Android Client
An Android ad-hoc client is available to attend meeting sessions using Meetecho.
It currently provides support for the following features:
- Chatroom (public and private messages)
- Presentation Sharing
- File Sharing
- Whiteboard (passive only)
- Text Editor (passive only)
- VoIP audio (active) and video (passive)
As such, it provides a valid alternative to the other available clients.
It is worth noting that you're not forced to make use of the integrated VoIP functionality to access the media stream. Considering the multitask nature of the Android platform, you can easily rely on complementary functionality to achieve the same result, like making use of a third-party softphone (e.g. SipDroid) or placing a native phone call (should you prefer so), while still taking advantage of the other features provided by the Meetecho client itself. Besides, an audio channel for every session is also made officialy available by the IETF by means of an MP3 stream, that should be playable using the native Android Media Player in background while using Meetecho for the rest.
For any issue refer to the Troubleshooting section at the end of this page, or feel free to contact us for help.
Installing the client
The client is available in the official Android Market.
A QR Code you can scan is provided for your convenience.
Please beware that the client only supports versions equal to or higher than 1.6: older versions of the Android platform are not supported. The application can be moved to SD, if allowed by your device.
Launching the client
To launch the client, just look for "Meetecho" in your applications list and tap on it. You might want to add it to your Home shortcuts as well (who knows, you might end up liking it *that* much!).
Configuring the application
The first time you launch the client, you will be suggested to have a look at the settings. The available preferences are quite straightforward to understand, and range from simple network settings to login and codec preferences. The default settings are usually fine.
You can access these settings anytime you want by pressing the menu key while on the Login screen.
As soon as you launch the client, an option to show the agenda of the IETF meeting sessions Meetecho will stream can be found: the agenda will highlight with a green light ongoing session, and with a red light sessions that have ended. To join a meeting session just tap on it.
Attending a meeting session
To attend a meeting session, you have three choices:
- either open the integrated agenda from the Android app and join from there as soon as it is reported as active, or...
- ... click on the meeting session url in our agenda from your device browser, which will have the url be intercepted by the application and taken care of automatically, or...
- ... fill in the meeting session details yourself.
IMPORTANT: Choices 1 and 2 only work if your browser correctly opens URLs as intents, which is the correct behaviour and usually the case for most of the browsers. However, a few browsers (like Opera Mobile, for instance) open URLs using an internal mechanism, preventing Meetecho from intercepting them. If you keep on being redirected to the Meetecho WebLite login page, use choice 3 to attend a session.
To follow the manual approach (choide 3), tap on the "Participate to an event" event, and then fill in the details, specifically:
- Choose "IETF meeting" from the select box on top;
- Insert the WG name in the "Code" field (e.g., splices)
- Insert your full name and e-mail address (the name will be used as your nickname)
- Choose the right server for the event, according to the agenda (e.g., weblite.conf.meetecho.com)
Once done, tap on "Join the event" to attend the meeting. If successfull, the meeting name will appear in a list: tap on it to finally join the session.
As soon as you join the meeting session, the view changes, and a new activity is presented. Button icons will be available in the upper-right corner of the screen, allowing you to switch to, respectively:
- The chatroom
- The slides
- The shared text editor (viewer only)
- The shared whiteboard (viewer only)
- The VoIP client
Each tab makes available one or more features, as it will be explained in the following subsections.
Chatroom
This chatroom also publishes information related to a few other features: every time a file is shared within the conference, for instance, an active notification is published to the chatroom, as it will be explained in the next subsection as well.
You can also see the participants list and have private conversations with any of the attendees by using the menu.
Presentation Sharing
The second tab hosts the Presentation Sharing functionality.
You can also present one yourself, by either picking a preloaded presentation from a list or uploading a new one and have it converted on the fly: this way, you'll be the one triggering the slides for the other attendees, functionality that will be made available by a small gallery on top of the screen. Of course, this feature is only needed if you're the scribe or a remote presenter.
Text editor
The third tab hosts the Text Editor functionality.
Whiteboard
The fourth tab hosts the Shared Whiteboard functionality.
As for the text editor, this functionality is currently view-only in the Android application. The Whiteboard is not started by default, so if you're interested in its features (should they be exploited during a session), use the menu to join it.
VoIP audio/video
As anticipated at the beginning of this section, the Android client also includes an integrated VoIP client to access the media functionality. Specifically, a lightweight SIP client is integrated as a tab to the client itself, allowing you to participate to the audio (and partly video) part of the conference.
The SIP call is not enabled by default when you join a new conference using the Android client, in order to avoid consuming bandwidth shouldn't you want to: if you want to access the audio stream, tap on the green phone icon. This will have the client attempt to place a SIP call at the SIP URI associated with the conference, and negotiate both audio (RTP) and moderation (BFCP). The audio codec is G.711, while video (if enabled after the call has been established) is H.263 QCIF, so take this into account if you're using a data connection you're charged for.
As soon as the negtiation has been completed, you should be able to listen to the other active participants talking, if any: the speakerphone can be enabled by tapping on the related button or by choosing the right option in the menu.
To hangup the call while still using the other features, tap on the red phone icon or use the Hangup option in the Menu. You'll still be able to access the conference call again, should you want so.
Leaving a conference
To leave a conference you're participating to, you have two choices:
- either press the Back button of your mobile twice (in order to make sure you didn't hit it by mistake, it happens all the time!);
- or press the menu button, whichever tab your on, and choose the Exit option.
Leaving a conference will bring you back to the conferences list activity.
Logging out
To log out and leave the system, do exactly the same as explained in the previous subsection, while in the conferences list activity.
Logging out will bring you back to the Login activity.
Troubleshooting
The Android client only supports versions equal to or higher than 1.6: older versions of the Android platform are not supported, and as such you should not attempt to install and use the application if you have a lower version installed on your device.
The following FAQ si an attempt to cover the most common troubles that may occur: if you find anything not listed here, or think the answer is not enough or doesn't properly address your problem, don't hesitate to contact us.
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I can't login!
Is the session listed in our agenda? is the server to be used the right one? Is a network enabled on your device? Is the application allowed to make use of the enabled network? If you're using WiFi, make sure no firewall/proxy is in place to filter XMPP traffic. If you're using your data connection, make sure it is actually on and not stalling for any reason.
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I can't hear anything!
Have you started the VoIP call? Are you sure VoIP traffic (specifically RTP) is not filtered by your network or provider?
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I could hear but after a while the audio stopped!
The causes may be either a problem in the network (packets not arriving anymore) or in the player itself (the audio track freezing for any reason). To check if it's the network, make sure the other features are still working fine. If so, hanging up the call, wait a few seconds, and then try again.
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The video is very slow and/or buggy and/or not in sync!
Due to limitations in the current API, we're currently limited to software decoding of the incoming H.263 video stream: this may cause lower spec devices not to be able to decode properly. We're currently working on both hardware decoding and active video participation.
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The application crashed!
Well that sucks! What were you trying to do? Which was the current activity? What was the error message? The application has Debug mode enabled, which means that in case you know how to do it, you can try USB debugging to get an actual stacktrace.
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Other questions to follow...... and we will answer them!