[Closed] Best app for a virtual pub?

Zoom working really well here - multiple types of devices (of varying ages and quality) joining, multiple skill levels amongst friends.  We've tried a few other apps, but Zoom consistently just works

Haven't tried zoom, seems like the most common.

Using Jitsi here for the boy to see his schoolmates. You start a meeting , it gives you a four word URL, and the room stays open forever so you can just say OK see you next week, smae time and it'll still be there, you don't need to do anything else.

I'm giving 22h a week of online classes so the last thing I want on a Frday evening is to have another one - pint or not!

Is Zoom a free app?
We use it for work, but not sure if it’s free for home users? Kids use it for their ballet and dance lessons. No idea if it’s chargeable or not, not showing up as a subscription.

Zoom is free, but limits you to a 40min meeting. You can just restart / rejoin the meeting after 40mins though.

We use Zoom and just use the 40 minute limit as time for a pee and to refill glasses.
Video software seems to work best when 1 person is talking, talking over others finds really work. For that reason a lot of people do pub quizzes as it adds a bit of structure to things. There’s 8 of us and we just do 10 questions each, works really well.

I've just been introduced to Houseparty.

Has no limit, invite your friends and off you go.   A bit more cartoon like UI than Zoom but it does the same job.  It doesn't pretend to be secure for business use and anyone on your contacts lust can gatecrash your session, unless you "lock the door" with the padlock at the bottom of the screen once everyone is in.    The best part ids you don't need to share a link, it just adds/notifys via the app.

Have a 30 mins catch up with mates tonight to test it before a virtual sub session Friday.

Houseparty

I had this for a day, it immediately connected me to someone after I'd installed it, I was in bed at the time and this was not intended, 2 more times during the day it did the same, then is sent an alert out to my watch and very loudly through my phone (which was set to silent). It was uninstalled that day and I won't be re-installing it again! It may be I wasn't using it as intended, but it sucked as a user experience on Android.

Kryton57 is in the house 🏠 💓

I had this for a day, it immediately connected me to someone after I’d installed it, I was in bed at the time and this was not intended, 2 more times during the day it did the same, then is sent an alert out to my watch and very loudly through my phone (which was set to silent). It was uninstalled that day and I won’t be re-installing it again! It may be I wasn’t using it as intended, but it sucked as a user experience on Android.

You could have gone to your profile and set it to "Private" to mitigate that and also changed the user notification settings.   No point slating an app before you've used it properly.

Kryton57 is in the house 🏠 💓

😀

Google Duo - free, pre-installed on many Android devices, easy to use and not many people are using it (unlike Zoom)

Yep, Duo, Zoom, Skype and Facebook Messenger used here, all worked fine

No point slating an app before you’ve used it properly.

I'd also argue that any app should respect my global settings, it didn't so it was removed. I appreciate I could go and reset the notification settings, but literally no other app has needed me to do this, so I'm not sure why this app should be different. I'm also not sure how android allows something to make an audible alert when the phone is set to silent.

I don't really like people or parties though, so I'm not sure why I installed it in the first place, I should have known better 🙂

The name 'houseparty' is sufficiently teethitchingly crap that that alone has prevented me downloading it.

I like zoom - I particularly like the mode where the only person on screen is the person talking as it seems to generate a natural conversation best.

I've been teaching on Teams - having to turn all the kids into attendees one at a time every single lesson to stop them messing with each others settings is a right ball ache.

I've been using Zoom and swapping my "Virtual Background" between an image of the beer garden and the main bar at my local to set the right atmosphere.

Then I swap in an image of a urinal when I go for a piss. 🙂

Zoom > houseparty if more than 3 people. Houseparty image quality can be a bit pants in comparison.
Overall I prefer Zoom but might try Duo

Coming up to our 3rd week on zoom seems to be working well. Grown to to around 10 of us nattering away. Restart after 40 mins.

Zoom is working well here. One person paid for the sub. I would think that with more than 10 then chatting gets messy but at 10 or less it is great

Well we did 30 mins on Houseparty and it was fine, with the main USP seeming to be that the no one person has to send a link / own the room.

No reason not to carry on now really.

Duo works for up to 40+ participants

Tried duo last night.... Was good.
But it was only two of us - might try it for our early doors tomorrow.