The following sections gives a step-by-step tour of how to build an application which uses the TeamTalk .NET DLL to transmit voice and video. This chapter assumes the developer has read the section TeamTalk SDK Contents on how to configure Visual Studio to work with the TeamTalk client DLL.

In order for the user application to interact with other clients a TeamTalk server must first be set up. Section TeamTalk Server Setup Guide explains how to do this. The job of the TeamTalk server is to provide user autentication and keep track of users. Once a client is connected and has been authenticated the client is presented with a tree structure where each node is a so-called "channel" which the client can join and from there interact with the other users who are in the same channel.

The following six steps explains how to build a TeamTalk client:

Step 1: Create a TeamTalk Client Instance

A new client instance is created by instantiating the BearWare.TeamTalk5-class. Once the new instance has been created its current state can be retrieved by calling the function TeamTalkBase.GetFlags() which will return a bitmask describing the client's current state. Initially after creating the client instance a call to TeamTalkBase.GetFlags() will return a bitmask with the value ClientFlag.CLIENT_CLOSED since no operations have been performed on the client.

Here a code-snip which shows how to instantiate the BearWare.TeamTalk5 class.

//...
    public partial class Form1 : Form
    {
        BearWare.TeamTalkBase ttclient;
 
        public Form1()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
 
            // Here we instantiate a TeamTalk client in the TeamTalk 5 SDK Standard Edition.
 
            ttclient = new BearWare.TeamTalk5(false); // We pass 'false' to the constructor
                                                      // since we're a Forms application
 
            // In TeamTalk 5 Professional Edition the TeamTalk client instance is created
            // using: 'ttclient = new BearWare.TeamTalk5Pro(false);
 
            Debug.Assert(ttclient.Flags == ClientFlag.CLIENT_CLOSED);
        }
    }
//...

Step 2: Initialize Sound and Video Devices

Before connecting to a server it is a good idea to setup the user's sound and video devices. Sound devices are initialized using the TeamTalkBase.InitSoundInputDevice() and TeamTalkBase.InitSoundOutputDevice() functions. The video capture device is initialized using TeamTalkBase.InitVideoCaptureDevice(). Initializing the video capture device can be quite tricky because there's many properties which needs to be configured. Look at the SDK sample applications to see how it is done.

Once sound and video devices has been initialized the function TeamTalkBase.GetFlags() will return a mask containing ClientFlag.CLIENT_SNDINPUT_READY, ClientFlag.CLIENT_SNDOUTPUT_READY and ClientFlag.CLIENT_VIDEOCAPTURE_READY.

Here a code-snip which shows how to extract extract sound and video devices:

//...
 
  SoundDevice[] snddevs;
  VideoCaptureDevice[] videodevs;
 
  /* extract sound and video devices and put them in UI */
  public void button3ListDevices()
  {
    /* get sound devices for recording and playback */
    ttclient.GetSoundInputDevices(out snddevs); //we should check return value...
    
    foreach(SoundDevice dev in snddevs) {
      /* add sound devices for recording to display container, say 'recComboBox' */
      if(dev.nMaxInputChannels>0)
        recComboBox.Items.Add(dev);
      /* add sound devices for playback to display container, say 'playComboBox' */
      if(dev.nMaxOutputChannels>0)
        playComboBox.Items.Add(dev);
    }
 
    /* get video capture devices. Here we assume there is ONE */
    ttclient.GetVideoCaptureDevices(out videodevs);  //we should check return value...
    Debug.Assert(videodevs.Length == 1);
    /* add video capture device to display container, let's say 'vidComboBox'... */
 
    /* here we list the capture formats supported */
    foreach(VideoFormat cap in videodevs[0].videoFormats) {
      /* add capture format to display container, let's say 'fmtComboBox' */
    }
  }
 
  /* when user has chosen sound and video devices they can now be initialized */
  public void button4InitDevices()
  {
    /* init sound recording device */
    ttclient.InitSoundInputDevice(snddevs[recComboBox.SelectedIndex].nDeviceID);  //we should check return value...
    Debug.Assert( (ttclient.Flags & ClientFlag.CLIENT_SNDINPUT_READY) == 
                  ClientFlag.CLIENT_SNDINPUT_READY );
 
    /* init sound playback device */
    ttclient.InitSoundOutputDevice(snddevs[playComboBox.SelectedIndex].nDeviceID);  //we should check return value...
    Debug.Assert( (ttclient.Flags & ClientFlag.CLIENT_SNDOUTPUT_READY) == 
                  ClientFlag.CLIENT_SNDOUTPUT_READY );
 
    /* init video capture device and capture format. */
    ttclient.InitVideoCaptureDevice(videodevs[0].szDeviceName, //we pretended to have ONE
                                    videodevs[0].videoFormats[fmtComboBox.SelectedIndex]);
                                    //we should check return value...
    Debug.Assert( (ttclient.Flags & ClientFlag.CLIENT_VIDEOCAPTURE_READY) == 
                  (ClientFlag.CLIENT_VIDEOCAPTURE_READY) );
  }
//...

