Introducing Cloud Recordings in Digital Samba Embedded (Meetings)

We are proud to present the arrival of cloud recordings in our Digital Samba Embedded Meetings product. You can now record your meetings directly on our servers and have them stored on our secure infrastructure for later retrieval.

Quick reminder: The Digital Samba Embedded Meetings product is a prebuilt video conferencing solution that allows you to embed and launch a full-featured video meeting using our API or our recently launched SDK.

You don’t need to worry about implementing the intricate details involved with video conferencing software - we took care of that for you. 

How to get started

The cloud recording feature is controlled by a Team setting, which controls the default behaviour for new sessions and determines whether access to the recording feature is granted, or not.

We retained the ability to override the team setting at the session level, allowing for fine-tuned control, should the need arise. And of course, you can control both the team- and the session- setting via the API.

When you enable cloud recordings, you will see the following UI elements in the room:

• A recording button appears in the main menu bar.

• A confirmation dialogue is shown to the user who initiates a recording. The initiating user also sees progress messages while the recording is starting up.

• All users see a clear visual indicator while a session is being recorded.

The dashboard has been updated to include a recordings section, containing a list of all recordings. Users can then manage their recordings as follows:

• Download the MP4 recording file directly to their computer.
• Play the recording directly in the browser (if supported by the browser).
• Copy a link to the MP4 recording file (which copies the “play” link to the clipboard).
• Delete the recording, which deletes the entry and purges the MP4 file from our servers.

The links are generated on-demand and expire after 24 hours. The above features are also available in the API.

Pricing

Digital Samba cloud recordings are priced in two parts: creation and storage.

1. Creation

The first part is straightforward. While a recording is running, you pay €0.013 per completed minute. It doesn’t matter how many people are in the session. This is purely the cost incurred while creating the recording.

2. Storage 

The second part is a little more nuanced, but it gives you flexibility. It is a monthly storage charge, where the month is aligned with your billing period.

So if your billing period starts on the 9th of the month, then the monthly billing period ends at 23:59 UTC on the 8th of the next month. Let’s call this the billing month. It doesn’t matter if your contractual billing period is quarterly or annually, you will be charged monthly.

At the end of the billing month, we charge you €0.003 per minute of recordings that are stored on our servers. If you want to avoid this charge, you simply have to make sure to delete your recordings from our servers before the next billing month.

Any recordings that are in progress while the billing month rolls over are not counted as stored minutes, and you are not charged for storage of those minutes.

Note that we do not force you to store your recordings on our servers. You are free to download your recordings and host them where you wish.

But if you do leave them on our servers, you can rest assured that they are kept safe, using industry standards that adhere to the strictest regulations, including the GDPR.

Conclusion

Cloud recordings allow you to record your meetings in real-time. They capture all session activity from the point of view of a participant, preventing disclosure of private information.

Post-processing is swift, and recordings are generally available for consumption a few minutes after you stop the recording. Recordings are provided in the popular MP4 format, unlike some competitors which produce less compatible WebM files. You can easily access management features via the dashboard or via the API.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop us a line.