Real Time Online Collaboration Software

[Bassinthemudd]

I'm looking into online real time collaboration apps. After some initial research, JackTrip is looking good.


My priorities are:

Low (unnoticeable) latency

High quality audio

Video (quality not super important, but needs to be usable)

Affordable, about $20/month


On paper, JackTrip fits the bill. Anyone have experience with this app? Or, any others that fit my criteria? Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Oddly]

Can't speak for JackTrip but I used JamKazam fairy successfully during COVID and while I haven't in the last couple of years I believe it's only gotten better.
It certainly didn't offer video when I tried it, but does now.

 

[hrodbert696]

I've never been able to use anything successfully, but like Oddly, last time I tried was during COVID. Latency is the thing that kills it, because it's not a factor of the software alone. If there's a service that has solved that, excellent.

 

[Bassinthemudd]

What internet speeds did everyone have when attempting remote sessions? I haven't thought of trying until I recently upgraded to 2.5G fiber internet service. I'm getting 2.4G in the tests I've run.

 

[monsterthompson]

Every time I see this topic the responses have been that the latency is unavoidable.

I experimented with this a few years ago but haven’t tried it recently. It was okay for the two-person audio collaboration I was doing, but it might not work well if you need a band to be in sync.

SonoBus

www.sonobus.net

 

[enzodm]

During Covid I used Jamulus with good success. Latency depends on distance, bandwidth, and is impacted by WiFi use (ethernet cable is highly preferrable). If you are technically expert, there is a way to save single tracks on a server to mix them afterwards.
However, video is a different thing, not easy to minimize latency. You might always run Zoom on the side, with no audio, but careful about the impact on network.

Jamulus ‒ Play music online. With friends. For free.

Jamulus is free and open source software that lets musicians perform music, rehearse or jam together, in real time over the Internet.

jamulus.io

 

[Oddly]

Just to add, I was using ethernet cable, not on WiFi, and internet speed was then and is probably still a lot better in Dublin than a lot of other places, given the amount of IT type businesses based here.
Best sessions I had involved a sax player in NY, 2 guitarists in Florida and a singer/harmonica woman somewhere near Berlin. Almost lag-free the whole time over 3 sessions.

Writing this has me thinking I really should revisit the whole concept.