Here at TokBox, we’re committed to making your everyday communication easier. We connect people in different parts of the world and tear down physical boundaries by providing real-time face-to-face communication in any browser or mobile app.
Underneath it all is WebRTC.
Unfortunately, the realities of aligning large companies (Google & Microsoft) sometimes stands in the way of progressing a forward-facing standard (WebRTC). We know the web has a large percentage of users who use Internet Explorer as their main desktop browser. As of today, Internet Explorer doesn’t support WebRTC natively. These users may be unable to upgrade to Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox due to strict policies implemented at their workplaces, not knowing how to change the default browser on their home machines, or not being willing to switch out of their comfort zone.
OpenTok’s commitment to providing a platform that brings real-time communication anywhere people want to connect has pushed us to find a way in which these customers would not be left out of the conversation. We looked at many third-party alternatives to help us bridge this gap, but we ultimately decided to take it on ourselves.
Today we’re happy to announce the release of the OpenTok Plugin for Internet Explorer. Our plugin allows Internet Explorer users to participate in OpenTok-powered video sessions as if they were using Chrome or Firefox. The first time your customer visits an OpenTok-powered application, she’ll be prompted to install the plugin. After the quick installation they’ll be able to join the conversation right away. It’s a one-step flow with all future updates happening in the background.
The first version of the OpenTok Plugin for Internet Explorer is released as beta and only supports Internet Explorer 10. We plan to quickly follow on with support for other versions of IE down through IE8.
Read more about the plugin, and get directions on how to add it to your web application. We look forward to hearing your feedback, bug reports, and feature requests as we quickly iterate from beta to production.