Fourwaves
Fourwaves follows its participant inbox with a week of admin fixes and security hardening.
Comparison · Meetings
HOMER vs Nextcloud Talk
A side-by-side editorial comparison of HOMER and Nextcloud Talk — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
HOMER vs Nextcloud Talk: at a glance
What is HOMER?
HOMER 11.0.369 fixes S3 auth on Ceph-based storage and stops compaction memory growth.
HOMER's 11.0 line is still hardening its DuckDB tiered-storage layer. 11.0.368 retries incomplete tier moves and fixes tiered queries that missed lake tables. The 11.0.369 pre-release stops sending the AWS session token with static S3 keys, which broke Vultr/Ceph RGW, and keeps DuckDB's file cache off on write paths so compaction memory plateaus. Security fixes (bound tiered lookup parameters, hono bump) ride alongside.
What is Nextcloud Talk?
Nextcloud Talk patches v22 and v23 while v25 stable sits five weeks past its last RC.
Nextcloud Talk's newest releases are maintenance drops for the v22 and v23 branches: a faster conversation-list unread cache, rate limiting on public-share and video verification, and a Matterbridge domain check against DNS rebinding. v23.0.12 also fixes SIP so direct incoming calls register as phone participants. The v25 line, which carries classified conversations, an owner role and configurable AI call summaries, has not moved past RC3 since September 10.
HOMER vs Nextcloud Talk: editorial side-by-side
HOMER
5.0MEETINGS
HOMER 11.0.369 fixes S3 auth on Ceph-based storage and stops compaction memory growth.
◆ Current state
HOMER's 11.0 line is still hardening its DuckDB tiered-storage layer. 11.0.368 retries incomplete tier moves and fixes tiered queries that missed lake tables. The 11.0.369 pre-release stops sending the AWS session token with static S3 keys, which broke Vultr/Ceph RGW, and keeps DuckDB's file cache off on write paths so compaction memory plateaus. Security fixes (bound tiered lookup parameters, hono bump) ride alongside.
◆ Where it's heading
Almost every release since early October fixes the parquet lake: compaction, cache behaviour, tiering and S3 compatibility. The storage rewrite is being shaken out in production on more varied object stores. Feature work, such as OTLP log events on the call ladder, has paused while this stabilises.
◆ Prediction
Expect 11.0.369 to be promoted from pre-release, followed by more storage fixes for non-AWS object stores before feature work picks up again.
Nextcloud Talk
5.0MEETINGS
Nextcloud Talk patches v22 and v23 while v25 stable sits five weeks past its last RC.
◆ Current state
Nextcloud Talk's newest releases are maintenance drops for the v22 and v23 branches: a faster conversation-list unread cache, rate limiting on public-share and video verification, and a Matterbridge domain check against DNS rebinding. v23.0.12 also fixes SIP so direct incoming calls register as phone participants. The v25 line, which carries classified conversations, an owner role and configurable AI call summaries, has not moved past RC3 since September 10.
◆ Where it's heading
The feature story is still v25's compliance and governance set aimed at regulated, self-hosted deployments. Meanwhile the older branches are getting security hardening rather than features, which fits a team prioritizing stable-line safety before a major cut. The long gap after RC3 suggests the v25 release is gated on something not visible in these notes.
◆ Prediction
The next notable release is v25.0.0 stable or a further RC; the entries don't show why it has stalled, so timing is unclear.
Alternatives to HOMER and Nextcloud Talk
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 HOMER or Nextcloud Talk.
Element Call
Element Call starts moving to new LiveKit transports and falls back to remote SFUs when needed.
JW Player
JW Player moves CMAF VOD into the dashboard, adds AV1, and opens Broadcast Live to audio-only feeds.
rtpengine
rtpengine opens the mr26.3 branch with a rollback message and leaner call state.
Nextcloud Talk Desktop
Nextcloud Talk Desktop 2.3.3 adds accessibility options and bundles Talk v25.0.6.
Kamailio
Kamailio's feed shows quiet, migration-free upkeep across two stable branches.
See all HOMER alternatives → · See all Nextcloud Talk alternatives →
Recent activity from HOMER and Nextcloud Talk
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1d agoHOMERHOMER 11.0.371: B2BUA legs in exports, Smart Search fix
- 3d agoHOMERHOMER 11.0.369 fixes Ceph S3 auth and compaction memory growth
- 6d agoHOMERHOMER 11.0.368 fixes tier moves and tiered-query table coverage
- 8d agoHOMERHOMER 11.0.367 disables DuckDB file cache for local lakes
- 9d agoHOMERHOMER 11.0.366 bumps DuckDB to 1.5.6, pins Go build
- 14d agoNextcloud Talkv23.0.12: SIP call fix, rate limiting, Matterbridge hardening
- 14d agoNextcloud Talkv22.0.19: share-auth rate limiting and Matterbridge fix
- 14d agoHOMERBlocks DuckDB file reads and rejects placeholder JWT secrets
- 1mo agoNextcloud TalkNextcloud Talk v25.0.0 RC3: file preview fixes
- 1mo agoNextcloud Talkv23.0.11
- 1mo agoNextcloud Talkv22.0.18
- 1mo agoNextcloud Talkv25.0.0 RC2: configurable AI call summary prompts
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between HOMER and Nextcloud Talk?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. HOMER and Nextcloud Talk are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is HOMER better than Nextcloud Talk?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. HOMER and Nextcloud Talk are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Meetings products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to HOMER?
Top HOMER alternatives in Meetings are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "HOMER alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/homer-voip for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Nextcloud Talk?
Top Nextcloud Talk alternatives in Meetings are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Nextcloud Talk alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/nextcloud-talk for the full list with editorial commentary on each.