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OpenTok

Constructor

new OpenTok(apiKey, apiSecret)

Contains methods for creating OpenTok sessions, generating tokens, working with archives, and more.

To create a new OpenTok object, call the OpenTok constructor with your OpenTok API key and the API secret for your Vonage Video API account. Do not publicly share your API secret. You will use it with the OpenTok constructor (only on your web server) to create OpenTok sessions.

Be sure to include the entire OpenTok Node.js SDK on your web server.

Parameters:
Name Type Description
apiKey String Your OpenTok API key. (See your Vonage Video API account page.)
apiSecret String Your OpenTok API secret. (See your Vonage Video API account page.)

Methods

Name Description
addArchiveStream(archiveId, streamId, archiveOptions, callback) Adds a stream to an archive that has the streamMode set to manual.
addBroadcastStream(broadcastId, streamId, broadcastOptions, callback) Adds a stream to a broadcast that has the streamMode set to manual.
createSession(options, callback) Creates a new OpenTok session.
deleteArchive(archiveId, callback) Deletes an OpenTok archive.
dial(sessionId, token, sipUri, options) Dials a SIP gateway to input an audio-only stream into your OpenTok Session.
disableForceMute(sessionId, callback) Disables the active mute state of the session.
forceDisconnect(sessionId, connectionId, callback) Disconnects a participant from an OpenTok session.
forceMuteAll(sessionId, opts, callback) Forces all streams (except for an optional array of streams) in a session to mute published audio.
forceMuteStream(sessionId, streamId, callback) Force a specific stream in a session to mute audio.
generateToken(sessionId, options) Creates a token for connecting to an OpenTok session.
getArchive(archiveId, callback) Gets an Archive object for the given archive ID.
getBroadcast(broadcastId, callback) Returns information about a live streaming broadcast.
getRender(renderId, callback) Gets a Render object for the given render ID.
getStream(sessionId, options, callback) Gets info about a stream.
listArchives(options, callback) Retrieves a List of Archive objects, representing archives that are both completed and in-progress, for your API key.
listBroadcasts(options, callback) Retrieves a List of Broadcast objects, representing broadcasts that are both completed and in-progress, for your API key.
listRenders(options, callback) Retrieves a List of Render objects, representing any renders in the starting, started, stopped or failed state, for your API key.
listStreams(sessionId, callback) Retrieves a List of Stream objects, representing current streams in a session.
playDTMF(sessionId, connectionId, digits, callback) Send DTMF digits to all participants in an active OpenTok session or to a specific client connected to that session.
removeArchiveStream(archiveId, streamId, callback) Removes a stream from a composed archive that has the streamMode set to manual.
removeBroadcastStream(broadcastId, streamId, callback) Removes a stream from a broadcast that has the streamMode set to manual.
setArchiveLayout(archiveId, type, stylesheet, screenshareType, callback) Sets the layout type for a composed archive.
setBroadcastLayout(broadcastId, type, stylesheet, screenshareType, callback) Sets (or updates) the layout of the broadcast.
setStreamClassLists(sessionId, classListArray, callback) Sets the layout class list for streams in a session.
signal(sessionId, connectionId, payload, callback) Sends a signal to all the connections in a session or to a specific one.
startArchive(sessionId, options, callback) Starts archiving an OpenTok session.
startBroadcast(sessionId, options, callback) Starts a live streaming broadcast.
startRender(options, callback) Starts an Experience Composer for an OpenTok session.
stopArchive(archiveId, callback) Stops an OpenTok archive that is being recorded.
stopBroadcast(broadcastId, callback) Stops a live streaming broadcast.
stopRender(renderId, callback) Stops an Experience Composer that is being rendered.
websocketConnect(sessionId, token, websocketUri, options, callback) Sends audio from a Vonage Video API session to a WebSocket.

addArchiveStream(archiveId, streamId, archiveOptions, callback)

