Comparing Orchid Recorder Operating Modes

Orchid Recorder supports operation in WebRTC mode and the original Low-bandwidth mode. The benefit of WebRTC mode is that it allows for viewing full-bandwidth, live and recorded video streams through a web browser without requiring a plugin. The availability of these operating modes will depend on your web browser and operating system. The table below provides a high-level comparison of the operating modes.

	Low-bandwidth mode	WebRTC mode
Compatible operating systems	Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Android	Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Android
Compatible web browsers	Most modern web browsers (Microsoft Internet Explorer is not supported)	The latest versions of Google Chrome (desktop and mobile), Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari (desktop and mobile)
Network requirements	Works well even on slow connections between the web browser and the Orchid Recorder	Prior to version 23.3, WebRTC required a good connection between the web browser and the Orchid Recorder. Orchid versions 23.3 and greater should work well even if the connection between the web browser and Orchid is marginal (as long as WebRTC retransmission is enabled).
Video decoding	Decoding is done on the Orchid Recorder	Decoding is done on the client machine
Additional configuration required for viewing servers behind a firewall	None (assuming web interface is already accessible)	STUN server
Video quality	Frame rate that throttles to match available bandwidth	Native, unthrottled frame rate
Supported video file types	H264, AV1, H265 (limited browser support), JPEG, MPEG4	H264, AV1, H265 (limited browser support)
Audio on the Stage	No	Yes (On Orchid Recorder systems version 23.6 and higher)
Camera Talk Down	No	Yes (On Orchid Recorder systems version 24.6 and higher)
PTZ camera support	Yes	Yes
Video statistics	Yes (Minimal)	Yes (Overload)
Motion region reporting	No	Yes
Mode is selectable (at sign in and per Player)	Yes	Yes
Mode indicator