W3C launches Web Real-Time Communications Working Group. Full Point To Point Browsing
Posted by Dion Almaer about a year ago on apis audio data p2p video voice w3c
W3C today launched a new Web Real-Time Communications Working Group to define client-side APIs to enable Real-Time Communications in Web browsers. These APIs should enable building applications that can be run inside a browser, requiring no extra downloads or plugins, that allow communication between parties using audio, video and supplementary real-time communication, without having to use intervening servers. Read the full charter and learn more about W3C’s Ubiquitous Web Applications Activity.
An Open Web can in some ways be better served by getting rid of the middle men. If browsers had rich point to point protocols and APIs a new slew of applications would be created.
The new real-time communications group charter isn’t about pure P2P per se, but if they can get traction along their charter, big changes could occur.
The current scope is set to:
- API functions to explore device capabilities, e.g. camera, microphone, speakers (currently in scope for the Device APIs & Policy Working Group)
- API functions to capture media from local devices (camera and microphone) (currently in scope for the Device APIs & Policy Working Group)
- API functions for encoding and other processing of those media streams,
- API functions for establishing direct peer-to-peer connections, including firewall/NAT traversal
- API functions for decoding and processing (including echo canceling, stream synchronization and a number of other functions) of those streams at the incoming end,
- Delivery to the user of those media streams via local screens and audio output devices (partially covered with HTML5)
Specifically out of scope is anything to do with protocols (IETF will deal with those) or codecs.
You could envision a new world of calling that isn’t locked into a Skype, where you control your end points and what rings at the other end (your browser, your mobile phone through data not voice, etc).
As always with the W3C, seeing implementation come out of the other end is very much “wait and see”, but this one could be interesting. Especially if folks like Google Voice, Ribbit get involved.