Jitsi

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Jitsi
Logo Jitsi.svg
240px
Original author(s) Emil Ivov
Initial release 2003; 22 years ago (2003)
Stable release 2.8 (build.5426) (March 19, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-03-19)) [±]
Preview release 2.9 (nightly) [±]
Written in Java
Operating system Linux, macOS, Windows (all Java supported), Android, iOS
Size 52.4 MB – Windows (bundles its own private JRE)[1]
78.8 MB – Mac OS X (includes private JRE)[2]
22 MB – Linux
65 MB – source code[3]
Available in Asturian, English, French, German, Bulgarian, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Greek and 25 more
Type Voice over IP, instant messaging, videoconferencing
License Apache License 2.0[4]
Website jitsi.org

Jitsi is a collection of free and open-source multiplatform voice (VoIP), videoconferencing and instant messaging applications for the web platform, Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS and Android.[5][6][7][8] The Jitsi project began with the Jitsi Desktop (previously known as SIP Communicator). With the growth of WebRTC, the project team focus shifted to the Jitsi Videobridge for allowing web-based multi-party video calling. Later the team added Jitsi Meet, a full video conferencing application that includes web, Android, and iOS clients. Jitsi also operates meet.jit.si, a version of Jitsi Meet hosted by Jitsi for free community use. Other projects include: Jigasi, lib-jitsi-meet, Jidesha, and Jitsi.[9][10][11]

Jitsi has received support from various institutions such as the NLnet Foundation,[12][13] the University of Strasbourg and the Region of Alsace[14] and it has also had multiple participations in the Google Summer of Code program.[15][16]

History

Work on Jitsi (then SIP Communicator) started in 2003 in the context of a student project by Emil Ivov at the University of Strasbourg.[17] It was originally released as an example video phone in the JAIN-SIP stack and later spun off as a standalone project.[18]

In 2009, Emil Ivov founded the BlueJimp company which has employed some of Jitsi's main contributors[19][20] in order to offer professional support and development services[21] related to the project.

In 2011, after successfully adding support for audio/video communication over XMPP's Jingle extensions, the project was renamed to Jitsi since it was no longer "a SIP only Communicator".[22][23] This name originates from the Bulgarian "жици" (wires).[24]

Jitsi introduced the Videobridge in 2013 to support multiparty video calling with its Jitsi clients using a new Selective Forwarding Unit (SFU) architecture. Later that year initial support was added to the JitsiVideobridge allowing WebRTC calling from the browser. To demonstrate how JitsiVideobridge could be used as a production service, BlueJimp offered a free use of its hosted system at meet.jit.si.[25]

On November 4, 2014, "Jitsi + Ostel" scored 6 out of 7 points on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's secure messaging scorecard. They lost a point because there has not been a recent independent code audit.[26]

On February 1, 2015, Hristo Terezov, Ingo Bauersachs and the rest of the team released[27] version 2.6 from their stand at the Free and Open Source Software Developers' European Meeting 2015 event in Brussels. This release includes security fixes, removes support of the deprecated MSN protocol, along with SSLv3 in XMPP. Among other notable improvements, the OS X version bundles a Java 8 runtime, enables echo cancelling by default, and uses the CoreAudio subsystem. The Linux build addresses font issues with the GTK+ native LookAndFeel, and fixes some long standing issues about microphone level on call setup when using the PulseAudio sound system. This release also adds the embedded Java database Hyper SQL Database to improve performance for users with huge configuration files, a feature which is disabled by default. A full list of changes is[28] available on the project web site.

Atlassian acquired BlueJimp on April 5, 2015. After the acquisition, the new Jitsi team under Atlassian ceased meaningful new development work on the Jitsi Desktop project and expanded its efforts on projects related to the Jitsi Videobridge and Jitsi Meet. Regular contributions from the open source community have maintained the Jitsi Desktop project.[29][30][31] Jitsi is fully funded by 8x8.[32]

Primary projects of Jitsi

The Jitsi open source repository on GitHub currently contains 103 repositories. The major projects include:[33]

Jitsi Meet
Video conferencing server designed for quick installation on Debian/Ubuntu servers.
Jitsi Videobridge
WebRTC Selective Forwarding Unit engine for powering multi-party conferences.
Jigasi
Server-side application that links allows regular SIP clients to join Jitsi Meet conferences hosted by Jitsi Videobridge.
lib-jitsi-meet
Low-level JavaScript API for providing a customized UI for Jitsi Meet.
Jidesha
Chrome extension for Jitsi Meet.
Jitsi
Audio, video, and chat communicator that supports protocols such as SIP, XMPP/Jabber, AIM/ICQ, and IRC.

Jitsi Meet

File:Jitsi-app.png
Jitsi Meet Android Application

It is an open source JavaScript WebRTC application and can be used for videoconferencing. One can share desktop and presentations and with just a link can invite new members for videoconference. It can be used by downloading the app or directly in a browser and it is compatible with any recent browser.[34][35] Every user can use Jitsi.org servers or can download and install the server software on a Linux-based machine.

Key features of Jitsi Meet

  • Encrypted communication (secure communication): As of April 2020, 1-1 calls use the P2P mode, which is end-to-end encrypted via DTLS-SRTP between the two participants.[36] Group calls also use DTLS-SRTP encryption, but rely on the Jitsi Videobridge (JVB) as video router, where packets are decrypted temporarily.[36] The Jitsi team emphasizes that "they are never stored to any persistent storage and only live in memory while being routed to other participants in the meeting", and that this measure is necessary due to current limitations of the underlying WebRTC technology.[36]
  • No need of new client software installation.[37]

Jitsi Videobridge

It is a video conferencing solution supporting WebRTC that allows multiuser video communication. It is a Selective Forwarding Unit (SFU) and only forwards the selected streams to other participating users in the video conference call, therefore, CPU horsepower is not that critical for performance.[38][39]

Jitsi Desktop

Jitsi spawned some sister projects such as the Jitsi Videobridge Selective Forwarding Unit (SFU) and Jitsi Meet, a video and web conferencing application. To prevent misunderstanding due to the increasing popularity of these other Jitsi projects, the Jitsi client application was rebranded as Jitsi Desktop.

Originally the project was mostly used as an experimentation tool because of its support for IPv6.[40][41] Through the years, as the project gathered members, it also added support for protocols other than SIP.

Features

Jitsi's conference call window on Mac OS X

Jitsi supports multiple operating systems, including Windows as well as Unix-like systems such as Linux, Mac OS X and BSD. The mobile apps can be downloaded on the App Store for iOS and on the Google Play Store and F-droid platform for Android.[42] It also includes:[43]

Reception

In an April 2020 test of videoconferencing services, US product review website Wirecutter recommended Jitsi Meet as one of its two picks (after the more feature-rich Cisco Webex which it found preferable for large groups and enterprises), stating that Jitsi was "easy to use and reliable" and that "in our testing, the video quality and audio quality were both great—noticeably sharper and crisper than on Zoom or Webex."[48]

See also

References

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External links

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  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ https://jitsi.org/user-faq/
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Jitsi feature list with information on supported protocols
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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