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ProSonas  
#1 Posted : Sunday, May 10, 2020 5:40:28 PM(UTC)
ProSonas

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Yesterday, we had an event (live streaming of a Corona Fundraising Event) and we used a lot of vMix instances.

1. We had 2 competitors (one in a kayak, one triathlete) and we wanted to follow their progress by using vMix call to record them on the route where each had a primary and a secondary vMix session

2. We had 10 interviews during the event - again, using vMix call for those as well

Here's my experiences and, unfortunately, it's not all that great.

Initial setup not working as intented
First of all, I wanted to prepare both my production as well as the client by setting up all 14 inputs in advance, so our client could send the links for the interview session to the specific participants.

I quickly realized, that I couldn't prepare more than 4 instances - even though they were not actively in use. I would have a better understanding of this, if the amount of vMix calls was limited in terms of how many we could actually RUN at the same time, but I was baffled to see, that it is also a limitation on how many we could even prepare.

To make up for this, I went in to upgrade our 4K licens to Pro version to get at least 8 out of 12 prepared but even though I followed the guide, my upgrade was declined.

Hit and miss connection
Every single one was comparable in terms of using iPhones and, thus, Safari browser.

Most of the calls went right through and worked as they should.

Some of them didn't - so we lost 4 of the calls because the attendees simply couldn't get through.

In the vMix window, we could see that they were logging in - we could see their names - but neither we nor they could see or hear anything from each other.

Thoughts
I'm an experienced vMix user but only recently started using vMix Call and experiences like this, really worries me.

If just we had a logic reason for the calls not to work, we could probably solve it - but when we have 4 out of 12 calls, seemingly randomly, not working with no clue as to why they didn't, it scares me.

How can I use vMix Call predictably going forward ?
mjgraves  
#2 Posted : Monday, May 11, 2020 2:07:00 AM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: ProSonas Go to Quoted Post
How can I use vMix Call predictably going forward ?


No-one ever promised that vMix Call was going to be reliable with mobile phones or on wireless data networks. That's a promise that just can't be made. It's too dependent upon the specific phone and networks that are beyond the control of vMix.

thanks 1 user thanked mjgraves for this useful post.
elvis55 on 5/11/2020(UTC)
dmwkr  
#3 Posted : Monday, May 11, 2020 2:25:12 AM(UTC)
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Regarding preparation of calls:
https://forums.vmix.com/...ds-in-vMix-Call#post7264

Regarding connection:
What mjgraves said is true. What you can do:
Make sure your firewall is configured correctly:
https://www.vmix.com/kno...ll-firewall-requirements

Test it like in bullet point 5:
https://www.vmix.com/kno...on-issues-with-vmix-call
thanks 2 users thanked dmwkr for this useful post.
elvis55 on 5/11/2020(UTC), eduardocfs on 4/13/2021(UTC)
mjgraves  
#4 Posted : Monday, May 11, 2020 4:17:28 AM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: ProSonas Go to Quoted Post

If just we had a logic reason for the calls not to work, we could probably solve it - but when we have 4 out of 12 calls, seemingly randomly, not working with no clue as to why they didn't, it scares me.


This requires an end-to-end understanding of the networks and devices involved. Also, it's not enough to know why something isn't working. You also need to have enough control to be able to do something about whatever is failing.

It's harder to control something the further away from you it gets. I suspect that the vMix Call infrastructure is quite robust. the variability is further out, in the last link to the end-point and the end-point itself.

vMix Call is extremely convenient and effectively free. If you need something that absolutely works every time, you're going to need something where you have more control, which will cost more, and be a whole lot less convenient.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.
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