Webinar Software

[Neville Bailey]

I am on the lookout for good and affordable (preferably free) Webinar software.

The obvious option is GoToWebinar, but the price tag is rather steep - $99 per month.

I have tested two free options, join.me and AnyMeeting, but they are both very slow compared to GoToWebinar.

I have also had a look at the Presentation mode of TeamViewer (I have a licensed version) and it is even faster than GoToWebinar, but it only allows up to 3 concurrent attendees.

Can anyone recommend any other alternatives? My Googling attempts have not yielded anything else worthwhile.

[irneb]

Have you perhaps tried mikogo? I've been put onto it as it's one of the very few cross-platform systems (i.e. M$ / Mac / Linux). Though I've not used it yet in a production environment, only a few tests - doesn't seem too slow, but of course that depends on your data connection.

[Neville Bailey]

Thanks very much for that link, irneb!

I've just had a look at it and played with it live, and I am very impressed with it.

There are a host of features and settings and the speed is outstanding (I tested it between two laptops with Vodacom 3G modems).

The only downside is that there is a limitation of 10 participants to a webinar, but I can live with that for now. I will be happy to get that many concurrent participants and, if the interest grows, then I should be in a position to pay for the GoToMeeting application.

[irneb]

Yep, I don't think you're going to find a "decent" webinar software for a multitude of participants if you aren't going to pay for it. BTW, that mikogo is the "community based" version of BeamYourScreen ... which is not exactly "cheap" at all.

[Neville Bailey]

I've just picked another downside with Mikogo - it does not have VOIP.

However, that's not a train smash - I could always run Skype in tandem with Mikogo, which means that my participants would first need to become Skype contacts with me.

[irneb]

Yes, that's also my biggest gripe with them. The main reason I'm not using it in our production environment. We tend to have a "conference" call-like session between 2 (perhaps 3) offices, each in a conference room with projectors. With this software we still need to make the call as well, and doing so internationally isn't the least pricey thing in the world!

Actually I was looking for a server-less software (i.e. don't need to login to their server) to do this (video + voice + screen/file share), though have yet to find something capable which won't cost the earth. You may also want to look at other alternatives: http://www.voip-news.com/feature/10-...-tools-111407/

Edit: And I've been put off Skype as they were bought out by M$ a few months back. That just makes me think their quality's going down hill at pace!

[janettfung]

You may want to try RHUB webinar appliance (http://www.rhubcom.com/). It is a more affordable alternative to GoToWebinar but with similar quality service

[davidwarner]

Have you tried using gomeetnow web conferencing software? Try it out. It is very easy to use and fits your budget; costs only, $12.95 / month.