What Front‑End Developers Need to Know About Web Audio/Video and WebRTC in 2020

When the 2020 pandemic erupted, video‑based online products surged, thrusting web audio/video development into the spotlight. IMWeb invited Javen, a senior engineer and 2020 IMWeb Conf speaker, to share his perspective on today’s front‑end audio/video landscape.

IMWeb: How many IMWeb CONF have you experienced? Javen: I’ve been with the team for two years and attended two conferences, but I followed four before joining.

IMWeb: Any message for the 2020 IMWeb CONF? Javen: The conference is packed with practical content; you’ll definitely gain valuable insights.

IMWeb: Advice for soon‑to‑graduate front‑end students? Javen: Front‑end may seem simple, yet “big front‑end” spans many domains; you need both breadth and depth, and continuous learning and practice will accelerate your growth.

IMWeb: Many consider web front‑end audio/video niche—has it become mainstream? Javen: It’s not just the technology itself; more users now consume video media directly in browsers thanks to 4G/5G, short videos, and live streams. As demand grows, browsers evolve, cloud providers adapt, and more developers invest in web audio/video, making it far from niche.

IMWeb: What challenges did you face in web audio/video practice in 2020? Javen: The pandemic created both challenges and opportunities. We needed to support millions of students simultaneously on a web platform, ensuring real‑time voice and video interaction. I’ll later share how we selected front‑end live‑stream solutions and combined WebRTC with other streaming technologies.

IMWeb: Your view on WebRTC? Javen: I’m a strong advocate. WebRTC enables real‑time audio/video communication in browsers and offers a cross‑platform solution. Although it’s been around for a decade, large‑scale commercial adoption is recent. Front‑end developers can use it without deep media‑transport knowledge, but it remains complex, and cost and upgrade considerations must be evaluated.

IMWeb: What are the future trends for web audio/video? Javen: I follow cloud vendors’ roadmaps; they focus on three pillars: faster, cheaper, smarter. WebRTC already provides sub‑100 ms latency, the fastest option, though it can be pricier than CDN streaming. Cloud providers are building low‑cost, low‑latency WebRTC services. Smarter solutions will combine WebAssembly and AI for face detection, beauty filters, super‑resolution, etc., enabling seamless web‑based education, meetings, healthcare, and gaming.