Adds a stream to an archive that has the streamMode set to manual. You can call the method repeatedly with the same stream ID, to toggle the stream's audio or video in the archive.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
archiveId String The archive ID.
streamId String The stream ID to add to archive.
archiveOptions Object An object that has these properties:
  • hasAudio — Whether the composed archive should include the stream's audio (true, the default) or not (false).
  • hasVideo — Whether the composed archive should include the stream's video (true, the default) or not (false).
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. One argument is passed to the function
  • error — An error object (if the call to the method fails).

addBroadcastStream(broadcastId, streamId, broadcastOptions, callback)

Adds a stream to a broadcast that has the streamMode set to manual. You can call the method repeatedly with the same stream ID, to toggle the stream's audio or video in the broadcast.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
broadcastId String The broadcast ID.
streamId String The stream ID to add to broadcast.
broadcastOptions Object An object that has these properties:
  • hasAudio — Whether the broadcast should include the stream's audio (true, the default) or not (false).
  • hasVideo — Whether the broadcast should include the stream's video (true, the default) or not (false).
callback function A callback method that takes two parameters: error, which is set to an Error object on error, and broadcast, which is set to a Broadcast object on success.

createSession(options, callback)

Creates a new OpenTok session. The session is passed as Session object into the callback function. The sessionId property is the session ID, which uniquely identifies the session. On error, an Error object is passed into the callback function.

For example, when using the OpenTok.js library, use the session ID when calling the OT.initSession() method (to initialize an OpenTok session).

OpenTok sessions do not expire. However, authentication tokens do expire (see the generateToken(String, TokenOptions) method). Also note that sessions cannot explicitly be destroyed.

A session ID string can be up to 255 characters long. You can also create a session using the OpenTok REST API or by logging in to your Vonage Video API account.

Parameters:
Name Type Description
options Object This object defines options for the session, including the following properties (both of which are optional):
  • location (String) — An IP address that the OpenTok servers will use to situate the session in the global OpenTok network. If you do not set a location hint, the OpenTok servers will be based on the first client connecting to the session.
  • e2ee (Boolean) — Determines whether to enable `end-to-end encryption for the OpenTok session. Set to "true" or "false".
  • mediaMode (String) — Determines whether the session will transmit streams using the OpenTok Media Router ("routed") or not ("relayed"). By default, the setting is "relayed".

    With the mediaMode parameter set to "relayed", the session will attempt to transmit streams directly between clients. If clients cannot connect due to firewall restrictions, the session uses the OpenTok TURN server to relay audio-video streams.

    The OpenTok Media Router provides the following benefits:

  • archiveMode (String) — Whether the session is automatically archived ("always") or not ("manual"). By default, the setting is "manual", and you must call the StartArchive() method of the OpenTok object to start archiving. To archive the session (either automatically or not), you must set the mediaMode parameter to "routed".
  • archiveName (String) — The name of the archives to be used in auto-archived sessions. The length of the archive name can be up to 80 chars. Due to encoding limitations the following special characters are translated to a colon (:) character: ~, -, _.
  • archiveResolution (Enum) — The resolution of archives in an auto-archived session. Valid values are "480x640", "640x480", "720x1280", "1280x720", "1080x1920", and "1920x1080".
    • The OpenTok Media Router can decrease bandwidth usage in multiparty sessions. (When the mediaMode parameter is set to "relayed", each client must send a separate audio-video stream to each client subscribing to it.)
    • The OpenTok Media Router can improve the quality of the user experience through audio fallback and video recovery. With these features, if a client's connectivity degrades to a degree that it does not support video for a stream it's subscribing to, the video is dropped on that client (without affecting other clients), and the client receives audio only. If the client's connectivity improves, the video returns.
    • The OpenTok Media Router supports the archiving feature, which lets you record, save, and retrieve OpenTok sessions.
callback function The function that is called when the operation completes. This function is passed two arguments:
  • error — On failiure, this parameter is set to an Error object. Check the error message for details. On success, this is set to null.
  • session — On sucess, this parameter is set to a Session object. The sessionId property of this object is session ID of the session. On error, this parameter is not set.

deleteArchive(archiveId, callback)

Deletes an OpenTok archive.

You can only delete an archive which has a status of "available" or "uploaded". Deleting an archive removes its record from the list of archives. For an "available" archive, it also removes the archive file, making it unavailable for download.

