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Comparison · Meetings

Ant Media Server vs Fourwaves

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Ant Media Server and Fourwaves — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Ant Media Server vs Fourwaves: at a glance

FeatureAnt Media ServerFourwaves
SectorMeetingsMeetings
Velocity score6.35.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themeslive streaming, webrtc, av1 codec, ssai-scte35conference-management, payments, multi-event-admin, attendee-experience
Last editorial update3mo ago1h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Ant Media Server?

Ant Media crossed the 3.0 line with AV1, eight CVE patches, and a breaking API cleanup.

Ant Media Server has just shipped its 3.0 series. The cut version, 3.0.1, packed an AV1 codec path, removed long-deprecated methods (potentially breaking integrations), patched roughly eight CVEs in the parent and management console, and added Strict-Transport-Security headers and daily SSL renewal checks. Two follow-up tags (3.0.2, 3.0.3) appear to be quick rebuilds rather than feature releases. The recent 2.17.x line had introduced server-side ad insertion (SSAI with SCTE-35), a v2 WebRTC web SDK, and LL-HLS cluster play.

Read the full Ant Media Server trajectory →

What is Fourwaves?

Fourwaves is closing the gaps around its payments layer and its form editor at the same time.

Fourwaves publishes a near-daily, one-line changelog covering small changes to the conference organiser's admin surface. The August window is dominated by payments and money administration: transaction filtering by organisation and by payment gateway, the Free plan surfaced in the upgrade checkout, and Authorize.net added as a supported processor. The two newest entries move elsewhere — self-service account creation from the sign-in page, and a guard that blocks deleting fields, sections, or choices still referenced elsewhere in an event, with a warning naming what depends on them.

Read the full Fourwaves trajectory →

Ant Media Server vs Fourwaves: editorial side-by-side

A6.3

Ant Media crossed the 3.0 line with AV1, eight CVE patches, and a breaking API cleanup.

◆ Current state

Ant Media Server has just shipped its 3.0 series. The cut version, 3.0.1, packed an AV1 codec path, removed long-deprecated methods (potentially breaking integrations), patched roughly eight CVEs in the parent and management console, and added Strict-Transport-Security headers and daily SSL renewal checks. Two follow-up tags (3.0.2, 3.0.3) appear to be quick rebuilds rather than feature releases. The recent 2.17.x line had introduced server-side ad insertion (SSAI with SCTE-35), a v2 WebRTC web SDK, and LL-HLS cluster play.

◆ Where it's heading

The product is in a 'broadcaster-grade plus security hardening' arc. SSAI/SCTE-35 is a clear push toward live-event monetization use cases, while AV1 and v2 WebRTC SDK target streaming infrastructure that competes with managed services. The CVE volume across recent releases (2.16.2 was nothing but patches; 2.17.1 and 3.0.1 each carried multiple) suggests an active third-party security review or fuzzing program is feeding the queue.

◆ Prediction

Expect 3.0.x point releases focused on stabilizing AV1 in production, mopping up regressions from the deprecated-method removals, and continued CVE patching. The next functional bet to watch is whether SSAI gets enterprise-grade analytics or whether AV1 gets hardware-accelerated encode paths.

F
Fourwaves
MEETINGS
5.0

Fourwaves is closing the gaps around its payments layer and its form editor at the same time.

◆ Current state

Fourwaves publishes a near-daily, one-line changelog covering small changes to the conference organiser's admin surface. The August window is dominated by payments and money administration: transaction filtering by organisation and by payment gateway, the Free plan surfaced in the upgrade checkout, and Authorize.net added as a supported processor. The two newest entries move elsewhere — self-service account creation from the sign-in page, and a guard that blocks deleting fields, sections, or choices still referenced elsewhere in an event, with a warning naming what depends on them.

◆ Where it's heading

The work is aimed at multi-event organisations rather than single-conference organisers; transaction filtering and a second payment processor only matter if you run several events through shared gateways. The referential-integrity guard on form fields points at the same maturity problem from the other side — events configured deeply enough that deleting a field silently breaks something downstream, which is a complaint you only get once customers build complex forms. Individually each change is minor; together they describe a platform being made to hold more events per customer.

◆ Prediction

Expect the payments thread to continue — further gateway options or per-organisation payment configuration are the natural next step now that transactions can be filtered by gateway. The date-stamped daily format suggests the cadence holds regardless of the size of what ships.

Alternatives to Ant Media Server and Fourwaves

Other Meetings products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Ant Media Server or Fourwaves.

See all Ant Media Server alternatives → · See all Fourwaves alternatives →

Recent activity from Ant Media Server and Fourwaves

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1d agoFourwavesSelf-service account creation from the sign-in page
  2. 2d agoFourwavesReferenced form fields can no longer be deleted
  3. 6d agoFourwavesAuthorize.net added as a payment processor
  4. 7d agoFourwavesFree plan shown as a card in upgrade checkout
  5. 8d agoFourwavesTracks field usable as a confirmation-email variable
  6. 9d agoFourwavesFix: Website section shown to program chairs
  7. 3mo agoAnt Media ServerCommunity 3.0.3: rebuild tag with no published changelog
  8. 3mo agoAnt Media ServerCommunity 3.0.2: SNAPSHOT version bump and quality items
  9. 4mo agoAnt Media ServerCommunity 3.0.1: AV1 codec, breaking API cleanup, eight CVE patches
  10. 6mo agoAnt Media ServerCommunity 2.17.1: WebRTC timing fixes, SRT restream endpoints, local license server
  11. 6mo agoAnt Media ServerCommunity 2.17.0: SSAI with SCTE-35 and WebRTC Web SDK v2
  12. 8mo agoAnt Media ServerCommunity 2.16.2: five CVE patches in the parent

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Ant Media Server and Fourwaves?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Ant Media Server is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Ant Media Server better than Fourwaves?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Ant Media Server is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Meetings products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Ant Media Server?

Top Ant Media Server alternatives in Meetings are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Ant Media Server alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/ant-media for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Fourwaves?

Top Fourwaves alternatives in Meetings are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Fourwaves alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/fourwaves for the full list with editorial commentary on each.