Abstract: An overlay network platform facilitates a multi-party conference. End users participate in the conference using client-based web browser software. According to this disclosure, an enhanced “audio” experience for a user participating in the conference is provided by rendering different participants' audio in the conference at different positions in a three-dimensional (3D) space. In operation, and given a set of audio streams that comprise the conference and that are being received, a three-dimensional (3D) position for each audio stream in a 3D soundscape is computed. In one embodiment, the 3D position for each audio stream is computed by identifying a target area region of space, and then determining the 3D position for each stream in the target area region of space. The relative 3D positions may be determined based on contextual information related to the content of an audio stream, as well as a computed “relevance” of one stream versus another.

Abstract: An overlay network platform facilitates a multi-party videoconference. End users participate using client-based browser or mobile application rendering software, such as a web browser, and using a protocol such as WebRTC. Dynamic speaker selection among the participants is facilitated by continuously determining the “relevance” of a participant's stream with respect to other participants in the conference. Thus, for example, a particular participant stream might be deemed to have a higher relevance if it is the stream corresponding to a person that is currently speaking, that has spoken recently, or that is about to speak. Streams with higher relevance are then selectively delivered at higher quality relative to less relevant streams. Preferably, individual client machines determine which streams are requested and at which quality based in part on their local resource capabilities.