I don’t know about you, but every time someone invites me to a video conference I cringe.
What application will they use? What do I have to install on my machine? And if I install it, will it break something else?
Skype. Google Plus Hangouts. WebEx. GoToMeeting. Adobe Connect. GoToMeeting.
I’ve used lots of video conference applications over the years, and seen how their interfaces have changed, and features have been added.
My wish?
A video conference application that doesn’t make me think. One that I don’t have to download. An application that doesn’t require me to create an account. Or make me figure out where the controls have been hidden.
Appear.in
That’s why I was so excited to read Matthew Hughes Make Use Of review of Appear.in, a free video conferencing application.
All you need to do create a video conference with Appear.in is:
- Visit the Appear.in website
- Enter the name of your room
- Give permission for the application to access your microphone and camera
- Invite your friends (up to eight people) with the link to the room you created
That’s it. You’re done.
I tested Appear.in today with my good friend Nick DeNardis (who graciously accepted my invitation at 7:10am this morning). In less than a minute we had our video conference up and running in Chrome.
You can share your screen (but need to restart the browser), go full screen with your video conference, and make your video conference private.
What You Need to Know
The quality of the video and audio is great. Appear.in uses HTML5 and Web Real Time Communication (WebRTC), and can be used on Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. Unfortunately, it can’t be run in Internet Explorer and Safari since they don’t support WebRTC.
Appear.in uses peer-to-peer communication; the videos aren’t stored on their servers (there’s no recording capability that I could find). All communication is encrypted using Secure Sockets Layers (SSL).
I haven’t checked Appear.in for accessibility, but a quick test using my keyboard showed keyboard navigation isn’t possible. I’ll need to explore the application in more detail to learn more about what accessibility features it offers.
Based on what I discovered, Appear.in looks to be a great option for video conferencing.
I’d recommend it to people looking to have a free video conference for eight people or less and who don’t require a recording.
Have you used it? Share your thoughts in the comments.