Parameters:
Name Type Description
archiveId String The archive ID of the archive you want to delete.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. On successfully deleting the archive, the function is called with no arguments passed in. On failure, an error object is passed into the function.

dial(sessionId, token, sipUri, options)

Dials a SIP gateway to input an audio-only stream into your OpenTok Session. Part of the SIP feature.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
sessionId The session ID corresponding to the session to which the user will connect.
token The token for the session ID with which the SIP user will use to connect.
sipUri The sip URI the SIP Interconnect feature will dial.
options Object An optional options object with the following properties (all of which are optional):

  • headers (Object) — Custom headers to be added to the SIP INVITE request iniated from OpenTok to the third-party SIP platform.
  • auth (Object) — The credentials to be used for HTTP Digest authentication in case this is required by the third-party SIP platform.
    • "username" -- The username to be used in the SIP INVITE.
    • "password" -- The password to be used in the SIP INVITE.
  • secure (Boolean) — Whether the SIP media streams should be transmitted encrypted or not.
  • from (String) — The number or string that will be sent to the final SIP number as the caller. It must be a string in the form of from@example.com, where from can be a string or a number. If from is set to a number (for example, "14155550101@example.com"), it will show up as the incoming number on PSTN phones. If from is undefined or set to a string (for example, "joe@example.com"), +00000000 will show up as the incoming number on PSTN phones.
  • video (Boolean) — A Boolean flag that indicates whether the SIP call will include video (true) or not (false, the default). With video included, the SIP client's video is included in the OpenTok stream that is sent to the OpenTok session. The SIP client will receive a dynamic composed video stream of the published streams in the OpenTok session. This is a beta feature.
  • observeForceMute (optional) Whether the SIP end point observes force mute action by other clients like moderators (true) or not (false, the default). See Muting the audio of streams in a session.
Returns:
A SipInterconnect object with the following properties:
  • id -- The unique conference ID of the SIP call
  • connectionId -- The connection ID of the audio-only stream representing the SIP call
  • streamId -- The stream ID of the audio-only stream representing the SIP call

disableForceMute(sessionId, callback)

Disables the active mute state of the session. After you call this method, new streams published to the session will no longer have audio muted.

After you call the OpenTok.forceMuteAll() method, any streams published after the call are published with audio muted. When you call the OpenTok.disableForceMute() method, future streams published to the session are not muted (but any existing muted streams remain muted).

Parameters:
Name Type Description
sessionId The session ID.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. One argument is passed to the function error — an error indicating the call failed. This is set to null if the call succeeds.

forceDisconnect(sessionId, connectionId, callback)

Disconnects a participant from an OpenTok session. This is the server-side equivalent to the forceDisconnect() method in OpenTok.js
Parameters:
Name Type Description
sessionId The session ID for the OpenTok session that the client you want to disconnect is connected to.
connectionId The connection ID of the client you want to disconnect.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. Two arguments are passed to the function:
  • error — An error object (if the call to the method fails).

forceMuteAll(sessionId, opts, callback)

Forces all streams (except for an optional array of streams) in a session to mute published audio.

In addition to existing streams, any streams that are published after the call to this method are published with audio muted. You can remove the mute state of a session by calling the OpenTok.disableForceMute() method.

Parameters:
Name Type Description
sessionId The session ID.
opts An object that contains the following properties:
  • excudedStreamIds (Array of strings) — An array of stream IDs to exlude from being muted. This is optional. If you do not set this property, all arrays in the session will be muted.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. One argument is passed to the function error — an error indicating the call failed. This is set to null if the call succeeds.

forceMuteStream(sessionId, streamId, callback)

Force a specific stream in a session to mute audio.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
sessionId String The session ID.
streamId String The stream ID.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. One argument is passed to the function error — an error indicating the call failed. This is set to null if the call succeeds.

generateToken(sessionId, options)

Creates a token for connecting to an OpenTok session. In order to authenticate a user connecting to an OpenTok session, the client passes a token when connecting to the session.

For testing, you can also generate a token by logging into your Vonage Video API account.

