Under the impetus of digital transformation, the global social and entertainment industry is undergoing unprecedented transformation. Real-time audio and video technology, as the bridge connecting users and content, has become a key driving force behind this transformation.
With the continuous deepening of globalization, the dissemination of diversified entertainment gameplay is no longer confined by geographical boundaries. With its profound accumulation in the field of RTC, ZEGOCLOUD not only provides an all-in-one solution for the industry but also demonstrates strong competitiveness in the global market. From bustling metropolises in Southeast Asia to desert oases in the Middle East, ZEGOCLOUD’s product portfolio has reached every corner of the world, serving as a link that connects different cultures and languages.
This article explores ZEGOCLOUD’s technological insights into global social and entertainment industry regions. It highlights innovative products and solutions that meet diverse market needs, empowering customers for business growth.
Characteristics and Scenarios of Popular Regions in the Global Social and Entertainment Industry
1-on-1 Video Call is prevalent in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe, America, and Latin America. Despite the high average revenue per user (ARPU), 1-on-1 video calls face challenges including long launch cycles, low video connection rates, high billing complaint rates, and significant call stuttering. Mishandling these issues directly impacts revenue generation.
Live Audio Rooms are primarily distributed in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Users in Southeast Asia exhibit strong demands but lower payment levels, with a typical profile of high DAU and low ARPU. Conversely, in the Middle East, live audio room products tend to have lower DAU but higher ARPU. These users expect rich gameplay, mature functionality, and a certain level of innovation.
Live streaming exhibits completely different characteristics in popular live-streaming regions such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia. In the Middle East, male hosts dominate the scene and thrive on engaging in PK (Player versus Player) interactions. Additionally, 5% of core users can generate over 90% of the revenue. On the other hand, in Southeast Asia, users gravitate towards charismatic hosts, and even hosts who specialize in mini-games can generate considerable revenue.

High-Quality Real-Time Audio and Video Empowering Business Growth
We will now discuss ZEGOCLOUD’s pioneering advancements in different business scenarios such as 1v1 video, live audio rooms, and live streaming. Additionally, we will explore how the integration of AI technology has facilitated innovative business models, enhancing users’ entertainment experience with greater immersion and personalization.
1-on-1 Video Call
The 1-on-1 video call business model can be summarized in four steps: matching, order acceptance, transaction processing, and settlement. It is well-suited for deployment in densely populated regions due to its straightforward nature, requiring a less complex platform ecosystem compared to live streaming or live audio rooms.
Maximizing conversion rates at each stage is crucial for business growth, considering the high cost of user acquisition in 1-on-1 video calls. Through collaboration with numerous 1v1 clients, we have identified four major issues and offered effective solutions.
- Prolonged Launch Cycles: The prolonged launch cycles result from strict application marketplace reviews influenced by regional policies. To overcome this challenge, leading clients have shifted to the H5 platform. Additionally, the technical simplicity of 1-on-1 video calls and the maturity of the WebRTC ecosystem has allowed us to offer the Audio and Video Call UIKit solution, accelerating clients’ go-to-market process.
- Low Video Connection Rate: Immediate video connections are highly desired by users, impacting the number of potential prospects. Insights from Indian vendors revealed that users disconnect if the call isn’t connected within 2 seconds. Through close collaboration with clients, we developed an exceptional solution that increased the connection rate significantly. We achieved an impressive 95% connection rate, surpassing the industry average of 70% within 2 seconds.
- High Call Stuttering Rate: To optimize real-time audio and video communication, addressing call stuttering is crucial. For 1-on-1 video calls, we implement targeted measures such as weak network flow control and video encoding optimization. We also deploy access routes based on user distribution. By integrating ZEGOCLOUD’s RTC SDK, our customers achieve 720P-equivalent performance with only 540P, reducing the network load on users effectively. This optimization effectively alleviates the network burden placed on users.
- High Complaint Rate for Billing: Accurate billing is crucial in business operations. As a technology service provider, we prioritize resolving exceptional scenarios and boundary conditions. We ensure seamless coordination between clients, servers, and third-party NTP services for precise time calculation. Our dedicated high-precision billing solution effectively tackles these challenges.
Live Audio Room
The situation of live audio rooms varies slightly in each region. Southeast Asia, with its large population and engaged users, has a diverse network and hardware development, appealing to those who prefer affordable Android devices. In the Gulf states of the Middle East, religious and cultural factors drive the adoption of voice chat, leading to high ARPU values and a market dominated by PGC ecosystems. In Egypt and Turkey, with dense populations, UGC ecosystems are popular. However, regardless of the region or model, content ecosystems play a critical role in the voice chat business. Hosts need to foster an active atmosphere to facilitate user interaction and engagement.
Our focus is on addressing two key challenges: improving the core voice chat experience with better audio quality and seamless performance, and providing technical solutions and resources to expand gameplay possibilities.
1. Enhancing audio quality and smoothness
In voice chat, real-time activities can be hindered when users in noisy environments join and activate their microphones, especially in Southeast Asia. To mitigate this issue, we have enhanced noise reduction and echo cancellation using AI models trained on relevant language data. Our solution surpasses traditional algorithms that can only handle steady-state regular noise.
Smoothness is another essential aspect of the experience, particularly in weak network environments. The key lies in the accuracy of weak network detection algorithms, optimization of encoders, and design of transmission protocols. Our solution ensures smooth communication even in network conditions with up to 70% packet loss. Moreover, we have achieved a reduction of over 30% in audio bitrate compared to the industry average, while maintaining the same subjective quality.
2. Broadening the range of gameplay possibilities
Live Audio Room+Karaoke: In voice chat scenarios, it has become commonplace to incorporate additional entertainment content alongside casual conversations. The popular combination often involves integrating singing and mini-games into voice chat sessions. To cater to these preferences, we have developed relevant solutions in these areas.
Live Audio Room+AI Voice Changer: Adding effects and enhancing voices in voice chat scenarios is a fundamental capability, and AI technology takes voice modulation to the next level of richness and amusement. On one hand, it enhances the attractiveness of broadcasters’ voices and encourages more users to participate. On the other hand, voice transformations can be monetized or used as interactive gifts, providing a fresh and exciting gameplay experience.
We have integrated AI voice modulation capabilities into our SDK, making it easily implementable with just a few lines of code. Furthermore, in addition to the resources provided in the voice library, customized voice tones can also be tailored.

