Room Service

Set up a room and manage members, streams, and chat. Some typical uses for rooms include:

Broadcast video chats between multiple people - few to many
Large-scale video chat
Conference calls with integrated video chat
Real-time web channels for hosting media content. See View a Channel with the Express API
Town hall meetings

To get started, create a room of the type associated with your need.

Initializing

First you will need to initialize a room service object. This object is used for joining and leaving a room. Also use this object for managing the room you enter (active room), members, and the model of your Self.

Note: PCast™ must be initialized and started when invoking createRoomService so that a valid session ID is present.

Java

import android.content.Context;
 
import com.phenixrts.environment.android.AndroidContext;
import com.phenixrts.pcast.PCast;
import com.phenixrts.room.RoomService;
import com.phenixrts.room.RoomServiceFactory;
 
// IMPORTANT: Before accessing any of the static factories, make sure the context is passed to Phenix:
final Context context = ...;  // e.g. Activity.getApplication();
AndroidContext.setContext(context);
 
final PCast pcast = ...;  // previously obtained
final RoomService roomService = RoomServiceFactory.createRoomService(pcast);

Initializing Parameters

Name	Type	Description
pcast (required)	PCast	Instantiated PCast™ object. Must already be authenticated

RoomService

Name	Signature	Returns	Description
leaveRoom	(callback)	void	See Leave a Room
getSelf	()	Observable of Member)	Observable of self member
getObservableActiveRoom	()	Observable of Room)	Observable of the active room

Instantiate Self Member Model

Before entering a room the RoomService must have a valid model of the Self member. The Self member model may be updated at any time by changing observable values and calling commitChanges. See Update Self Model.

Update Self Model

Broadcast local changes of the Self model to all the members in the room. These changes are sent to our server which forwards the changes to all members in the room. This works whether or not you are currently in a room.

Java

import com.phenixrts.common.RequestStatus;
import com.phenixrts.room.Member;
import com.phenixrts.room.MemberRole;
import com.phenixrts.room.RoomService;
 
final RoomService roomService = ...;  // previously obtained
final Member selfMember = roomService.getSelf();
 
selfMember.getObservableScreenName().setValue("My New Screen Name");
selfMember.getObservableRole().setValue(MemberRole.AUDIENCE);
 
// Commit changes to self if already in a room
selfMember.commitChanges((RequestStatus status, String message) -> {
  if (status == RequestStatus.OK) {
    // Successfully updated self
  } else {
    // Handle error
  }
});

To undo uncommitted local changes, use reload:

Java

import com.phenixrts.room.Member;
import com.phenixrts.room.MemberRole;
import com.phenixrts.room.RoomService;
 
final RoomService roomService = ...;  // previously obtained
final Member selfMember = roomService.getSelf();
 
selfMember.getObservableScreenName().setValue("My New Screen Name");
selfMember.getObservableRole().setValue(MemberRole.AUDIENCE);
 
// Decided to undo changes
selfMember.reload();

Update Self Callback Arguments

Name	Type	Description
status	RequestStatus	The status of the operation
message	String	Error message, if applicable

Set Self Streams

The self model must have at least one stream when joining the room as any member role besides Audience.

Java

import com.phenixrts.room.Member;
import com.phenixrts.room.RoomService;
import com.phenixrts.room.Stream;
import com.phenixrts.room.StreamType;
import com.phenixrts.room.TrackState;
 
final RoomService roomService = ...;  // previously obtained
final Member selfMember = roomService.getSelf();
 
final Stream selfStream = roomService.createStream(
    "http://myuri.stream", StreamType.USER, TrackState.ENABLED, TrackState.ENABLED);
 
selfMember.getObservableStreams().setValue(new Stream[] {selfStream});
 
// Now commit changes

Set Self Streams Parameters

Name	Type	Description
uri (required)	String	Unique identifier for stream.
type (required)	StreamType	Type of stream - see Stream Types
audioState (required)	TrackState	State of the audio track - see Stream Track States
videoState (required)	TrackState	State of the video track - see Stream Track States

After entering a room you may use the active room to get the observable members and associated metadata. Here we provide an example for accessing each member's streams whenever the list of members is updated. Remember: Since each observable behaves like a Behavior Rx Subject, your subscriber will always get called back immediately with the current value (in this case the list of members), see Observable.

