Chat Update

8 Apr 2009

Hi All, a quick update.
1) The logout button is back, due to some users getting stuck in the chatroom, please use this to make sure you disconnect fully.
2) Camera frame rate has been increased.
3) Chat 4 has been removed due to lack of use - this free's up more server resources for the rest of chat.
4) Camera sound is now working.
Please provide feedback in this thread regarding the camera quality and framerate over the next few days.
Thanks,
Elliot

8 Apr 2009

Quote by Elliot
2) Camera frame rate has been increased.

May I ask from what to what? Then if it is changed again at a later date we'll know how much of a change it is.

9 Apr 2009

Quote by Ian

2) Camera frame rate has been increased.

May I ask from what to what? Then if it is changed again at a later date we'll know how much of a change it is.
I can't actually answer that, because i don't know. The problem we have is that although now (since the server move to London) we have the servers and the backbone connection to stream high definition video (if we wanted too) to everyone, we can't because the speed of peoples internet connections simply can't cope.
The fundamental problem is:
Peoples internet connections can't upload 'that' quick.
By increasing cam size and quality, framerate automatically drops because there is not enough upstream bandwidth available on that persons connection.
By decreasing cam quality we gain framerate, but at the cost of a more blocky image.
If i set the cam quality to high, and hope for the best, the users upstream internet connection then becomes saturated because we are trying to push too much video through, at that point important data which needs to go up gets slowed down, meaning browsing and normal chatroom use (text etc) also slows down.
I've tweaked again today, and i'm hoping i've got the perfect balance between quality and framerate. I've just bee on and tested, i had a good 10fps at this quality which seemed fairly decent.
My next problem is, i need to wait until the servers are under load tonight, to find out of the framerate issue is also affected by how busy it is, if thats the case we will order some more hardware and get it in asap.
Elliot

9 Apr 2009

the sound isnt working right though, why is this, it was great before all the changes.
Goldsmith
xxxxx