1/ Video conference / meeting:
– Available to small groups of people (usually less than 50 participants).
– Direct video and audio connection between participants (with or without server supports).
– Ultra-low latency live videos.
– Usually 2 two way communication between participants.
2/ Video live stream:
– Available to more audience (thousands or more).
– There is always media servers (and CDN) in the middle to serve the video to viewers.
– Higher video latency (3 – 15 sec).
– Usually 1 way communication from host to audience with limited interaction from audience.
Due to above characteristics, every online trainers can choose their preferred style based on the nature of their training:
– With a small group of participant and the interaction between participants is a must, a video conference is a good choice.
– If they intend to provide the class to many viewers (50+) while interacting with them in time is less important, live streaming will fit that model.
However, both choice still require the following awareness:
– Content leak: access from illegal people as well as the case when students leak their class access.
– Flood interaction: cause echo and noise if many of participants speaking at the same time, one of a very common hazards when people use video conference tools to host an online class.
– Notice content integrity: hackers can target specific video conference and replace trainer content with other contents (for example https://www.wacotrib.com/…/article_4a1733b0-5b73-5047-8f59-…).
At OnLearny, we also support both live stream and meeting architecture for online classes as well as extensible options for support unlimited participants.