Parameters:
Name Type Description
sessionId The session ID corresponding to the session to which the user will connect.
options An object that defines options for the token (each of which is optional):
  • role (String) — The role for the token. Each role defines a set of permissions granted to the token:
    • 'subscriber' — A subscriber can only subscribe to streams.
    • 'publisher' — A publisher can publish streams, subscribe to streams, and signal. (This is the default value if you do not specify a role.)
    • 'moderator' — In addition to the privileges granted to a publisher, a moderator can perform moderation functions, such as forcing clients to disconnect, to stop publishing streams, or to mute audio in published streams. See the Moderation developer guide.
  • expireTime (Number) — The expiration time for the token, in seconds since the UNIX epoch. The maximum expiration time is 30 days after the creation time. If a fractional number is specified, then it is rounded down to the nearest whole number. The default expiration time of 24 hours after the token creation time.
  • data (String) — A string containing connection metadata describing the end-user.For example, you can pass the user ID, name, or other data describing the end-user. The length of the string is limited to 1000 characters. This data cannot be updated once it is set.
  • initialLayoutClassList (Array) — An array of class names (strings) to be used as the initial layout classes for streams published by the client. Layout classes are used in customizing the layout of videos in live streaming broadcasts and composed archives.
Returns:
The token string.

getArchive(archiveId, callback)

Gets an Archive object for the given archive ID.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
archiveId String The archive ID.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. Two arguments are passed to the function:
  • error — An error object (if the call to the method fails).
  • archive — The Archive object.

getBroadcast(broadcastId, callback)

Returns information about a live streaming broadcast.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
broadcastId String The ID of the broadcast.
callback function A callback method that takes two parameters: error, which is set to an Error object on error, and broadcast, which is set to a Broadcast object on success.

getRender(renderId, callback)

Gets a Render object for the given render ID.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
renderId String The render ID.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. Two arguments are passed to the function:
  • error — An error object (if the call to the method fails).
  • render — The Render object.

getStream(sessionId, options, callback)

Gets info about a stream. The stream must be an active stream in an OpenTok session.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
sessionId String The session ID of the OpenTok session containing the stream.
options String The stream ID.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. Two arguments are passed to the function:
  • error — An error object (if the call to the method fails). This is set to null if there is no error. Calling this method results in an error if you pass in an invalid stream ID or an invalid session ID.
  • stream — The Stream object. This object includes properties defining the stream. This is undefined if there is an error.

listArchives(options, callback)

Retrieves a List of Archive objects, representing archives that are both completed and in-progress, for your API key.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
options Object An options parameter with three properties:
  • count — The maximum number of archives to return. The default number of archives returned is 50 (or fewer, if there are fewer than 50 archives). The method returns a maximum of 1000 archives.
  • offset — The offset for the first archive to list (starting with the first archive recorded as offset 0). 1 is the offset of the archive that started prior to the most recent archive. This property is optional; the default is 0.
  • sessionId — Specify the ID of a session in order to retrieve archives specifically for that session. This property is optional. When no session ID is specified, then the method will return archives from any session created with your API key.

If you don't pass in an options argument, the method returns up to 1000 archives starting with the first archive recorded.

callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. Two arguments are passed to the function:
  • error — An error object (if the call to the method fails).
  • archives — An array of Archive objects.

listBroadcasts(options, callback)

Retrieves a List of Broadcast objects, representing broadcasts that are both completed and in-progress, for your API key.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
options Object An options parameter with three properties:
  • count — The maximum number of broadcasts to return. The default number of broadcasts returned is 50 (or fewer, if there are fewer than 50 broadcasts). The method returns a maximum of 1000 broadcasts.
  • offset — The offset for the first broadcast to list (starting with the first broadcast recorded as offset 0). 1 is the offset of the broadcast that started prior to the most recent broadcast. This property is optional; the default is 0.
  • sessionId — Specify the ID of a session in order to retrieve broadcasts specifically for that session. This property is optional. When no session ID is specified, then the method will return broadcasts from any session created with your API key.

