AVChat Software Product Blog

There are some bugs fixed and some new features in this one:

New Features:

• smaller size of swf files. Due to the new framework from Flex the size of the swfs got bigger. We’ve managed to reduce the size to 321 kb.
• fonts.xml will actually do something. You can now specify inside fonts.xml what fonts will be available for the client in the fonts drop down selector from the text chat area.
• Drupal 7, vldPersonals 2.5.x and 2.6 compatibility.
• Red5 1.0 RC1 support.
• There is a new flash var named userId that you can send to index.swf /admin.swf via GET. The variable and value will be sent back to avc_settings.xxx via GET.
• The build number is now present in avchat3.properties/settings.asc on every media server( FMIS, Red5 and Wowza) so we can check compatibility with swfs version number after update or install.
• Private cam info in the users and rooms list xml generated by writeuserslist.xxx.
• There are some UI improvements: bigger “is typing area” and the last 5 photos added preview on the right side of the text area  ( needs to be activated in avc_settings.xxx).

Issues fixed:

• admin kick function on Wowza.
• admin ban function  on Wowza.
• licenseKey functionality on Wowza.
• Forward slashes on URLs are truncated.
• Youtube and send files buttons bugs fixed.
• The known issues with the text messegaes for REd5 0.9

Security issuses:

• Red5 only : New admin security option (based on admin.swf filename) in avchat3.properties: adminSwfFileName for countries where there are only dynamic ip’s  . This will allow you to set the name for the admin swfs that are allowed to connect to your Red5 server.

How to upgrade?

You can download the latest build from your client/trial area, to install just overwrite the old files (including the files on the media server: Red5/FMIS/Wowza)

You want to find out what version of Red5 is running on your server?

There are a few ways:

1) Look at the Red5 welcome page on port 5080.

To see the welcome page just go to http://yourred5server.com:5080 in your web browser. It’s not the most accurate but it’s the fastest and you don’t need access to the Red5 installation. Here are the welcome screens for different versions.

Red5 0.8 welcome page:

Red5 0.9.1 welcome page:

Red5 1.0 RC1 welcome page:

2) Look in docs/changelog.txt

Look in the Red5 installation folder/docs/changelog.txt . You will immediately see the Red5 version there:

3) Pay attention to the Red5 startup log

During startup, Red5 will show the Red5 version, here is where to look when starting Red5 standalone on Windows:

4) Look in log/red5_service.log

When starting Red5 as a service on Windows it will create a new log file: Red5 installation folder/log/red5_service.log . In it you will find the Red5 startup log mentioned above and thus the Red5 version.

You know any other way? Post the method in the comments section below.

A few tiny updates this month:

• index.swf and admin.swf are down again to about 400+ Kbytes  in size.
• fixed issue in Wowza where the shared object holding the text chat history would grow a lot.
• AVChat now works with an empty welcome message in the language file (en.xml).
• there is a new ban option: 3 days.
• there’s a new option in avc_settings.xxx named showUserSideMenuOnTextArea which controls what clicking an underlined username in the text chat area does: it can either bring up the side menu shown below or put the username in the text chat input box.
• the fonts available for text chat can now be finally changed using fonts.xml.
• expired bans are not shown anymore in the banned ip’s list in the admin area of AVChat.

You can download the latest build from your client/trial area, to install just overwrite the old files (including the files on the media server: Red5/FMIS/Wowza).

We’ve done a few silent builds lately in order to fix some particular issues some of our clients had. For a while build 1162 has been online and available for download, this blog post will summarize most of the bug fixes that have been done since our latest build (1106).

There are only a few tiny new features:

• rooms panel now covers more area inside the video chat (about 80% of the available space), we had complaints that the rooms panel was too small.
• you can now change the appearance (font, size, color, bold, italica) of the texts in the LOGIN, LOADING SETTINGS and CONNECTING screens, see  fontMainLabels in style.css :
  
• you can now change the size and color of the text in the input text field, see fontInputText in style.css:
  
• removed all documentation from the integration kits as it has all been moved (and improved) to http://avchat.net/support/documentation/
• ability to specify and show flags (or any other icons or images) besides a user in the users list , see profileCountryFlag in avc_settings.xxx
  
• ability to show UPGRADE button in the top bar for some users, see upgradeUrl in avc_settings.xxx
  
• revised Social Engine 4 module (compatible with SE4.1)
• profileUrl in avc_settings.xxx can now take the whole profile URL, the value is not dependant on profileKey anymore

Security improvements:

• when admin functions are called on the media server, we now first check the callers ip against the list of pre-approved admin ips
• files in the avchat30 folder can not be accessed any more via the browser when port 5080 is open

Issues fixed:

• fixed issue with users list being very slow when using the debug version of Flash Player . The debug version of Flash Player is itself slower but the users list was just  unsusable, and it was our fault!
• fixed issue with running multiple instances of one avchat30 app on Red5
• fixed issues with running multiple avchat30 apps on the same Red5 server
• fixed issue with delivering &gender=admin from avc_settings.xxx to index.swf
• removed Red5 0.9 folder from the delivery archive because people would assume it worked correctly on Red5 0.9 (it does not and there’s nothing we can do about it)
• fixed issue with token_request.php having some sort of weird invisible charcter at the beginning preventing it from working on some php setups

How to upgrade?

Download the new files from the client/trials area and overwrite all the old files (including the ones on the Red5/FMIS/Wowza media server) . If that fails make a clean install.

