1: What is Jitsi?
Jitsi is a set of open-source projects that allows you to easily build and deploy secure videoconferencing solutions. We are best known for our implementation of Jitsi Meet video conferencing platform, meet.BIPmd.com where we host a Jitsi Meet instance that the healthcare and medical community can use for totally free video conferences , and the Jitsi Videobridge setup that powers all of our multi-party video capabilities.
2: How can i use Jitsi for video conferencing?
The easiest way is to go to meet.BIPmd.com or download one of the mobile apps (Android or iOS).
If you prefer,
BIPmd can host your own Jitsi Meet server or simply embed a meet.BIPmd.com room into your own website. See the FAQs below for more information on those options.
3: Is Jitsi free
Yes. Jitsi is 100% open source and freely available to use and develop with. We also host and run meet.BIPmd.com as a free service.
4: What are the major Jitsi projects?
There are a bunch, but the most popular ones are:
- BIPmd Meet – Secure, Simple and Scalable Video Conferences that you use as a standalone app or embed in your web application
- Jitsi Videobridge – the media server engine (aka Selective Forwarding Unit (SFU)) that powers all of Jitsi’s multi-party video conferences
- Jigasi – a gateway service that connects SIP telephony to a Jitsi Videobridge conference
- Jibri – a broadcaster and recorder used for saving video call recordings and streaming to YouTube Live
- Jidesha – a Chrome and Firefox extension for screensharing
5: What are the features of Jitsi Meet?
Jitsi Meet includes many features and we are constantly adding more. Some of the main ones are:
- Auto-view the active speaker or click on any attendee to see their video
- Android and iOS apps
- Text chatting (web only)
- Lock a room with a password
- Screen sharing (if jidesha is setup, only required in Chrome)
- Streaming a conference to YouTube live (if Jibri is configured)
- Shared text document based on Etherpad
- Raise/Lower your hand for attention
- Participant talk-time statistics
- Push-to-talk mode
- Play a YouTube video to all attendees call
- Audio-only option
- Telephone dial-in to a conference (if Jigasi is setup)
- Integration in other apps / websites
Jitsi Meet also includes statistics and integrations features and a callstats.io integration to help developers. Make sure to use meet.BIPmd.com to see the latest features.
6: Can I record a Jitsi conference
Yes. The easiest way to record is to live stream your conference to YouTube and access the recording there. You can try this now on meet.BIPmd.com. BIPmd hosted Jitsi Meet server deployments will need to setup Jibri to do this.
7: Can I record a Jitsi conference with a telephone
Yes, Jitsi offers a telephony interface that allows users to dial into a conference or for placing dial-out reminder calls. You can try this on meet.BIPmd.com. BIPmd hosted Jitsi Meet server deployments will need to setup and configure Jigasi with a BIPmd SIP account to connect to the phone network.
8: If Jitsi doesn't make money, how can it continue to support projects?
Jitsi is open source software for hosting meetings online. BIPmd uses Jitsi technology in products and free services like meet.BIPmd.com as well as hosted Jitsi servers. The open source community and meet.BIPmd.com service help to make Jitsi better, which makes BIPmd products and services better.
9: How do i setup my own Jitsi installation?
Setting up Jitsi Meet is a simple experience for those that are familiar with Unix installations. For Debian-based systems, we recommend following the quick-install document, which uses the package system. You can also see a demonstration of the process in this tutorial video.
For other systems, or if you wish to install all components manually, see the detailed manual installation instructions.
10: Can I embed a Jitsi Meet call into my website
Yes, Jitsi Meet has an External API that can be used to embed an existing Jits Meet instance into any webpage with just a few lines of code. Many of Meet’s options can be changed via configuration file. Web developers can even actively control the conference with a variety of commands and events. You can do this with your own self-installed instance or run it from meet.BIPmd.com – no server installation required. See here for more on the Jitsi Meet External API.
11: Can I enable Jitsi Meet into my mobile app?
Yes, Jitsi Meet can be compiled as an SDK and embedded into Android and iOS apps. You can find instructions on how to do that here:
12: Where can I get commercial support for Jitsi
Neither the immediate Jitsi team or BIPmd provide commercial support for Jitsi. Jitsi does enjoy a large developer community with many development shops, MSP's and individuals that provide support and commercial development services. If you need paid help, we recommend you visit our MSP marketplace do a search and contact a qualified developer or Managed Service Provider for paid work.
13: What is Jitsi Desktop
Jitsi Desktop, formerly known as the SIP Communicator and briefly known as just “Jitsi”, is a VoIP and instant messaging application. This was the Jitsi team’s first project that originated way back in 2003.
Jitsi’s video conferencing capabilities evolved out of this original project. Jitsi Desktop is no longer actively maintained by the Jitsi team under hosted by BIPmd; but it is still maintained, by the community.
14: My question was not listed here. Where can I go for other questions and answers?
The BIPmd Community Forum is best place to go for all kinds of discussion on Jitsi projects. Just do a keyword search.