Live Streaming
The live streaming industry in Southeast Asia and the Middle East has reached maturity. Alongside player-versus-player interactions, localized content ecosystems are crucial. Various elements like karaoke, mini-games, and voice changers have been integrated into live streaming. Streamers are essential to the business and highly valued by users. Demand for better viewing experiences and improved streaming quality is increasing.
Our primary objectives revolve around tackling two key issues in this scenario as below:
1. Latency Concern
To ensure the quality of critical live streaming events, we optimize and monitor network performance, latency, synchronization, and stuttering. Leveraging the advantages and scale of RTC technology, we offer an independent live-streaming solution tailored to the demands of high-quality broadcasts. This solution excels in offering outstanding resilience to weak network conditions, ultra-low latency, high synchronization, and minimal buffering interruptions.
2. Video Quality Concern
A common demand in most live streaming apps revolves around emphasizing video quality. The key to addressing this issue lies in enhancing video quality without imposing additional burdens on users’ devices, especially in Southeast Asia. Moreover, cost control is crucial. To meet these requirements, we provide an optimized solution that covers all device models and network conditions, offering low-code, high-definition coverage to enhance video quality.
Regulatory compliance with content
Compliance is the lifeline in the social and entertainment industry. Regions have unique regulations and enforcement standards. Understanding professional terms and making improvements is essential for smooth business operations. In content moderation, we collaborate with partners to establish a comprehensive access system that covers audio-video interactions, instant messaging, and information flow. This system is designed to adapt to the requirements of business audits.

RTC+AI Companion
Alongside mature social gameplay, AI companions are gaining popularity and becoming integral to users’ daily lives. By March 2024, AI companion products ranked high in user visits, closely following AI assistants, AI search, and AI design tools. These companions provide interactive modes like text, images, audio, video, and games, fulfilling users’ desire for a virtual AI friend.
With the upgrade and deep development of GPT-4o, AI is getting closer to being human-like. AI voice assistants, AI companions, digital human customer service, AI interviews, and more are quietly emerging. To this end, ZEGOCLOUD aims to help customers build immersive and seamless interactions with AI companions:
Instant Message Interaction: Supports AI-generated images and content moderation. It enables multimodal interaction through various message types, including text, images, and voice.
Voice Chat Interaction: Our technology enables the natural and seamless rendering of multiple voices. It supports voice activity detection (VAD), ultra-low latency interactivity, and real-time voice control. Users can interrupt the AI Digital Human’s speech during a chat, simulating a conversation with a real person. This facilitates real-time communication and instant exchange of feedback and new ideas.
Video Interaction: AI Digital Human’s lip movements perfectly align with its voice, creating a natural expression and an interactive experience that feels almost real-time. It supports multi-turn conversation memory, enabling seamless “callbacks” similar to human conversations. Additionally, the appearance of the AI Digital Human can also be customized by the client.
Conclusion
ZEGOCLOUD pioneers agile innovation, constantly seeking new scenarios and benefits. As the AI era unfolds, we lead the way in exploring the untapped potential and advantages of integrating RTC and AI technologies. We actively engage with the industry, sharing achievements and delivering superior real-time interactive experiences to empower our customers’ business growth with unparalleled quality.
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