If you don't pass in an options argument, the method returns up to 1000 broadcasts starting with the first broadcast recorded.

callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. Two arguments are passed to the function:
  • error — An error object (if the call to the method fails).
  • broadcasts — An array of Broadcast objects.

listRenders(options, callback)

Retrieves a List of Render objects, representing any renders in the starting, started, stopped or failed state, for your API key.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
options Object An options parameter with three properties:
  • count — The maximum number of renders to return. The default number of renders returned is 50 (or fewer, if there are fewer than 50 renders). The method returns a maximum of 1000 renders.
  • offset — The offset for the first render to list (starting with the first render recorded as offset 0). 1 is the offset of the render that started prior to the most recent render. This property is optional; the default is 0.
  • sessionId — Specify the ID of a session in order to retrieve renders specifically for that session. This property is optional. When no session ID is specified, then the method will return renders from any session created with your API key.

If you don't pass in an options argument, the method returns up to 1000 renders, starting with the first render recorded.

callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. Two arguments are passed to the function:
  • error — An error object (if the call to the method fails).
  • renders — An array of Render objects.

listStreams(sessionId, callback)

Retrieves a List of Stream objects, representing current streams in a session.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
sessionId String The session ID of the OpenTok session containing the streams.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. Two arguments are passed to the function:
  • error — An error object (if the call to the method fails). This is set to null if there is no error. Calling this method results in an error if you pass in an invalid session ID.
  • streams — An array of Stream objects. Each Stream object includes properties defining the stream. This is undefined if there is an error.

playDTMF(sessionId, connectionId, digits, callback)

Send DTMF digits to all participants in an active OpenTok session or to a specific client connected to that session.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
sessionId The session ID corresponding to the session that will receive the DTMF string.
connectionId The connection connection ID of the client you are sending the DTMF signal to. Leave this empty to send a DTMF signal to all clients connected to the session.
digits This is the string of DTMF digits to send. This can include 0-9, '*', '#', and 'p'. A p indicates a pause of 500ms (if you need to add a delay in sending the digits).
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. One argument is passed to the function:
  • error — An error object (if the call to the method fails). This is set to null if there is no error.

removeArchiveStream(archiveId, streamId, callback)

Removes a stream from a composed archive that has the streamMode set to manual.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
archiveId String The archive ID.
streamId String The stream ID to remove from the archive.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. An error is passed into the function if the call fails.

removeBroadcastStream(broadcastId, streamId, callback)

Removes a stream from a broadcast that has the streamMode set to manual.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
broadcastId String The broadcast ID.
streamId String The stream ID to remove from the broadcast.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. An error is passed into the function if the call fails.

setArchiveLayout(archiveId, type, stylesheet, screenshareType, callback)

Sets the layout type for a composed archive. For a description of layout types, see Customizing the video layout for composed archives.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
archiveId String The archive ID.
type String The layout type. Set this to "bestFit", "pip", "verticalPresentation", "horizontalPresentation", "focus", or "custom". For a description of these layout types, see Customizing the video layout for composed archives.
stylesheet String (Optional) The stylesheet for a custom layout. Set this parameter if you set type to "custom". Otherwise, leave it undefined or set to null.
screenshareType String (Optional) The layout type to use when there is a screen-sharing stream in the session. Note that to use this parameter, you must set the type parameter to "bestFit" and set the stylesheet parameter to null.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. Upon error, an error object is passed into the function. Upon success, the function is called with no error object passed in.

setBroadcastLayout(broadcastId, type, stylesheet, screenshareType, callback)

Sets (or updates) the layout of the broadcast. See Configuring video layout for OpenTok live streaming broadcasts.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
broadcastId String The ID of the broadcast.
type String The layout type. Set this to "bestFit", "pip", "verticalPresentation", "horizontalPresentation", "focus", or "custom". For a description of these layout types, see Configuring layout for OpenTok live streaming broadcasts.
stylesheet String (Optional) The stylesheet for a custom layout. Set this parameter if you set type to "custom". Otherwise, leave it undefined or set to null.
screenshareType String (Optional) The layout type to use when there is a screen-sharing stream in the session. Note that to use this parameter, you must set the type parameter to "bestFit" and set the stylesheet parameter to null.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. Upon error, an Error object is passed into the function. Upon success, the function is called with no Error object passed in.

setStreamClassLists(sessionId, classListArray, callback)

Sets the layout class list for streams in a session. Layout classes are used in the layout for composed archives and live streaming broadcasts. For more information, see Customizing the video layout for composed archives and Configuring video layout for OpenTok live streaming broadcasts.

