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SendBird VideoChat for JavaScript

SendBird VideoChat is an add-on to your application that enables users to make video and audio calls. SendBird VideoChat is available through WebRTC.

Note: This is a beta version and is not yet open to all users. If you would like to try SendBird VideoChat, contact our sales support for more information.

Contents

• Supported browsers
• Installation
• Restriction
• Making video and audio calls
  • startCall()
  • Registering/unregistering an event handler
  • Timeout for startCall()
  • Getting a Call instance
  • Identifying the type of a message
• Classes
  • VideoChatHandler
  • CallOptions
  • CallUser
  • Call
  • VideoChatException
  • VideoChatType
• Change Log
• License

Supported browsers

We recommend using the latest version of supported browsers for the best experience. WebRTC supports the following browsers:

• Chrome 56 and later
• Firefox 44 and later
• Safari 11 and later

Installation

Download and install the SendBird VideoChat package from npm

npm install sendbird-videochat

Restrictions

There are a few restrictions that apply to the beta version of SendBird VideoChat.

• It is only available in a normal, private group channel settings. (non-super and non-public)
• It only supports video and audio calls between two users.
• To start video and audio calls, the two users must be connected to SendBird server.
• In the same channel, you can't start a new, separate video or audio call.

// GroupChannel
channel.isGroupChannel() === true;

// Member Count
groupChannel.members.length === 2; 
groupChannel.memberCount === 2;

// non-super, non-public
groupChannel.isSuper === false;
groupChannel.isPublic === false;

// Connection
sendbird.currentUser != null;
sendbird.getConnectionState() !== 'CLOSED';

Warning: Don't call the removeAllChannelHandlers() of SendBird JavaScript SDK. It will not only remove handlers already added, but also remove handlers managed by SendBirdVideoChat.

Initialization

You should instantiate SendBirdVideoChat after a SendBird instance is initialized. In this initialization process, you don't need to connect() a user to SendBird server. But make sure that a user should be connected to the server before the startCall() is called.

import SendBird from 'sendbird';
import SendBirdVideoChat from 'sendbird-videochat';

const sb = new SendBird({ appId: 'YOUR_APP_ID' });

SendBirdVideoChat.init({ sendBird: sb });

Making video and audio calls

You can make video and audio calls between two users using the SendBirdVideoChat's functions.

startCall()

The startCall() sends a video or audio call request to SendBird server with specified options. This function requires the isAudioCall and callOptions parameters.

• isAudioCall: determines whether to enable an audio only in the call or both a video and an audio.
• callOptions: specifies the call settings with a CallOptions instance. For more information on the settings, see the CallOptions.

import SendBirdVideoChat from 'sendbird-videochat';

const isAudioCall = false;
const callOptions = new SendBirdVideoChat.CallOptions({ channelUrl: 'TARGET_CHANNEL_URL' });
SendBirdVideoChat.startCall(isAudioCall, callOptions)
  .then(call => { /* do something... */ })
  .catch(e => { /* do something... */ });

//// If you want to implement with a callback
//SendBirdVideoChat.startCall(isAudioCall, callOptions, (err, call) => {
//  /* do something... */
//});

If the server accepts the request and notify a callee of it, a caller receives a success callback through the VideoChatHandler's onStartSent(). And the callee also receives a notification about the request through the VideoChatHandler's onStartReceived().

Registering/unregistering an event handler

Like the SendBird SDKs, the SendBirdVideoChat has its own event handler. The VideoChatHandler supports various methods which receive events callbacks from SendBird server. You can create, register, and implement the handler in your application. Then your application will be notified of events happening in video and audio calls.

import SendBirdVideoChat from 'sendbird-videochat';

const videoChatHandler = new SendBirdVideoChat.VideoChatHandler();
videoChatHandler.onStartReceived = (call) => {
  /* do something... */
};
SendBirdVideoChat.addVideoChatHandler('IDENTIFIER', videoChatHandler);

// If you unregister VideoChatHandler, use as follows.  
// SendBirdVideoChat.removeVideoChatHandler('IDENTIFIER');
// SendBirdVideoChat.removeAllVideoChatHandlers();

Timeout for startCall()

If a callee doesn't respond to a call request from a caller during 30 seconds (by default), the SendBirdVideoChat automatically closes the call. A timeout value can be set between 30 and 60 seconds.

import SendBirdVideoChat from 'sendbird-videochat';

SendBirdVideoChat.setStartCallTimeout(40);
const setTime = SendBirdVideoChat.getStartCallTimeout();

Getting a Call instance

The SendBirdVideoChat provides a Call class which has its own properties and methods that represent a specific video or audio call. For more information on the object, see the Call. With the following, you can create and retrieve a Call instance.

