If you are running the HTML page from your desktop as a "file://" URL, what is happening is that Flash is putting up a security wall in order to prevent "cross-domain" communication from taking place. If you step through the code, you will likely see that session.connect() never returns.

This problem only occurs when you run the file from your desktop using the "file://" URL. If you use a local server (ie. a localhost URL), the problem will go away. If you serve the file from a web server, the problem will go away.

To enable the page to work directly from the desktop using a "file://" prefix, you need to change Flash's security settings. You can do this using a page online that Adobe provides:

1. Go to this web page: http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager04.html
2. Wait patiently while the Flash app initializes (it can take a while)
3. Select "Add location" from the "Edit locations..." pull down menu
4. Either specify the individual file location of the HTML page, or the file folder in which it is located (to make sure any other app pages you might have in the same directory also work).

You should find that the HTML page starts working after this.

Quickly go through our user diagnostic tool so we can make sure that your hardware, software and Internet are all up to par to use the OpenTok platform.

Make sure that you have installed the latest version of Flash Player. There were some issues in previous versions on Mac OS X Lion.

End users will need the following:

• Flash Player 10.3 or later
• Firefox 3.0+, Safari 4.0+, Internet Explorer 7+, Chrome
• Windows XP+, OSX 10.4+
• A webcam and a microphone!
• A standard DSL line with a minimum upload and download speed of 160kb per call participant

We are working on new libraries to support mobile and tablet devices. If you would like to learn more, please email us at bizdev@tokbox.com

Try the following:

• Call the TB.setLogLevel() to send debug messages to the console.
• Add an event listener for exception events by calling the TB.addEventListener() method.

See the API reference documentation for the TB class.

Developers using the OpenTok JavaScript library should use a HTML debug console, such as Firebug (for Firefox) or the Google Chrome Debugger.

In Internet Explorer 8, links with href targets that invoke JavaScript actions cause a window.onbeforeunload event to be thrown. This event causes OpenTok to unload all components and disconnect from all sessions. Consequently, clicking on these kinds of links can unexpectedly disconnect OpenTok sessions, resulting in seemingly erratic behavior. In order to work around this problem, ensure that links with JavaScript actions are written as <a href="#" onclick="javascript:startPublishing();">Action</a> rather than as <a href="javascript:startPublishing();">Action</a>.

This issue is fixed in Firefox 4.

In previous versions of Firefox for Mac, the Allow button in the Adobe Settings Panel cannot be clicked. There are bugs filed with both Adobe and Mozilla. The Adobe issue describes it as happening when you center a Flash SWF. We have found that it also happens if you position the SWF relatively such that its x and y coordinates are not integers. As a workaround, add 0.5px to the margin-left of the SWF if the width of the window is odd; this is to make the x,y coordinates an integer. This doesn't work in every case, though.

For users to see each others audio-video streams, they need to connect to the same session (using the same session ID). Each OpenTok session is a collection of audio-video streams that can communicate with one another. To have users see each other's streams, do not generate unique session IDs for each user. Reuse the same session ID for each page in the session, and pass that session ID to the TB.initSession() method. (You do, however, generate unique connection tokens for each user.)

This is a known issue in Firefox and Chrome (see Mozilla bug 90268).

This is the correct behavior for the OpenTok JavaScript API. The element you pass into the Session.publish() or Session.subscribe() method is an HTML DOM element to be replaced. It is not a container element. You can create a container DIV element that contains another replacement element, and then pass that replacement element to the Session.publish() or Session.subscribe() method.

The OpenTok JavaScript library supports HTTPS. If your page loads via HTTPS, be sure to load the OpenTok JavaScript library via HTTPS (otherwise the browser will display a warning to the user):

• In staging — <script src="https://staging.tokbox.com/v0.91/js/TB.min.js" ></script>
• In production — <script src="https://swww.tokbox.com/v0.91/js/TB.min.js" ></script>

(Note, however, that OpenTok video streams are not sent on a secure socket.)

Server-side library created by OpenTok community member trebor: (OpenTok server-side library for .NET)

Server-side library created by OpenTok community member bsstoner: (OpenTok server-side library for node.js)

Server-side library created by OpenTok community member mephist: (OpenTok server-side library for Perl)

The Group Chat Embed widget lets you as a site owner add live video chat to your site in just a couple of minutes. It is easy to set up and requires no fancy technical knowledge.

If you'd like to get the Group Chat Embed widget, go to http://tokbox.com/opentok/plugnplay/basicembed.

You can embed the conversation in your own personal website, or on the following social network and blogging platforms:

• Facebook
• Ning
• MySpace
• Tumblr
• Blogger
• Posterous
• Weebly
• Webs
• SquareSpace

Up to twenty participants can be on-screen and publishing.

The secret is a specific code we send to the chat owner's e-mail address once they've registered for the Group Chat Embed widget. The owner will need to use this secret to turn the embed "on." Identification using this secret will also give the owner the ability to ban participants who are acting rowdy.

If you've lost your secret, please go the page that includes your embed. Click "I'm a moderator," then click "Provide Secret," and then click "Forgot Secret." We will automatically send you an e-mail.

If you are the chat owner and have identified yourself using the secret, you can ban participants from the chat. Simply hover over the video stream of a rowdy participant and click the "Ban" icon in the upper-righthand corner of the participant's video. This ban is permanent.

The Group Chat Embed lets you easily place video chat directly in a web page. The Group Chat Embed includes a set design for displaying videos in the page. The OpenTok API includes a JavaScript library and ActionScript library. These libraries also allow developers to integrate video chat directly into their own websites. It also provides support for building AIR apps (including apps for Android and iOS devices). The OpenTok API provides developers with complete control over the selection, layout, and interaction of individual audio/video streams.

Until other guests need to join, your session, the background is black.

You can invite users to your chat by sharing the URL of the webpage that uses your embed. You can also click the Twitter and Facebook logos in the embed to send a message to those social groups.

In order to turn the embed back on, you must click the "restart" button, located in the bottom-right corner of the embed. You will then be prompted to input your secret, which can be found in the e-mail message TokBox sent to you.

The Group Chat Embed can support up to 20 participants in a call at any one time. After 20 participants only viewers are allowed.

The Group Chat Embed is not supported on mobile devices or iPads.

The Video Messages App allows any visitor to your website to leave recorded video messages. After they have finished recording their message, you will be emailed a unique URL that lets you watch their video message. Each video message has its own unique URL.

Just like our basic video chat embed, Video Messages App can be embedded into any HTML website such as Tumblr, Weebly or your personal website.

The maximum length of a video message is 10 minutes. During the beta program, we do not plan to limit the number of video messages each visitor can record. In the future, we may limit the number of submissions allowed per Video Messages App.

Yes! Just point anyone to the unique URL that is created for each video message.

Currently, the Video Messages App does not allow you to delete messages. However, this will change as we evolve the product.

The Video Messages App is FREE as long as it remains in beta. There is no cost to download or use during the beta period. After the beta period ends, we will charge to store video messages.

The beta period is planned to last through the end of 2011. We will give plenty of notice before the beta period does end.

We plan on storing these video messages at least through the beta period. While in beta, we make no guarantee regarding video message data loss. If you'd like to store messages for a long period of time please email us at support@tokbox.com so that we can help.

Feel free to contact us through our forums.