You can set the initial layout class list for streams published by a client when you generate used by the client. See the OpenTok.generateToken() method.

Parameters:
Name Type Description
sessionId String The session ID of the session the streams belong to.
classListArray Array (Optional) An array defining the class lists to apply to streams. Each element in the array is an object with two properties: id and layoutClassList. The id property is the stream ID (a String), and the layoutClassList is an array of class names (Strings) to apply to the stream. Set layoutClassList to an empty array to clear the layout class list for a stream. For example, this streamClassArray array sets the layout class list for three streams:

const classListArray = [
  { id: '7b09ec3c-26f9-43d7-8197-f608f13d4fb6', layoutClassList: ['focus'] },
  { id: '567bc941-6ea0-4c69-97fc-70a740b68976', layoutClassList: ['top'] },
  { id: '307dc941-0450-4c09-975c-705740d08970', layoutClassList: ['bottom'] }
];
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. Upon error, an error object is passed into the function. Upon success, the function is called with no error object passed in.

signal(sessionId, connectionId, payload, callback)

Sends a signal to all the connections in a session or to a specific one.

Clients must be actively connected to the OpenTok session for you to successfully send a signal to them.

For more information, see the OpenTok signaling programming guide.

Parameters:
Name Type Description
sessionId The session ID of the OpenTok session where you want to send the signal.
connectionId The connection ID of a client connected to the session. Leave this empty if you want to send a signal to all connections in the session.
payload An object with optional data and type properties:

  • data — The data to send. The limit to the length of data string is 8kB. Do not set the data string to null or undefined.
  • type — The type of the signal. Clients can use the type to filter signals. The maximum length of the type string is 128 characters.
callback function The callback function invoked when the call to the method succeeds or fails. If the call fails, an error object is passed into the callback function.

startArchive(sessionId, options, callback)

Starts archiving an OpenTok session.

Clients must be actively connected to the OpenTok session for you to successfully start recording an archive.

You can only record one archive at a time for a given session. You can only record archives of sessions that uses the OpenTok Media Router (sessions with the media mode set to routed); you cannot archive sessions with the media mode set to relayed.

Parameters:
Name Type Description
sessionId The session ID of the OpenTok session to archive.
options Object An optional options object with the following properties (each of which is optional):

  • name (String) — the name of the archive, which you can use to identify the archive. The name is set as a property of the Archive object, and it is a property of archive-related events in the OpenTok client libraries.
  • hasAudio (Boolean) — Whether the archive will include an audio track (true) or not (false). The default value is true (an audio track is included). If you set both hasAudio and hasVideo to false, the call to the startArchive() method results in an error.
  • hasVideo (Boolean) — Whether the archive will include a video track (true) or (not false). The default value is true (a video track is included). If you set both hasAudio and hasVideo to false, the call to the startArchive() method results in an error.
  • outputMode (String) — Whether all streams in the archive are recorded to a single file ("composed", the default) or to individual files ("individual").
  • layout (Object) — An object defining the initial layout options for a composed archive. This object has three properties: type, stylesheet, and screenshareType, which are each strings. Set type to "bestFit", "pip", "verticalPresentation", "horizontalPresentation", or "custom". Set the stylesheet property if type is set to "custom", and set it to the stylesheet defining the custom layout. For example, set the layout object to { type: "pip" } to set the initial layout of the archive to picture-in-picture. Set the screenshareType property to the layout type to use when there is a screen-sharing stream in the session (This property is optional.) Note if you set the screenshareType property, you must set the type property to "bestFit" and leave the stylesheet property unset. For details, see Customizing the video layout for composed archives.
  • resolution (String) — For a composed archive, set this to the resolution of the archive. Valid values are "1280x720" or "640x480" (the default).
  • streamMode (optional) — The stream mode for the archive. This can be set to one of the the following:
    • "auto" — Streams included in the archive are selected automatically (the default).
    • "manual" — Specify streams to be included based on calls to the OpenTok.addArchiveStream() and OpenTok.removeArchiveStream() methods.
  • multiArchiveTag (String) — Set this to support recording multiple archives for the same session simultaneously. Set this to a unique string for each simultaneous archive of an ongoing session. You must also set this option when manually starting an archive that is automatically archived. Note that the multiArchiveTag value is not included in the response for the methods to list archives and retrieve archive information. If you do not specify a unique multiArchiveTag you can only record one archive at a time for a given session.
For more information on archiving and the archive file formats, see the OpenTok archiving programming guide.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. Two arguments are passed to the function:
  • error — An error object (if the call to the method fails).
  • archive — The Archive object. This object includes properties defining the archive, including the archive ID.