• getActiveCall(): retrieves the current Call instance in progress.
• getCall(): retrieves the Call instance by a passed call ID.
• buildCall(): with a passed UserMessage object which requests a video or audio call, creates and returns a new Call instance.

import SendBirdVideoChat from 'sendbird-videochat';

const activeCall = SendBirdVideoChat.getActiveCall();
const call = SendBirdVideoChat.getCall('CALL_ID');
const buildCall = SendBirdVideoChat.buildCall(userMessage); 

Identifying the type of a message

Using the getRenderingMessageType(), you can identify the type of a passed message and determine how to render your chat view based on the message. The method returns one of the following four values:

• chat: returned if a message is one of UserMessage, FileMessage, and AdminMessage as the SendBird SDK's BaseMessage.
• start: the call request message.
• end: the call close message.
• not_render: a message that does not need to be rendered on the chat view.

import SendBirdVideoChat from 'sendbird-videochat';

const renderingType = SendBirdVideoChat.getRenderingMessageType(message);

Classes

VideoChatHandler

The VideoChatHandler supports various methods which receive events callbacks from SendBird server. If the handler is registered and implemented in your application, events happening in video and audio calls are notified to the application through the methods. The following are provided with the VideoChatHandler:

1. onStartSent(call, message)
   • Called when a caller's video or audio call request is successfully accepted by SendBird server from the startCall(). (At the caller's application)
   • call: a Call instance which contains the current call status.
   • message: a UserMessage instance which contains the text sent with the call request.
2. onStartReceived(call)
   • Called when a callee receives a video or audio call request. (At the callee's application)
   • call: a Call instance which contains the current call status.
3. onAcceptSent(call)
   • Called when a callee has accepted a video or audio call request using the accept() and SendBird server confirms the acceptance. (At the callee's application)
   • call: a Call instance which contains the current call status.
4. onAcceptReceived(call)
   • Called when TURN server starts a video or audio call delivery between a caller and callee. (At the caller's application)
   • call: a Call instance which contains the current call status.
5. onEndSent(call, message)
   • Called when a call close request has been sent to SendBird server using the end() and the server successfully accepts the request. (At the application which sent the close request)
   • call: a Call instance which contains the current call status.
   • message: a UserMessage instance which contains the text sent with the call close request.
6. onEndReceived(call)
   • Called when a call has been closed from the opponent's request. (At the application which receives the close request)
   • call: a Call instance which contains the current call status.
7. onOpened(call)
   • Called when caller and callee are connected via SendBird server and can communicate with each other. (at both applications)
   • call: a Call instance which contains the current call status.
8. onDropped(call)
   • Called if caller or callee is disconnected via SendBird server and can't communicate with each other. (at both applications)
   • call: a Call instance which contains the current call status.
9. onReopened(call)
   • Called when caller and callee are reconnected via SendBird server and can communicate with each other. (at both applications)
   • call: a Call instance which contains the current call status.
10. onOpponentAudioStateChanged(call)
    • Called when the audio state of either a caller or callee has been changed. (Notifies the opposite application)
    • call: a Call instance which contains the current call status.
11. onOpponentVideoStateChanged(call)
    • Called when the video state of either a caller or callee has been changed. (Notifies the opposite application)
    • call: a Call instance which contains the current call status.

import SendBirdVideoChat from 'sendbird-videochat';

const videoChatHandler = new SendBirdVideoChat.VideoChatHandler();
videoChatHandler.onStartSent = (call, userMessage) => {
  /* do something... */
};
videoChatHandler.onStartReceived = (call) => {
  /* do something... */
};
videoChatHandler.onAcceptSent = (call) => {
  /* do something... */
};
videoChatHandler.onAcceptReceived = (call) => {
  /* do something... */
};
videoChatHandler.onEndSent = (call, userMessage) => {
  /* do something... */
};
videoChatHandler.onEndReceived = (call) => {
  /* do something... */
};
videoChatHandler.onOpened = (call) => {
  /* do something... */
};
videoChatHandler.onDropped = (call) => {
  /* do something... */
};
videoChatHandler.onReopened = (call) => {
  /* do something... */
};
videoChatHandler.onOpponentAudioStateChanged = (call) => {
   /* do something... */
};
videoChatHandler.onOpponentVideoStateChanged = (call) => {
  /* do something... */
};
SendBirdVideoChat.addVideoChatHandler('IDENTIFIER', videoChatHandler);

CallOptions

The CallOptions is a class that users use to request calls with the startCall() or to accept calls with the accept(). The items of CallOptions are:

• channelUrl (required): specifies the URL of the channel to send a call request.
• localVideoElement: specifies the HTMLVideoElement to render the Caller's chat view.
• remoteVideoElement: specifies the HTMLVideoElement to render the Callee's chat view.
• isAudioEnabled: determines whether to use audio in the Call.
• isVideoEnabled: determines whether to use video in the Call. This value is only accepted in a video call.
• videoWidth: specifies the width of the video. This value is only meaningful in a video call.
• videoHeight: specifies the height of the video. This value is only meaningful in a video call.
• videoFPS: specifies the frame rate of the video. This value is only meaningful in a video call.

import SendBirdVideoChat from 'sendbird-videochat';

const callOptions = new SendBirdVideoChat.CallOptions({
  channelUrl: 'TARGET_CHANNEL_URL',
  localVideoElement: document.getElementById('YOUR_LOCAL_VIDEO_ELEMENT'),
  remoteVideoElement: document.getElementById('YOUR_REMOTE_VIDEO_ELEMENT'),
  isAudioEnabled: true,
  isVideoEnabled: true,
  videoWidth: 1024,
  videoHeight: 720,
  videoFPS: 30,
})

CallUser

CallUser can be identified as a Caller or Callee. The Caller is the one who requests a call and the Callee is the one who receives a call request.

