September Monthly Release Round-Up

New
2 min read
Emily N.
Emily N.
Published September 30, 2024

As September comes to a close, we thought we'd recap all of the exciting new features and improvements we made across Stream Video, Chat, Feeds, and Moderation this month.

Improved Video Calling & Usage-by-Bandwidth Tracking in the Dashboard 🎥

Thanks to Dynascale, Stream automatically detects the displayed video resolution and adjusts based on CPU and network conditions to ensure you get the best possible quality while lowering your costs and improving the overall video calling experience.

Our latest update to the Stream Video dashboard makes it easier than ever to monitor your video performance and bandwidth usage!

You can now view livestreaming and Standard Definition (SD) usage directly on the charts, giving you better insights into your streaming trends. We've also introduced bandwidth usage tracking, so you can easily assess how much data your streams are consuming.

To explore these new features, simply head over to the Video and Audio -> Usage section of your dashboard.

NEW! Dynamic Partitioning for Live Events Chat & Block User API 💬

Introducing dynamic partitioning, a new feature that enhances user experience during live streamed events by reducing noise in channels with large audiences. When thousands of participants are watching and messaging simultaneously, it can be overwhelming to keep up. Dynamic partitioning solves this by automatically dividing the audience into smaller virtual partitions, where users interact only with those within their partition.

Key Benefits of Dynamic Partitioning:

  • Reduced noise: Split large audiences into smaller virtual partitions for more focused interactions.
  • Improved engagement: Group users into smaller, balanced partitions for more meaningful conversations.
  • Configurable settings: Adjust partition sizes and capacities to suit your event's needs.
  • Real-time interactions: Ensure participants can still send and receive messages freely without being overwhelmed by message volume.

We are also excited to announce our new Block User APIs available on React Native v5.36.1, iOS v4.59.0 and Android v6.4.1 and being gradually rolled out to all our SDKs! These APIs provide developers and app creators with a robust and straightforward solution to safeguard users from harassment, toxicity, and other harmful behaviors. Here's what you can expect:

  • User Blocking Capabilities: Allow users to block others, preventing unwanted contact, including private messages, group channel invitations, and push notifications from blocked users.
  • Reversible Actions: Users can unblock others, providing flexibility and control over their interactions.
  • Seamless Integration: Our backend handles everything automatically, ensuring compatibility across all SDKs without needing updates.
  • Easy Implementation: We provide sample components to facilitate smooth and quick integration into your apps.

For more detailed information, check out our documentation.

Simplify UGC Moderation Within Activity Feeds 📲

Our efforts are currently focused on moderation for Activity Feeds, ensuring that you have the tools needed to maintain a safe and engaging environment. We plan to introduce enhanced moderation capabilities such as shadow blocking and content removal, giving you even more control over the content in your feeds. These features will ensure that moderation is both effective and seamless, providing a better user experience across the board!

Community Content

  • Explore Server-Driven UI, dynamic layouts, action handlers, and component versioning—all from the backend.
  • GStreamer is a powerful and versatile framework for video streaming and media processing, learn to use it with Stream.
  • Build a chat app with Swift and UIKit supporting offline mode, media attachments, threads, & emoji reactions!
  • Why reinvent the wheel when you can use a UI library? We've rounded up our top five free choices for React.

We love hearing your feedback, so don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or suggestions. Drop us a note at product@getstream.io.

Integrating Video with your App?
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