startBroadcast(sessionId, options, callback)

Starts a live streaming broadcast. See the live streaming broadcast developer guide.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
sessionId String The ID of the session to broadcast.
options Object An object with the following form:
{
   outputs: {
     hls: {
       dvr: false,
       lowLatency: false,
     },
     rtmp: [{
       id: "foo",
       serverUrl: "rtmp://myfooserver/myfooapp",
       streamName: "myfoostream"
     },
     {
       id: "bar",
       serverUrl: "rtmp://mybarserver/mybarapp",
       streamName: "mybarstream"
     }]
   },
   maxDuration: 5400,
   resolution: "640x480",
   layout: {
     type: "custom",
     stylesheet: "the layout stylesheet (only used with type == custom)",
     screenshareType: "the layout type to use when there is a screen-sharing stream (optional)"
   },
   streamMode: "manual"
 }

The options object includes the following properties:

  • outputs (required) — This object defines the types of broadcast streams you want to start. You can include HLS, RTMP, or both as broadcast streams. If you include RTMP streaming, you can specify up to five target RTMP streams (or just one).

    For HLS, include a single hls property in the outputs object. This object includes the following optional properties:

    • dvr (Boolean) — Whether to enable DVR functionality — rewinding, pausing, and resuming — in players that support it (true), or not (false, the default). With DVR enabled, the HLS URL will include a ?DVR query string appended to the end.
    • lowLatency (Boolean) — Whether to enable low-latency mode for the HLS stream. Some HLS players do not support low-latency mode. This feature is incompatible with DVR mode HLS broadcasts.
    The HLS URL is returned in the broadcastUrls as the hls property in the Broadcast object passed into the callback methods of the OpenTok#getBroadcast and OpenTok#listBroadcast methods.

    For each RTMP stream, specify serverUrl (the RTMP server URL), streamName (the stream name, such as the YouTube Live stream name or the Facebook stream key), and (optionally) id (a unique ID for the stream). If you specify an ID, it will be included as the id property of the Broadcast object passed into the callback methods of the startBroadcast() method and the OpenTok.getBroadcast() method. OpenTok streams the session to each RTMP URL you specify. Note that OpenTok live streaming supports RTMP and RTMPS.

  • maxDuration (optional) — The maximum duration for the broadcast, in seconds. The broadcast will automatically stop when the maximum duration is reached. You can set the maximum duration to a value from 60 (60 seconds) to 36000 (10 hours). The default maximum duration is 4 hours (14,400 seconds).
  • resolution (optional) — The resolution of the broadcast: either "640x480" (SD, the default) or "1280x720" (HD).
  • layout (optional) — Specify this to assign the initial layout type for the broadcast. This object has three properties: type, stylesheet, and screenshareType, which are each strings. Valid values for the type property are "bestFit" (best fit), "custom" (custom), "horizontalPresentation" (horizontal presentation), "pip" (picture-in-picture), and "verticalPresentation" (vertical presentation)). If you specify a "custom" layout type, set the stylesheet property of the layout object to the stylesheet. (For other layout types, do not set a stylesheet property.) If you do not specify an initial layout type, the broadcast stream uses the Best Fit layout type. Set the screenshareType property to the layout type to use when there is a screen-sharing stream in the session. (This property is optional.) Note if you set the screenshareType property, you must set the type property to "bestFit" and leave the stylesheet property unset. For more information, see Configuring video layout for OpenTok live streaming broadcasts.
  • streamMode (optional) — The stream mode for the broadcast. This can be set to one of the the following:
  • multiBroadcastTag (optional) — Set this to support multiple broadcasts for the same session simultaneously. Set this to a unique string for each simultaneous broadcast of an ongoing session. Note that the multiBroadcastTag value is not included in the response for the methods to list live streaming broadcasts and get information about a live streaming broadcast.
callback function A callback method that takes two parameters: error, which is set to an Error object on error, and broadcast, which is set to a Broadcast object on success.