Step 3: Connect to a TeamTalk Server

Calling TeamTalkBase.Connect() will make the client connect to the server running on the IP-address and port numbers specified as parameters to the function. After this call the TeamTalkBase.GetFlags() function will have the ClientFlag.CLIENT_CONNECTING bit set.

If the TeamTalkBase.Connect() call fails the TeamTalkBase.OnConnectionFailed() event will be posted by the client instance and the ClientFlag.CLIENT_CONNECTING bit will be cleared.

If the TeamTalkBase.Connect() is successful the TeamTalkBase.OnConnectSuccess() event will be posted by the client instance and the ClientFlag.CLIENT_CONNECTED bit will be set and ClientFlag.CLIENT_CONNECTING will be cleared.

Here is a code-snip which shows how to connect to a server:

/* in the constructor we should add event handlers to these two 
   events for connecting */
public Form1()
{
  //..
  ttclient.OnConnectionSuccess += new TeamTalkBase.Connection(form1_OnConnectionSuccess);
  ttclient.OnConnectionFailed += new TeamTalkBase.Connection(form1_OnConnectionFailed);
  //..
}
 
/* let's say the user presses 'button1' to connect to a server and invokes this */
public void button1ConnectToServer()
{
    Debug.Assert( (ttclient.Flags & 
                  (ClientFlag.CLIENT_CONNECTING | ClientFlag.CLIENT_CONNECTED) ) ==
                  ClientFlag.CLIENT_CLOSED /* basically 0 */ );
    if( ttclient.Connect("10.10.66.2", 10333, 10333, 0, 0) == false)
        MessageBox.Show("Unable to connect!");
    else {
        //we wait for 'form1_OnConnectionSuccess' or 'form1_OnConnectionFailed'
        //to be called...
    }
}
 
/* invoked by the client instance if connection is successful */
public void form1_OnConnectionSuccess()
{
    MessageBox.Show("We're connected!");
    Debug.Assert( (ttclient.Flags & ClientFlag.CLIENT_CONNECTED) ==
                  ClientFlag.CLIENT_CONNECTED);
}
 
/* invoked by the client instance if the connection is unsuccessful */
public void form1_OnConnectionFailed()
{
    MessageBox.Show("Unable to connect!");
    ttclient.Disconnect(); //reset the client, so we can call .Connect() again
}

Step 4: Log on to a TeamTalk Server

Once connected the user application can call TeamTalkBase.DoLogin() to log on to the server. All functions with the prefix Do* are client to server commands (see Client/Server Commands). The TeamTalkBase.DoLogin() requires that the user application provides a username and password for a user account on the server.

If the server rejects the login the TeamTalkBase.OnCmdError() event is posted along with an error code (see ClientError).

If the server accepts the login information the TeamTalkBase.OnCmdMyselfLoggedIn() event is posted and the the client instance will have the ClientFlag.CLIENT_AUTHORIZED set.

For every channel on the server a TeamTalkBase.OnCmdChannelNew() event will be posted and a TeamTalkBase.OnCmdUserLoggedIn() will be posted for every user on the server. The TeamTalkBase.OnCmdUserJoinedChannel() will also be posted for every user who is in a channel.

Here's a code-snip which shows how to log on to a server:

/* in the constructor we should add an event handler for login success 
   and login failure */
public Form1()
{
    //..
    ttclient.OnCmdError += new TeamTalkBase.CommandError(form1_OnCmdError);
    ttclient.OnCmdMyselfLoggedIn += 
          new TeamTalkBase.MyselfLoggedIn(form1_OnCmdMyselfLoggedIn);
    //..
}
 
void button2Login()
{
    Debug.Assert( (ttclient.Flags & ClientFlag.CLIENT_CONNECTED) ==
                  ClientFlag.CLIENT_CONNECTED);
    if(ttclient.DoLogin("John Doe", "admin", "admin_passwd321")<0)
        MessageBox.Show("Failed to issue client/server command");
    else {
        //wait for 'ttclient_OnCmdMyselfLoggedIn' or 
        //'ttclient_OnCmdError' to be called
    }
}
 
/* invoked by client instance if login comamnd is ok */
void ttclient_OnCmdMyselfLoggedIn(int nMyUserID)
{
    MessageBox.Show("Log in successful");
    Debug.Assert((ttclient.Flags & ClientFlag.CLIENT_AUTHORIZED) == 
                 ClientFlag.CLIENT_AUTHORIZED);
    Debug.Assert(ttclient.UserID>0); //we have a user ID now
}
 
/* invoked by client instance if login command fails */
void ttclient_OnCmdError(int nCmdID, ClientErrorMsg clienterrormsg)
{
    MessageBox.Show(clienterrormsg.szErrorMsg); break;
}

Step 5: Join a channel on the TeamTalk Server

Now that the client is connected and authorized it is possible to join a channel on the server. This is done by either calling the function TeamTalkBase.DoJoinChannel() to create a new channel or by calling TeamTalkBase.DoJoinChannelByID() to join an existing channel.

