Mozilla shows WebRTC browser-based video calling

The demo shows a very basic video calling interface At the 83rd meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF 83) in Paris, a team of developers from Mozilla demonstrated a simple video call using a draft version of HTML5's Web Real Time Communication (WebRTC) standard. The specification uses simple JavaScript APIs to implement web-based audio and video communication without the need for plugins or add-ons. In the demo, the developers use a modified version of Firefox adapted for WebRTC. The special build also uses Mozilla's BrowserID identity system (now known as Persona) to authenticate the callers.

The WebRTC branch of Firefox is currently undergoing further development under the code name "alder"; information about the project, including source code, can be found on the project's Mercurial page. According to Mozilla's Anant Narayanan, this feature is expected to be completed within the next few months – basic support for WebRTC should be available in the Nightly builds of Firefox by the end of the second quarter.

Google has also demonstrated several WebRTC features, including an "InfoBar" showing permissions for accessing the camera and microphone.

See also:

• WebRTC now in Chrome's development channel, a report from The H.
• Google open source WebRTC for open video/audio chat, a report from The H.

(crve)