18 points by code-gal 6 months ago flag hide 38 comments
thearctic 6 months ago next
This is a very important topic, especially for those in developing regions where bandwidth is a major constraint. Excited to learn from the discussions here!
nekonaruto 6 months ago next
"Optimizing WebRTC for Low-bandwidth Networks" is such a crucial topic. I hope to see more investment in this area, especially from big tech companies.
alibi 6 months ago next
I've also struggled with poor WebRTC performance on low-bandwidth connections. I'm hoping we can discover new optimization techniques here!
terminalhoarder 6 months ago next
@alibi Mostly agreed. The key to improving for low-bandwidth involves better algorithms, more efficient use of codecs, and increased metadata awareness.
0x1ntern 6 months ago next
@terminalhoarder Absolutely. Optimization of algorithms can be specifically targeted for low-bandwidth as opposed to generic optimization that might lead to even further improved performance.
cyberhacker 6 months ago prev next
In addition to algorithm optimization, will there be improvements in encryption?
msftguy 6 months ago prev next
One area we might want to explore is advanced codec tuning for low-bandwidth networks using machine learning algorithms to find the optimal usage specific to the codecs.
asciitouch 6 months ago prev next
An important aspect is that even optimizing WebRTC for low-bandwidth, it's just as critical to optimize for network latency or jitter. We have to consider the end-to-end performance across the protocol.
astrolookingguy 6 months ago prev next
I assume we can use some of the webRTC-statistics modules to measure WebRTC stats remotely to adjust dynamically and accordingly to low-bandwidth or not. Would this be accurate?
avengersfan 6 months ago prev next
When I was working on my previous project in a rural area, I noticed that the quality of video conferences via WebRTC was very poor. This is an excellent HN topic!
datageek 6 months ago next
Our company faced similar issues. We saw improvements by enabling WebRTC's adaptive bitrate (ABR) functionality. BigStream.io's blog wrote an article about ABR that was quite helpful.
commandlinegeni 6 months ago next
@datageek I remember that blog post. Adaptive bitrate really is a powerful tool for these scenarios.
toboldlygo 6 months ago next
@commandlinegeni Agreed, although memory usage and CPU can play a role as well. Have we considered that in this discussion?
hyperspaceva 6 months ago prev next
The latency is also influenced by local factors, like local network status, local connectivity of users, etc.
abstractpoints 6 months ago prev next
@commandlinegeni and @connormcdaid We should find ways to make WebRTC more efficient in low-bandwidth scenarios while ensuring reasonable memory and CPU use.
playmypiano 6 months ago prev next
Some long-term techniques could explore self-learning, self-driving, and other AI approaches for intrinsic quality adjustment based on network characteristics. What do you think?
brainiac 6 months ago prev next
@avengersfan There is indeed a lot of opportunity for improvement in WebRTC for low-bandwidth. Have you looked at the VR industry's innovations since they face similar challenges?
builtinbash 6 months ago prev next
I agree, there's so much potential for improvements here. I've been researching this and will be sharing my findings soon. Stay tuned!
americandream 6 months ago next
I'm particularly interested in edge-computing techniques for low-bandwidth networks. Would be great to learn about recent advancements!
sshuser01 6 months ago next
@americandream AV1 and VP9 are good, but for low-bandwidth, you might want to consider an adaptive solution that adjusts for upload capacity and network conditions. Keep in mind, there will be a trade-off between quality and latency.
dotnetrulez 6 months ago next
@sshuser01 Can you expand on the adaptive solution? What libraries or tools can help with the trade-off?
wildweasel 6 months ago prev next
@sshuser01 Which tools do you recommend implementing for adaptive solutions? I'd like to improve performance on my app's WebRTC video calls.
holymurder 6 months ago prev next
@sshuser01 How does the adaptive solution interact with codecs like VP9 or AV1?
kompromat 6 months ago prev next
Apart from adaptive bitrate, what are some other optimization techniques?
zeroequality 6 months ago next
@kompromat Some techniques include: (1) Adaptive bitrate (ABR) algorithms, (2) Intelligent application multiplexing, (3) Codec optimizations, (4) Forward error correction (FEC)
thecodeassassin 6 months ago prev next
Expect a lot of discussion in this thread. Solving low-bandwidth issues is a critical problem for global connectivity.
forcemultiplication 6 months ago next
What's the significance of this topic in comparison to the optimization of multimedia content delivery with fewer resources compared to WebRTC?
andriodsoldier 6 months ago prev next
@thecodeassassin It definitely impacts connectivity and access across various parts of the world. It's refreshing to see great discussions like this one.
codingoracle 6 months ago prev next
For real-time applications, what role does WebRTC's Selective Forwarding Unit (SFU) play?
gentlepanda 6 months ago next
Perhaps we should focus on server-side adaptive techniques that aid low-bandwidth users differently than those with high bandwidths.
webdevstar 6 months ago prev next
While bandwidth optimization techniques are certainly useful, I think we can also improve the network protocol.
ms_spiderman 6 months ago prev next
What are the best tools or libraries to tackle this problem? I'm guessing using new codecs like AV1 or VP9 with webrtc can improve this scenario, right?
hackerman2300 6 months ago next
If you compress the audio to the bare minimum and increase video compression, I believe WebRTC can work better on low-bandwidth networks.
technology 6 months ago next
@hackerman2300 Agree with your point, but then, there's a tradeoff in the voice and video quality along with delay. Is there any alternative to tackle low bandwidth, lesser delays and good quality?
blackwidow 6 months ago prev next
We're investigating dynamic Forward Error Correction (FEC) for low-bandwidth links to improve WebRTC performance. Thoughts?
qq 6 months ago next
@blackwidow Dynamic FEC will help, but I think we need something more at the WebRTC protocol level to detect and manage low-bandwidth connections properly.
javascriptjedi 6 months ago prev next
Are there any research initiatives that focus on low-bandwidth WebRTC performance? Like the IETF or W3C groups?
vectorspy 6 months ago prev next
@hackerman2300 By what percentage do you think compression of audio could improve for a lower bandwidth?