If using the TeamTalkBase.DoJoinChannelByID() command to join a channel the ID of the channel must be retrieved and also the password needed (if any) to join the channel. The ID of a channel is posted in the TeamTalkBase.OnCmdChannelNew() event and the password must be known by the user.

If the call to TeamTalkBase.DoJoinChannelByID() is successful the event TeamTalkBase.OnCmdUserJoinedChannel() is posted and if the server rejected the command to join the TeamTalkBase.OnCmdError() event is posted.

Here is a code-snip for joining a channel:

/* in the constructor we should add an event handler for 
   joining a channel and join failure */
public Form1()
{
    //..
    ttclient.OnCmdError += new TeamTalkBase.CommandError(form1_OnCmdError);
    ttclient.OnCmdUserJoinedChannel += 
         new TeamTalkBase.UserUpdate(form1_OnCmdUserJoinedChannel);
    //..
}
 
/* button invoked by user to join a channel... */
public void button7JoinChannel()
{
  if(ttclient.DoJoinChannelByID((int)treeView.SelectedItem.Tag, 
                                "chan_passwd123")<0)
    MessageBox.Show("Failed to issue commnand to join channel");
  else {
    //wait for either 'form1_OnCmdUserJoinedChannel' or 
    //'ttclient_OnCmdError' to be invoked
  }
}
 
/* invoked by client instance if join command succeeds */
void form1_OnCmdUserJoinedChannel(User user)
{
  //check if user is 'myself'
  if(user.nUserID == ttclient.GetMyUserID())
  {
    string chanpath;
    if(ttclient.GetChannelPath(user.nChannelID, out chanpath))
    {
      MessageBox.Show("Joined channel: " + chanpath);
      Debug.Assert(ttclient.ChannelID>0); //we're in a channel now...
    }
  }
}
 
/* invoked by client instance if join command fails */
void ttclient_OnCmdError(int nCmdID, ClientErrorMsg clienterrormsg)
{
    MessageBox.Show(clienterrormsg.szErrorMsg); break;
}

Step 6: Transmit data to users in a Channel

Having joined a channel now enables the client instance to start transmitting audio and video to the other users in the channel by calling TeamTalkBase.EnableVoiceTransmission() and TeamTalkBase.StartVideoCaptureTransmission().

When the other users in the channel starts receiving audio they will receive the TeamTalkBase.OnUserStateChange() event. If video is also being transmitted the event TeamTalkBase.OnUserVideoCapture() will be posted for every video frame which is received.

Here's a code-snip on how to transmit and display data:

/* in the constructor we should add an event handler seeing talking user and video */
public Form1()
{
    //..
    ttclient.OnUserStateChange += new TeamTalkBase.UserUpdate(form1_OnUserStateChange);
    ttclient.OnUserVideoCapture += new TeamTalkBase.UserVideoFrame(form1_OnUserVideoCapture);
    //..
}
 
/* user wants to transmit voice */
public void button8TransmitVoice()
{
  Debug.Assert(ttclient.ChannelID>0); //must be in channel or no one will receive
  ttclient.EnableVoiceTransmission(true);
}
 
/* user wants to transmit video */
public void button9TransmitVideo()
{
  /* Let's choose some WebM video codec settings for use with video capture */
  VideoCodec vidcodec;
  vidcodec.nCodec = Codec.WEBM_VP8_CODEC;
  vidcodec.webm_vp8.nRcTargetBitrate = 1024; //1024 KBit/sec
 
  Debug.Assert(ttclient.ChannelID>0); //must be in channel or no one will receive
 
  ttclient.StartVideoCaptureTransmission(vidcodec);
}
 
/* invoked when a user is talking */
void form1_OnUserStateChange(User user)
{
  if(user.uUserState.HasFlag(UserState.USERSTATE_VOICE)
    Debug.WriteLine(user.szNickName + " is talking...");
  else
    Debug.WriteLine(user.szNickName + " stopped talking...");
}
 
/* Hold VideoFrame in container for each user until it's no longer needed. */
Dictionary<int, VideoFrame> vidframes = new Dictionary<int, VideoFrame>();
 
/* invoked when a new video frame can be displayed */
void form1_OnUserVideoCapture(int nUserID, int nStreamID)
{
  Bitmap user_bmp;
  VideoFrame new_frame;
  new_frame = ttclient.AcquireUserVideoCaptureFrame(nUserID, out user_bmp);
  
  //'new_frame' is valid if members are non-zero
  if(new_frame.nFrameBufferSize > 0) {
    //display the 'user_bmp' bitmap in an image control...
 
    //release memory from previous VideoFrame stored in container
    VideoFrame old_frame;
    if(vidframes.TryGetValue(nUserID, out old_frame))
      ttclient.ReleaseUserVideoCaptureFrame(old_frame);
  }
  /* store new VideoFrame in container so it can be reused */
  vidframes[nUserID] = new_frame;
}