Comparing video conferencing features (Jitsi, BigBlueButton, and others)
DISCLAIMER: This article lays down some points for comparison among the different third-party video conferencing tools that are well-integrated into the CerebroLMS platform. Take note that these tools are generally not part of the school's subscription package which is mostly based on curriculum-based contents, but are provided as an additional feature of the system. Jitsi is a product of 8x8, Inc. while BigBlueButton is a service hosted by Blindside Networks.
1. What are the main differences of Jitsi and BigBlueButton?
- Jitsi is lighter on both the client and the server sides since it uses less resources than BigBlueButton. Both allow screensharing, but only BigBlueButton has the virtual whiteboard and breakout rooms features. For recordings, BigBlueButton saves the sessions on their own servers while Jitsi allows users to save the sessions on their personal storage accounts.
2. How many users does Jitsi and BigBlueButton support?
- Each Jitsi session is hard-coded to allow only up to a maximum of 75 users per meeting room. However, the ideal number of participants is 35 to ensure that everyone gets the best video conferencing experience. On the other hand, BigBlueButton allows up to 100 participants per meeting room, but the ideal number of participants is only 16 since it consumes more computing resources than Jitsi.
3. Can Jitsi sessions be recorded?
- There are two options to record a Jitsi session. First, you may create an account on https://www.dropbox.com (the free account gives you 2GB of storage space) which you can link to your Jitsi session. If this storage is not enough for you, transfer your videos to YouTube so you can free up the space for new videos. Second, you may also do a livestream on Youtube (you may set the YouTube video to "Unlisted" so only those with the link can see it) which will automatically save your session there.
4. Will there be issues when Jitsi is used by different classes simultaneously?
- Generally, there won't be issues when Jitsi is used by several classes simultaneously. This is because the sessions are hosted on meet.jit.si servers which are equipped with load balancing tools.
5. Can I use another video conferencing platform aside from Jitsi and BigBlueButton?
- Yes. If you want to want to use other video conferencing platforms such as Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom for your classes, you may just post the meeting link on your course page by turning the edit mode on, clicking on "Add an activity/resource", and selecting URL. Just give your link a name and paste the URL on the field provided for that purpose.