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Version: 0.1.x

Precall Setup - Android

Picture this: before diving into the depths of a video call, imagine giving your setup a quick check-up, like a tech-savvy doctor ensuring all systems are a go. That's essentially what a precall experience does- it’s like your extensive debug session before the main code execution—a crucial step in ensuring your app's performance is top-notch.

Why is it necessary?​

Why invest time and effort into crafting a precall experience, you wonder? Well, picture this scenario: your users eagerly join a video call, only to encounter a myriad of technical difficulties—muted microphones, pixelated cameras, and laggy connections. Not exactly the smooth user experience you had in mind, right?

By integrating a robust precall process into your app, developers become the unsung heroes, preemptively addressing potential pitfalls and ensuring that users step into their video calls with confidence.

Step-by-Step Guide: Integrating Precall Feature​

Step 1: Check and Request Permissions​

  • Begin by ensuring that your application has the necessary permissions to access user devices, such as the camera, microphone and Bluetooth.
  • Utilize the checkPermissions() method of the VideoSDK class to verify if permissions are granted.
  • If the permissions are not granted, the method will request the required permissions.
  • PermissionHandler is used to manage and handle permission-related events (such as granting, denying, or blocking permissions).
    • onGranted(): This method is called when all requested permissions are granted.
    • onBlocked(): This method is called when one or more permissions are permanently blocked (i.e., the user has checked "Don't ask again").
    • onDenied(): This method is called when one or more permissions are denied.
    • onJustBlocked(): This method is called when one or more permissions are just blocked (i.e., the user has just checked "Don't ask again" for the first time).
private fun checkPermissions() {
    val permissionList: MutableList<Permission> = ArrayList()
    permissionList.add(Permission.audio)
    permissionList.add(Permission.video)
    permissionList.add(Permission.bluetooth)
    val options = Permissions.Options()
                  .setRationaleDialogTitle("Info")
                  .setSettingsDialogTitle("Warning")
    VideoSDK.checkPermissions(this,
        permissionList,
        options,
        permissionHandler
    )
}

private val permissionHandler: PermissionHandler = object : PermissionHandler() {
    override fun onGranted() {
      Log.d("VideoSDK Permission", "onGranted: All permissions granted")          
    }
    override fun onBlocked(
      context: Context,
      blockedList: java.util.ArrayList<Permission>
    ): Boolean {
        for (blockedPermission in blockedList) {
              Log.d("VideoSDK Permission", "onBlocked: $blockedPermission")
            }
      return super.onBlocked(context, blockedList)
    }

    override fun onDenied(
      context: Context,
      deniedPermissions: java.util.ArrayList<Permission>
    ) {
        for (deniedPermission in deniedPermissions) {
              Log.d("VideoSDK Permission", "onDenied: $deniedPermission")
            }
      super.onDenied(context, deniedPermissions)
    }

    override fun onJustBlocked(
      context: Context,
      justBlockedList: java.util.ArrayList<Permission>,
      deniedPermissions: java.util.ArrayList<Permission>
      ) {
          for (justBlockedPermission in justBlockedList) {
              Log.d("VideoSDK Permission", "onJustBlocked: $justBlockedPermission")
            }
      super.onJustBlocked(context, justBlockedList, deniedPermissions)
    }
  }

Step 2: Render Device Lists​

  • You can fetch and render lists of available video and audio devices using the getVideoDevices() and getAudioDevices() methods of the VideoSDK class, respectively.
private fun getAudioaDevices() {
  
  val audioDevices: Set<AudioDeviceInfo> = VideoSDK.getAudioDevices()
    for (audioDevice in audioDevices) {
        Log.d("VideoSDK", "Audio Device's DeviceId " + audioDevice.deviceId)
        Log.d("VideoSDK", "Audio Device's Label " + audioDevice.label)
        Log.d("VideoSDK", "Audio Device's Kind " + audioDevice.kind)
    }
}

private fun getVideoDevices() {
    val videoDevices: Set<VideoDeviceInfo> = VideoSDK.getVideoDevices()
    for (videoDevice in videoDevices) {
        Log.d("VideoSDK", "Video Device's DeviceId " + videoDevice.deviceId)
        Log.d("VideoSDK", "Video Device's Label " + videoDevice.label)
        Log.d("VideoSDK", "Video Device's Kind " + videoDevice.kind)
      }
}

Step 3: Handle Audio Device Changes​

  • Implement the onAudioDeviceChanged() callback of the VideoSDK class to dynamically re-render audio device lists whenever new devices are attached or removed from the system.
  • Ensure that users can seamlessly interact with newly connected devices without disruptions.
VideoSDK.setAudioDeviceChangeListener(object : VideoSDK.AudioDeviceChangeEvent {
    override fun onAudioDeviceChanged(
        selectedAudioDevice: AudioDeviceInfo?,
        audioDevices: MutableSet<AudioDeviceInfo>?
    ) {
        Log.d(
            "VideoSDK",
            "Selected Audio Device: " + selectedAudioDevice.label
        )
        for (audioDevice in audioDevices) {
            Log.d("VideoSDK", "Audio Devices" + audioDevice.label)
        }
    }
})

Step 4: Ensuring the selected devices are used in the Meeting​

  • Ensure that the status of all relevant devices, such as the microphone and camera (on/off), as well as the selected devices, are correctly configured and passed into the meeting from the precall screen.
  • To select a video device, you can either create a custom track with the chosen VideoDeviceInfo and pass it to the initMeeting method of the VideoSDK class, or you can use the setSelectedVideoDevice() method of the VideoSDK class.
  • To select an audio device, use the setSelectedAudioDevice() method of the VideoSDK class.
  • By ensuring this integration, users can seamlessly transition from the precall setup to the actual meeting while preserving their preferred settings.
class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)

        val customTracks: MutableMap<String, CustomStreamTrack> = HashMap()

        // Specify the video device to use in the meeting
        val videoDeviceInfo: VideoDeviceInfo = selectedVideoDeviceInfo

        val videoCustomTrack = VideoSDK.createCameraVideoTrack(
            "h720p_w960p", "front", CustomStreamTrack.VideoMode.TEXT, true,
            this, VideoSDK.getSelectedVideoDevice()
        )
        customTracks["video"] = videoCustomTrack

        VideoSDK.setSelectedVideoDevice(videoDeviceInfo)

        // Specify the audio device to use in the meeting
        val audioDeviceInfo: AudioDeviceInfo = selectedAudioDeviceInfo

        VideoSDK.setSelectedAudioDevice(audioDeviceInfo)

        val meeting: Meeting = VideoSDK.initMeeting(
            this@MainActivity, "meetingId", "John Due", true,
            true, null, null, false, customTracks, null
        );
    }
}

Step 5: Get Selected Devices​

  • VideoSDK library provides two methods, getSelectedVideoDevice() and getSelectedAudioDevice(), which allow us to determine which video and audio devices are currently selected on our Android device.
private fun getSelectedVideoDevice(){
    Log.d("TAG", "onCreate: " + VideoSDK.getSelectedVideoDevice().label)
}

private fun getSelectedAudioDevice(){
    Log.d("TAG", "onCreate: " + VideoSDK.getSelectedAudioDevice().label)
}

By following these step-by-step instructions, you can seamlessly integrate a precall feature into your application, empowering users to optimize their audio and video setup for a superior communication experience.

note

You can explore the complete implementation of the Precall feature in the official Android SDK example available here.

API Reference​

The API references for all the methods utilized in this guide are provided below.

Got a Question? Ask us on discord

Last updated on by Dhiraj-op

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