Java

import com.phenixrts.common.Disposable;
import com.phenixrts.common.Observable;
import com.phenixrts.common.RequestStatus;
import com.phenixrts.room.Member;
import com.phenixrts.room.Room;
import com.phenixrts.room.RoomService;
import com.phenixrts.room.Stream;
 
final RoomService roomService = ...;  // previously obtained
 
final Observable<Room> observableActiveRoom = roomService.getObservableActiveRoom();
 
// For this simple example, we assume that there is an active room.
// In a production environment, this can return null if we have not currently joined a room. In that case
// you would want to listen as a subscriber on the 'observableActiveRoom' for updates
final Room activeRoom = observableActiveRoom.getValue();
final Observable<Member[]> observableMembers = activeRoom.getObservableMembers();
 
final Disposable subscription = observableMembers.subscribe((change) -> {
  final Member[] currentMembers = (Member[])change;
  for (Member member : currentMembers) {
    final Stream[] currentStreams = member.getObservableStreams().getValue();
    // Now do something with this member's streams
  }
});
 
// The subscription will remain active for as long as 'subscription' is kept alive or not disposed

Update Room Model

Broadcast local changes of the Room model to all the members in the room. These changes are sent to our server which forwards the changes to all members in the room.

Java

import com.phenixrts.common.RequestStatus;
import com.phenixrts.room.Room;
import com.phenixrts.room.RoomService;
 
final RoomService roomService = ...;  // previously obtained
 
final Room room = roomService.getObservableActiveRoom().getValue();
 
room.getObservableDescription().setValue("My New Room Description");
room.commitChanges((RequestStatus status, String message) -> {
  if (status == RequestStatus.OK) {
    // Successfully updated room
  } else {
    // Handle error (`message` may provide more information about what went wrong)
  }
});

Update Room Parameters

Name	Type	Description
callback (required)	Room.CommitCallback	Callback with the status of the request

Update Room Callback Arguments

Name	Type	Description
status	RequestStatus	The status of the operation
message	String	Error message, if applicable

Update Room Callback Status Codes

Status	Description
ok	Update room succeeded
varies	Update room failed for other reasons

Leave a Room

Leave the current active room. Self is not modified.

Java

import com.phenixrts.common.RequestStatus;
import com.phenixrts.room.Room;
import com.phenixrts.room.RoomService;
 
final RoomService roomService = ...;  // previously obtained
 
roomService.leaveRoom((RoomService roomService, RequestStatus status) -> {
  if (status == RequestStatus.OK) {
    // Successfully left room, no action required
  } else {
    // Handle error
  }
});

Leave Room Parameters

Name	Type	Description
callback (required)	RoomService.LeaveRoomCallback	Callback with the status of the request

Leave Room Callback Arguments

Name	Type	Description
roomService	RoomService	The room service making the callback
status	RequestStatus	The status of the operation

Leave Room Callback Status Codes

Status	Description
ok	Leave room succeeded
varies	Leave room failed for other reasons

Observe Room size

Subscribe to observable to receive periodic room size updates. The room size corresponds to the total number of members currently in the room, which does include audience members.

This is a so called cold observable, which means that you may not immediately receive an update. It also means that both getValue and setValue methods will cause a failure.

Updates will be provided for as long as the disposable reference is kept alive.

Java

import com.phenixrts.common.Disposable;
import com.phenixrts.room.ImmutableRoom;
 
final ImmutableRoom room = ...  // previously obtained
 
final Disposable disposable = room.getObservableEstimatedSize().subscribe((change) -> {
  final Long currentEstimatedRoomSize = (Long) change;
  // E.g. update UI
});

Room Model

The following details technical specifications for the Room, Members, and Streams.

