Guide To Build A Video Conferencing App Like Zoom

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Ever since nations around the globe responded to the COVID-19 virus outbreak by initiating lockdowns, there has been one application that we have heard over and over. As the world opens up to new ways of doing things, Zoom is on everyone’s toolkit.

The sudden spike in Zoom’s popularity has to do with many companies trying to adapt their operations by asking their employees to work from home. Doing so mitigates the effect of the virus outbreak on their business and also reduces the chances of their employees getting infected.

Zoom video call app allows the employees of a company to have online meetings while they are working from home. Over the past few weeks, there has been a significant increase in demand for such video conferencing applications. The COVID-19 crisis has been a challenging time for all of us, but you should try to make the most of it. Some entrepreneurs see this rise in demand as an opportunity to build video chat apps like Zoom. If you want to know how to build a video conferencing app then read this article to get in-depth knowledge in mobile app development.

How Do Video Conferencing Apps Work?

Let us take Zoom, for instance. The app not only allows users to view HD video and sound but also supports up to 1000 participants in a single meeting. Participants from all over the world can join in a meeting as long as they have an internet connection. They also have the option to turn off their camera or microphone whenever they want. The company aims to provide all its features to its users, regardless of the number of participants in the meeting. Here are some of the features of Zoom that have facilitated its rise to the top:

Screen Sharing – Since the members in the meeting are not physically present in the same room as you, it is not possible for them to see your presentation. Zoom’s solution to this was a handy feature called Screen Share, which allows participants to share their screen for all members to see during a presentation.
Chat – Participants of a meeting can effectively communicate with each other using Zoom’s integrated chat feature. They can choose to message all members of the meeting at the same time or individually message participants.
Virtual Hand-Raising – When a participant wants to speak or express their concerns about a particular topic, they can notify the host by using the virtual hand-raising emoji. This further improves the efficiency of the video conferencing app and also prevents multiple people from speaking at once.
Polls – If the host wants to understand the participant’s opinion about a particular topic, they can gather their responses by creating a poll.
Mute Participants – If the host feels that a participant is disrupting the meeting, they have the option to mute any participant they desire.
Record Meetings – Every Zoom meeting can be easily recorded with the click of a single button. This recording can then be uploaded to the cloud or stored locally on the device.
Encryption – All Zoom meetings are embedded with end-to-end encryption software that prevents any unauthorized person from joining your meeting. Even the company itself cannot join a meeting without the host’s permission.

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Now you must be thinking that these are some really great features, but how much would it actually cost to build an app like Zoom. The cost to build a video chat app will depend on the features and functionalities that you want to include in your app. Roughly speaking, the cost of development will be anywhere between $40,000 and $ 80,000 for an app with standard features and optimized video streaming in India.

The essential factor influencing an app’s price is the developers’ hourly rate, which usually depends on the location.

Country	Rate Range	Average Rate
India	$15-$40	$25
US	$100-$230	$180
South America	$25-$115	$50
Eastern Europe	$30-$100	$60
United Kingdom	$35-$170	$85
Australia	$35-$150	$110

Learn All About Building Scalable Video Architecture That Supports A Billion Users

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What Goes Into The Development Of A Video Conferencing App?

These are some of the most crucial steps that we follow to build video conferencing applications.

Backend Development – During the initial stages of building a video conferencing app it is essential to build a server to run your app on. It is always better to build your server from scratch instead of using ready-made technologies.
UI Design – The user interface of your app creates the first impression of your service. Therefore, it is vital to have an appealing and intuitive UI.
iOS and Android Compatibility – To increase your target market, your app must support both iOS and Android devices. You can use Swift to create your iOS app and WebRTC for your Android app.

Fritz Brumder

Co-founder and CEO at Zipcan

As the internet expands from an information hub to a communication hub, video conferencing will move from a siloed experience to an integrated experience. Websites, software platforms, and communities should evaluate building or integrating real time video into their current customer touchpoints. Fortunately, a range of tools exist from no-code to API based WebRTC platforms.

There are two important aspects of Zoom’s technology stack: the cloud network and the video architecture.

The Cloud Network

Zoom video conferencing app has a system of data centers, interlinked through private connections that are closely maintained, monitored, and optimized regularly by their expert team. This network is meant to provide connectivity globally and to enable users from around the world to experience smoothness in their connections. Zoom has 15+ co-located data centers globally and continues to expand this network.

The Video Architecture

Our architecture has been optimized to handle video’s demanding requirements, and there are four key features that differentiate our back-end technology and cloud-native infrastructure:

Distributed architecture: Instead of a centralized approach, Zoom’s architecture enables meetings to be distributed across our data center network, seamlessly allowing users to join meetings via private connection to the closest data center. This gives Zoom platform scalability, so as to provide a reliable video experience for up to thousands of people in a single meeting.
Multimedia routing: Multimedia routing delivers multiple video streams from other meeting participants to the client’s device, reducing computing power requirements and ensuring a highly scalable system. Multimedia routing can support 15x more participants than a standard MCU, which generally supports fewer than 100 participants. In contrast, Legacy systems tend to use a Multipoint Control Unit (MCU) to choose a stream before delivering it to a device, which requires resource-intensive computing and limits the quality and scalability of those systems.
Multi-bitrate encoding: In addition to stream routing, each stream by itself can adjust to multiple resolutions. This eliminates the need to encode and decode the streams for each endpoint, optimizing performance and scalability. This also enables Zoom to provide different levels of video quality based on the device and network capabilities.
Application layer quality of service: Our proactive quality-of-service application layer optimizes the video, audio, and screen-sharing experience specifically for each device and the available bandwidth, resulting in the best possible user experience across any network.

Mindbowser Has Used Optimized Video Architecture To Build Smooth Video Experience For A Meditation Platform Supporting 250K+ Users

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Conclusion

Hope our article helps you to understand all aspects of how to make a video conferencing app in this competitive field. Zoom and other companies have already shown us what most users expect from a video conferencing app. Therefore, your app must have the same features and functionalities that Zoom does and improve on areas where Zoom has failed. Use open-source technologies such as Swift and WebRTC to simplify the process of app development and to build apps that can efficiently communicate in real-time. Zoom video conferencing app has already provided a blueprint of a successful video conferencing app. All you have to do is kick-start and take it ahead from there.

Content Team

This blog is from Mindbowser‘s content team – a group of individuals coming together to create pieces that you may like. If you have feedback, please drop us a message on contact@mindbowser.com

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