System and method for echo suppression in web browser-based communication

A system for suppressing echoes in an online audio conference, comprising:

• an input means for receiving a plurality of streams of packets of audio data, each stream corresponding to the sound generated by one of a plurality of participants in the conference;
• a processor configured to:
• test the packets in the order received to identify the first packet that contains audio data indicative of speech by a participant;
• designate the stream containing the identified first packet containing speech data as the active stream;
• replace the streams other than the active stream with streams of packets representing silence;
• and
• an output means for distributing the streams to the participants.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having embodied thereon a program, the program being executable by a processor to perform a method comprising the steps of:

• receiving at a server a plurality of audio streams from a plurality of users participating in the conference, each user operating a device that has a microphone and that sends to the server a stream of packets of audio data representing the sound received at the microphone;
• testing the packets in the order received at the server to identify the first packet that contains audio data indicative of speech by a user;
• designating the stream containing the identified first packet containing speech data as the active stream;
• setting the streams other than the active stream to silence;
• and
• distributing the streams to the devices of the identified users.