• userId: user ID of the Caller or Callee.
• nickname: nickname of the Caller or Callee.
• profileUrl: profile URL of the Caller or Callee.
• isAudioEnabled: determines whether the Caller or Callee is using audio.
• isVideoEnabled: determines whether the Caller or Callee is using video.

Call

Through a Call instance, you can make actions of a video or audio call. It also contains up-to-date information of the call.

• callId: unique ID that distinguishes each call.
• channelUrl: the URL of the channel of your video or audio call.
• messageId: contains information about the Call.
• isAudioCall: determines whether the Call is an audio call.
• caller: information of the Caller, the one who makes the call.
• callee: information of the Callee, the one who receives the call.
• ender: information of the Caller or Callee, the one who ends the call.
• endType: specifies that the Call has ended. This has one of the following values.
  • none: it's not ended yet.
  • cancel: the end()called by the Caller before Callee accepts the Call.
  • decline: the end() called by the Callee without accepting the Call.
  • end: a Caller or Callee ended the video or audio call after the connection.
  • timeout: the Call was closed when a Callee didn't respond to a call request.
  • unknown: the Call was closed for unknown reasons.
• period: specifies the length of time in unix timestamp for Call.
• myRole: specifies the role on the Call as a Caller or Callee.
• accept(): the Callee accepts the Call.
• end(): close the Call.
• startVideo(): calls the onOpponentVideoStateChanged() handler that you registered to start video streaming on the Call.
• stopVideo(): calls the onOpponentVideoStateChanged() handler that you registered to stop video streaming on the Call.
• muteMicrophone(): calls the onOpponentAudioStateChanged() handler that you registered to start audio streaming on the Call.
• unmuteMicrophone(): calls the onOpponentAudioStateChanged() handler that you registered to stop audio streaming on the Call.
• setMediaDevice(): Change to the passed media device.

import SendBirdVideoChat from 'sendbird-videochat';

const videoChatHandler = new SendBirdVideoChat.VideoChatHandler();
videoChatHandler.onStartSent = (call, message) => {
  // Cancel
  call.end().then(call => { /* do something */ }).catch(e => { /* do something */ });
};
videoChatHandler.onStartReceived = (call) => {
  // Decline
  call.end().then(call => { /* do something */ }).catch(e => { /* do something */ });
};
videoChatHandler.onOpened = (call) => {
  // End
  call.end().then(call => { /* do something */ }).catch(e => { /* do something */ });
};
videoChatHandler.onOpponentVideoStateChanged = (call) => {
  /* do something */
};
videoChatHandler.onOpponentAudioStateChanged = (call) => {
  /* do something */
};
SendBirdVideoChat.addVideoChatHandler('IDENTIFIER', videoChatHandler);

const call = SendBirdVideoChat.getActiveCall();
call.startVideo();
call.stopVideo();
call.muteMicrophone();
call.unmuteMicrophone();

VideoChatException

The VideoChatException is returned in the event of an error in SendBirdVideoChat.

• ErrorCode: indicates an error code that can be occurred.
• code: indicates the six-digit integer code of an occurred error.
• message: indicates the message of an occurred error.

Key	Code
UNKNOWN	820000
SENDBIRD_CONNECTION_REQUIRED	820100
SENDBIRD_REQUIRED	820130
INVALID_ACTION	820200
ACCEPTING_FAIL	820300
INVALID_PARAMETER	820400
UNSUITABLE_CHANNEL	820401
CALL_ON_GOING	900600

import SendBirdVideoChat from 'sendbird-videochat';

console.log(SendBirdVideoChat.VideoChatException.ErrorCode);

VideoChatType

The VideoChatType is determined by three different types of SendBirdVideoChat.

Type	Key	Value
RenderingMessageType	CHAT	chat
	START	start
	END	end
	NOT_RENDER	not_render
EndType	NONE	none
	END	end
	DECLINE	decline
	CANCEL	cancel
	TIMEOUT	timeout
	UNKNOWN	unknown
Role	NONE	none
	CALLER	caller
	CALLEE	callee

import SendBirdVideoChat from 'sendbird-videochat';

console.log(SendBirdVideoChat.VideoChatType.RenderingMessageType);
console.log(SendBirdVideoChat.VideoChatType.EndType);
console.log(SendBirdVideoChat.VideoChatType.Role);

Change Log

License