5 Built-in Features Included with Whereby Embedded

Hunting for a video call API? You’ll want to make sure that you get great video features to engage call participants and bring every meeting to life. 

Real-time communications APIs are some of the most sought-after types of APIs. And for good reason. Developers shouldn’t build video call functionality themselves—unless of course, you want to spend years doing this instead of building the intellectual property most essential to your business. (And no one wants that.)

With various video call APIs on the market, you need to be selective when it comes to vetting features. We’ll be blunt here: some companies include the following features in their video call API, but they are add-ons that come at an extra cost. With Whereby Embedded, you get all of these engaging features along with the cost of our API. You can add quality video calls to your application in days, not years.

1. Breakout Groups

What this feature is: 

Breakout Groups allow your meeting participants to chat with each other in pairs or small groups. The feature works in a couple of different ways. When it’s time for discussion, you can automatically assign participants into a set number of breakout rooms evenly. Or, you can name the breakout rooms and allow participants to choose which room they want to take part in. 

Why it’s great:

More and more meetings, activities, and events have moved online. But people still want to interact with each other. With Breakout Groups, people can come together in small groups easily to brainstorm using the Miro Whiteboard feature (discussed below) or talk more in-depth about the overall purpose of the meeting or event. This feature is great for company meetings, classes, or small events. 

Learn more about Breakout Groups.

2. Screen share

What this feature is: Screen Sharing is, of course, exactly what it sounds like. Share your screen to show other meeting participants anything you’d like from your computer. You might want to share a presentation, or point to a website, or highlight a specific paragraph in a shared document that everyone is collaborating on. 

Why it’s great: With Screen Sharing, you can show instead of tell, which reduces the potential for confusion. Point out exactly what you’re talking about on a certain image, web page, or document. This feature also helps make online video meetings engaging and interesting. It’s an important feature that users will expect, so make sure to choose a video call API that includes this. 

Learn more about Screen sharing. 

3. Picture in Picture

What this feature is: Picture in Picture ensures that video call users can still see the other people in the meeting when needing to browse on the internet or open up an application on their device. Think of Picture in Picture as the little box of people that you can move about your screen while opening up other tabs and apps. 

Why it’s great: Multi-tasking during a meeting is generally not advised. But when it comes to online video meetings, multi-tasking is sometimes needed when you’re giving a presentation. For example, while chatting with a team member, they might ask you to share a brief or another asset. Or during an online class, a student might want to pull up the syllabus online in order to ask a specific question about it. With Picture in Picture, you can be engaged in the online meeting while finding anything else you might need. 

Learn more about Picture in Picture.

4. Background Effects

What this feature is: Background Effects are virtual backgrounds that anyone can use to present their best selves during a meeting. With Whereby, you can pick simple backgrounds such as a solid color, a concrete wall, or wood paneling. Or, you can blur out your real background to soften the details. 

Why it’s great: Not everyone has a picture-perfect background at all times. Some people might not feel comfortable sharing their backgrounds. So, using Background Effects makes your online meetings less distracting and more comfortable for everyone. There’s no need to share your bedroom or local coffee shop if you don’t want to!

Learn more about Background Effects.

5. Miro Whiteboard

What this feature is: Our users asked for video meetings with whiteboards and we delivered. We partnered up with Miro to make it happen. Inside of any meeting, you can create a whiteboard and collaborate together with notes, shapes, and annotations. You don’t need a paid Miro account to do this. It’s included with your Whereby Embedded subscription. 

Why it’s great: Whiteboards are one of the things that people miss the most about in-person meetings. With Miro, you can have a digital whiteboard where multiple people can add notes and ideas. This increases clarity and understanding during the meeting, while also improving engagement through a highly visual and interactive experience. When meetings are clear, interesting, and effective, everybody wins. Plus, you can even save the whiteboards after the meetings to catch up on what was discussed anytime, anywhere. 

Learn more about using Miro inside of Whereby.

There are major differences in the video APIs on the market. Look for video call features that will increase meeting participation, productivity, and clarity. Creative features can help meetings feel as IRL as possible—but without the commute. 

Get Started with Whereby Embedded for free here!