Choosing Between the Native Engine and External Providers

StretchMeet can run meetings on its own native engine or route them through an external provider you connect. This article explains the difference, when to use each, and how to add and manage providers.

What a provider is

A provider is the engine that actually carries the audio and video for a meeting. Every meeting room is tied to a provider. StretchMeet supports three kinds:

• Native — StretchMeet's own real-time media engine. It handles the live video, audio, and screen sharing directly inside StretchSuite, including secure media (encrypted SRTP/DTLS), connection negotiation (ICE), and routing. This is the default and needs no external account.
• External — a third-party meeting service you connect and authorize. Meetings created against it launch through that service.
• Custom — an advanced or in-house integration for teams with specialized needs.

When to use the native engine

Use the native engine (the default) when you want:

• Everything in one place — meetings, recordings, transcripts, and summaries all inside StretchSuite.
• No third-party accounts or extra logins for your team.
• Native live controls (lobby, mute, remove, lock), breakout rooms, and meeting intelligence working out of the box.

For most teams, the native engine is the right choice and the simplest path.

When to connect an external provider

Connect an external provider when:

• Your organization has standardized on a specific meeting platform and needs to keep using it.
• A particular client requires you to meet on their platform.
• You're migrating gradually and want both options available during the transition.

Provider connection status

Each provider shows a connection status so you always know if it's ready:

• Connected — authorized and ready to host meetings.
• Configured — set up but not yet fully connected.
• Needs auth — authorization has expired or is missing; reconnect it before using it.
• Disabled — turned off and unavailable for new meetings.

Add or manage a provider

1. Open StretchMeet and go to Providers.
2. Click Add provider.
3. Enter a provider key (a short identifier, e.g. acme-video) and a friendly display name (e.g. "Acme Video").
4. Choose the kind: native, external, or custom.
5. Set the connection status and provide any required settings or credentials for external and custom providers.
6. Optionally mark the provider as the default so new meetings use it automatically.
7. Click Save.

To change a provider later, open it from the Providers list and update its details or status.

A realistic example

A design agency uses StretchMeet's native engine for internal standups and most client calls because recordings and summaries stay in their workspace. One enterprise client, however, mandates meetings on their own approved platform. The agency connects that platform as an external provider named "BigCo Secure," leaves the native StretchMeet provider as the default, and simply picks "BigCo Secure" when scheduling meetings for that one client. Everything else keeps running natively.

Tips

• Keep native as your default unless you have a specific reason not to — it unlocks the full StretchMeet feature set.
• Name providers for humans. A clear display name prevents confusion when scheduling.
• Reconnect needs auth providers early. Don't wait until you're about to start a client call.
• Only one default at a time. Marking a new provider as default replaces the previous one for new meetings.

Troubleshooting

• My external provider shows needs auth. Its authorization expired. Open the provider and reconnect/re-authorize it, then confirm it shows connected.
• A meeting won't launch on an external provider. Confirm the provider is connected, not disabled, and that its settings are complete.
• Native features are missing on an external meeting. Breakout rooms, native live controls, and some intelligence features depend on the native engine. Use a native room to get the full set.

FAQ

Do I have to set up a provider to start?
No. The native StretchMeet engine is available by default — you can create and run meetings immediately.

Can I switch a meeting from one provider to another?
Providers are set per room. It's cleanest to create a new room on the provider you want rather than switching mid-stream.