Wowza including a free edition for developers, perpetual licenses, subscription options and licenses for using it on Amazon EC2. You can find more info on their pricing page on wowzamedia.com.

Q: My host does not provide media server hosting/services, do I have to move my web site?

A: No, you do not have to move the web site to a new host. Our software will be installed on your existing host/web site. The media server is only used for streaming audio video and text between the users.

Q: Can I install FMIS, Red5 or Wowza ona shared hosting account or on a free shared hosting account?

A: No, you need a VPS or a dedicated server.

Q: Do my users need any special plugin installed in their browser?

A: AVChat 3 needs Flash Player 10 or later. Click here to view the official Flash Player penetration statistics from Adobe.

Q: Can I integrate AVChat 3 with my users database?

A: Yes you can.
We provide integration kits for AVChat 3 for the most popular CMS systems. If your web site uses a CMS for which we do not have a integration kit or it is custom made then the integration can be done by:

1. us via the Integration Service ($199).
2. you or your developers by following our Integration Guide.

Q: If I do not use the audio/video features of your software (I need only text chat) do I still need a media server?

A: Yes, all data (audio video text) is exchanged between the users trough the media server.