Virtual Conference Resources

This repository contains resources for organizers of virtual conferences.

The background to this repository is that the foss-north 2020 conference had to go virtual due to the COVID-19 situation during the spring of 2020. The repository is split into a general description of the foss-north setup, and links to various tools that can be used.

Pull requests are welcome!

The foss-north Setup

You can find out about the foss-north setup in a separate page.

Tools

This list of tools is split into open source and closed source alternatives.

Video Conferencing

For sharing screens, video streams, and audio

Open Source

• Jitsi - open-source video conferencing. See installation instructions for self-hosting.
• BigBlueButton - open-source video conferencing.

Closed Source

• Zoom - powerful video conferencing tools with clients for most platforms.

Q&A

For audience interaction such as QA, polls, etc

Open Source

• Nextcloud Polls - self-hosted polls.

Closed Source

• sli.do - conference QA and polling service.

Video Broadcasting Software

Software for live streaming videos - for services, see next category

Open Source

• Open Broadcaster Software - broadcasting and recording software with a range of input modules. Plugin based with a large set of community plugins. Supports multiple streaming platforms.

Closed Source

Video Broadcasting Platforms

Platforms for live video streaming - for client software, see previous category

Open Source

• Open Streaming Platform - a self-hosted alternative to services like Twitch.tv, Ustream.tv, and Youtube Live.

Closed Source

• YouTube - the world's largest video hosting service.

Media Editing

For editing videos

Open Source

• Kdenlive - powerful non-linear video editor. Can generate rendering scripts, to distribute rendering to other machines.
• Audacity - powerful audio editor / recorder. Can be used to fix sound in video recordings. Look for noise reduction filter, but also the compressor to fix noise and volume issues.

Closed Source

• Auphonic - automated audio postproduction tool.

Video Publishing

For publishing videos for non-live consumption

Open Source

• PeerTube - open source video hosting platform.
• ConfTube - PeerTube instance focused on open source conferences.

Closed Source

• YouTube - the world's largest video hosting service.
• Vimeo - video hosting service.