ImmutableRoom

Name	Signature	Returns	Description
getRoomId	()	String	The room ID
getObservableAlias	()	Observable(of String)	Observable of room alias
getObservableName	()	Observable(of String)	Observable of room name
getObservableDescription	()	Observable(of String)	Observable of room description
getObservableType	()	Observable(of RoomType)	Observable of room type
getObservableMembers	()	Observable(of Member[])	Observable of array of visible members in the room
getObservableBridgeId	()	Observable(of String)	Observable of room bridgeId
getObservablePin	()	Observable(of String)	Observable of room pin
getObservableEstimatedSize	()	Observable(of Long)	Observable of estimated room size. This is a cumulative count of all members in the room, including audience members

Room

Room extends ImmutableRoom

Name	Signature	Returns	Description
commitChanges	(Room.CommitCallback)	void	Attempts to update server room model with any changes made locally
reload	()	void	Reverts all local changes to the server room model

Room Types

Type	Description
RoomType.DIRECT_CHAT	One to one chat
RoomType.MULTI_PARTY_CHAT	Many to many or few to many chat
RoomType.MODERATED_CHAT	Moderated chat with integrated SIP Bridge for conferencing abilities (join by phone).
RoomType.TOWN_HALL	Chat with a few active participants or presenters and many audience or inactive participants
RoomType.CHANNEL	View only room with a single active member at a time. Broadcast content to many viewers.

Member

Name	Signature	Returns	Description
getSessionId	()	String	The session ID of the member in the room
getObservableRole	()	Observable(of MemberRole)	Observable of member role
getObservableState	()	Observable(of MemberState)	Observable of member state
getObservableScreenName	()	Observable(of String)	Observable of member screen name
getObservableStreams	()	Observable(of Stream[])	Observable of array of streams belonging to the member
getObservableLastUpdate	()	Observable(of Date)	Observable of utc timestamp
commitChanges	(Member.CommitCallback)	void	Attempts to update server member model with any changes made locally
reload	()	void	Reverts all local changes to the server member model

Member Roles

Role	Description
MemberRole.PARTICIPANT	Member with streams and is visible to all members
MemberRole.AUDIENCE	Member with no streams and is not visible to other members
MemberRole.PRESENTER	Presenter participant member
MemberRole.MODERATOR	Privileged participant member

Member States

Role	Description
MemberState.ACTIVE	Member is active
MemberState.PASSIVE	Member is not active
MemberState.HAND_RAISED	Member is requesting to become active
MemberState.INACTIVE	Member is not away
MemberState.OFFLINE	Member has left the room

Stream

The stream object may be used to represent any value that will be shared between all members.

Name	Signature	Returns	Description
getUri	()	String	The stream uri (may or may not be associated with phenix stream ID)
getType	()	StreamType	The stream type
getObservableAudioState	()	Observable(of TrackState)	Observable of stream video state
getObservableVideoState	()	Observable(of TrackState)	Observable of stream audio state

Stream Types

Type	Description
StreamType.USER	General purpose stream
StreamType.PRESENTATION	Privileged stream
StreamType.AUDIO	Audio-only stream

Stream Track States

State	Description
TrackState.ENABLED	Track is enabled
TrackState.DISABLED	Track is disabled
TrackState.ENDED	Track has ended

Page Content

v2025-03-24T21:12:24.000Z

Room Service

Initializing#Copied URL

Initializing Parameters#Copied URL

RoomService#Copied URL

Instantiate Self Member Model#Copied URL

Update Self Model#Copied URL

Update Self Callback Arguments#Copied URL

Set Self Streams#Copied URL

Set Self Streams Parameters#Copied URL

Subscribe to Room Member Streams#Copied URL

Update Room Model#Copied URL

Update Room Parameters#Copied URL

Update Room Callback Arguments#Copied URL

Update Room Callback Status Codes#Copied URL

Leave a Room#Copied URL

Leave Room Parameters#Copied URL

Leave Room Callback Arguments#Copied URL

Leave Room Callback Status Codes#Copied URL

Observe Room size#Copied URL

Room Model#Copied URL

ImmutableRoom#Copied URL

Room#Copied URL

Room Types#Copied URL

Member#Copied URL

Member Roles#Copied URL

Member States#Copied URL

Stream#Copied URL

Stream Types#Copied URL

Stream Track States#Copied URL

Initializing

Initializing Parameters

RoomService

Instantiate Self Member Model

Update Self Model

Update Self Callback Arguments

Set Self Streams

Set Self Streams Parameters

Subscribe to Room Member Streams

Update Room Model

Update Room Parameters

Update Room Callback Arguments

Update Room Callback Status Codes

Leave a Room

Leave Room Parameters

Leave Room Callback Arguments

Leave Room Callback Status Codes

Observe Room size

Room Model

ImmutableRoom

Room

Room Types

Member

Member Roles

Member States

Stream

Stream Types

Stream Track States