A new build of AVChat flash video chat is now available for download, here’s what’s new:

Only a few new small features:

• You can now double click a room name ion the rooms list to join it! We’ve seen this type of behaviour when doing usability tests.
• showJLButton setting in avc_settings.xxx, configures the status (enabled, disabled, hidden) of the [Show Join/Leave messages] button in the text chat area
• you now get more detailed errors when having issues with token based authentication

But many bug fixes:

• solved concurrency issues with Red5 and multiple app  instances (bug intruduced in the last build)
• solved issue with the # of users for each room going wild on us (bug intruduced in the last build)
• fixed issue with transcripts on Red5 not displaying properly the ip of the author of the message
• fixed issue with not being able to change the licenseKey on FMIS from admin.swf
• fixed various issues involving banning users
• fixed issue with free video time going over the [Rooms] button
• fixed issue with [Clean Text Chat] button sometimes not resetting the scroll bar!
• fixed some issues with the Social Engine 4 integration kit .

Security updates:

• added data sanitization when calling functions on Red5

How to get the new AVChat 3 build:

• download the software again from your client/trial area.

How to update your installation:

• in the usual way: overwrite ALL the old files (including the en.xml language file and the media server files) and restart the media server!
• if the above fails make a clean  install!

If you have bug reports or feedback just send them to contact@avchat.net .

A few minor quick fixes were added to AVChat last week:

• when in RTL mode hitting ENTER was not sending the text to the chat room
• IDS_LOOKINGAT from the language file was not being used
• Invalid token!  Please try again! error is gone!
• Issue with users list now showing up when user had no webcam is fixed
• Some small issues with Wowza are also fixed
  

Just a few updates this month,  we’ve worked a bit on better RTL support and Red5 server side files optimizations:

• better RTL support using the Text Layout Framework
• Red5 optimizations (The avchat30 app for Red5 should use less resources now)
• “User has left the conversation” message for when a user leaves a private text chat
• clicking a user name in the text chat adds it to the input text field (this feature is back only in the user interface, the admin area still shows the side menu for that user)
• old tokens are now automatically deleted
• added a few missing strings to the language file (“Looking at” and “Stop him from viewing you”)
• fixed bug with the “who’s looking at me” users list sometimes disappearing
• fixed issue with the wrong user name being shown in the ban window
• pre filled badwords file
• various small IP.Board, osDate and SocialEngine bug fixes
• new eMeeting 9 integration kit

How to get the new AVChat 3 build:

• download the software again from your client area

How to update your installation:

• in the usual way: overwrite ALL the old files (including the en.xml language file and the media server files) and restart the media server!
• if the above fails make a clean clean  install!

The AVChat integration kit for eMeeting is ready to be added to your eMeeting website now. The integration kit takes care of the integration (obviously! ) between your eMeeting users and user levels and AVChat.

How will it help your eMeeting website?
Well,  it will drive members engagement and loyalty and it can drive up revenue by showing ads around the video chat or charging for access to it.

Some of the integration features:

• Automatic username, gender and profile picture integration: users will have the same username, gender and profile picture in the web site and in the video chat.
• Different features for different user groups: you can control what features are enabled for each user level
  
• User profiles integration: you can access the profile of other users directly from the video chat

The AVChat Video Chat Integration Kit works with eMeeting 9. AVChat is developed in Flash thus works on Windows, Mac Os and Linux and even on Android phones!

Pricing

AVChat starts at $95/domain.

The AVChat Video Chat Integration Kit (which handles the integration between AVChat and eMeeting) costs $49 more.

You get 1 year of free access to updates and personalized support by email!

Go to the BUY NOW page to purchase AVChat and the eMeeting integration kit. For more info visit the dedicated AVChat eMeeting Integration Kit web page.

I will be attending the iDate Conference in Paris this week to learn more about the industry and meet some of you guys using our products!

I’ll be back on Saturday hopefully with a lot o feedback and new ideas!

I’ve also prepared a coupon code for the duration of the conference: use idate during checkout and you’ll get 20% off any new AVChat license. Promotion available until Firday!

Quite a few updates this month! The focus was on making moderation easier for admins, that’s why we have new ban options, the ability to edit rooms, faster access to kick/ban/whois and a bunch of other small improvements that will make an admin’s life so much more easier!

New features:

• You now have the ability to stop someone from viewing you(works best when cam is private because when cam is public the other user can just hit [View Cam] again):
• Clicking on a username in the text chat will bring up the side menu for that user
• Blocking someone will now prevent him from viewing you any more!

Security improovements:

• New ban panel with ban by username/cookie and silent ban options:
  
  Silent ban means the other users do not get the “X has been banned” message.
• Kick and ban messages now have a red background:
• The users list will now always display admins  on top ( admins that have the admin icon) regardless of the sort algorithm chosen.
• Admins can now edit rooms, there is a new EDIT ROOM button in the rooms panel:
  
• There’s a new option to automatically add the ip of users to the username in the users list. With this feature on users will be more careful about posting illegal material (links/pictures/webcam content/etc…). This feature is turned on in our online demo of AVChat, here’s how it looks:
• Admins will now see a ban kick and whois link for each text chat message(including for the ones in the history)  like this: This will make moderation easier!
• When an admin joins a room he will now see the last 100 messages instead of the last 20, this will allow him to better moderate what happened in the room while he was gone
• The whois service (link) for when clicking the whois button can now be changed from avc_settings.xxx!

How to get the new AVChat 3 build:

• download the software again from your client area

How to update your installation:

• in the usual way: overwrite ALL the old files (including the en.xml language file and the media server files) and restart the media server!
• if the above fails make a clean clean  install!