startRender(options, callback)

Starts an Experience Composer for an OpenTok session. The Experience Composer instance is represented as a Render object. For more information, see the Experience Composer developer guide.

Clients must be actively connected to the OpenTok session for you to successfully start rendering a session.

Parameters:
Name Type Description
options Object An optional options object with the following properties (each of which is optional):

  • sessionId (String) — The ID of a session (generated with the same `APIKEY`as specified in the URL) which you wish to start rendering into
  • token (String) — A valid OpenTok token with a Publisher role and (optionally) connection data to be associated with the output stream.
  • url (String) — A publically reachable URL controlled by the customer and capable of generating the content to be rendered without user intervention.
  • properties (Object) — Initial configuration of Publisher properties for the composed output stream.
  • maxDuration (Number) — The maximum time allowed for the Render, in seconds. After this time, the Render will be stopped automatically, if it is still running.
  • resolution (String) — Resolution of the display area for the composition.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. Two arguments are passed to the function:
  • error — An error object (if the call to the method fails).
  • render — The Render object. This object includes properties defining the render, including the render ID.

stopArchive(archiveId, callback)

Stops an OpenTok archive that is being recorded.

Archives automatically stop recording after 120 minutes or when all clients have disconnected from the session being archived.

You cannot stop an archive that is not being recorded.

Parameters:
Name Type Description
archiveId String The archive ID of the archive you want to stop recording.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. Two arguments are passed to the function:
  • error — An error object (if the call to the method fails).
  • archive — The Archive object.
Returns:
The Archive object corresponding to the archive being STOPPED.

stopBroadcast(broadcastId, callback)

Stops a live streaming broadcast.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
broadcastId String The ID of the broadcast.
callback function A callback method that takes two parameters: error, which is set to an Error object on error, and broadcast, which is set to a Broadcast object on success.

stopRender(renderId, callback)

Stops an Experience Composer that is being rendered.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
renderId String The ID of the render you want to stop rendering.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. Two arguments are passed to the function:
  • error — An error object (if the call to the method fails).
  • render — The Render object.
Returns:
The Archive object corresponding to the archive being STOPPED.

websocketConnect(sessionId, token, websocketUri, options, callback)

Sends audio from a Vonage Video API session to a WebSocket. See the Audio Connector developer guide.
Parameters:
Name Type Description
sessionId String (required) The OpenTok session ID that includes the OpenTok streams you want to include in the WebSocket stream
token String (required) The OpenTok token to be used for the Audio Streamer connection to the. OpenTok session. You can add token data to identify that the connection is the Audio Streamer endpoint or for other identifying data
websocketUri String (required) A publicly reachable WebSocket URI to be used for the destination of the audio stream (such as "wss://service.com/ws-endpoint").
options Object An optional options object with the following properties (all of which are optional):

  • streams (Array) — An array of stream IDs for the OpenTok streams you want to include in the WebSocket stream. If you omit this property, all streams in the session will be included.
  • headers (Object) — An object of key-value pairs of headers to be sent to your WebSocket server with each message, with a maximum length of 512 bytes.
callback function The function to call upon completing the operation. Upon error, an error object is passed in as the first parameter of the function. Upon success, the function is called with no error object passed in (as the first parameter) and the second parameter is an object with the following properties:
  • id -- A unique ID identifying the Audio Streamer WebSocket connection.
  • connectionId -- The OpenTok connection ID for the Audio Streamer WebSocket connection in the OpenTok session.