Graves On SOHO Technology

Some time ago I was a Vonage customer. We had a Vonage line for my home office to compliment the POTS line that service the house. Our only internet access was via DSL over that POTS line.

We haven’t had a POTS line here since 2004.

While Vonage was a pioneer in what we now call-over-the-top internet telephony, for most of its existence the companies primary means of delivering service was by way of an “analog telephony adapter” or ATA. An ATA provides the RJ-11 connection required to connect to a traditional telephone.

Service providers using ATAs are essentially emulating the PSTN. It makes perfect sense since they want to offer an easy, drop-in replacement for traditional phone service. The advantage that they sell is simply that they’re cheaper. Most care little for esoterica like HDVoice.

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This morning’s news dump included an email from a marketing service being used by magic jack. Some while ago when I heard a rumor that Vocaltec was working on some means of supporting HDVoice in the next generation of their magic jack product/service. While the new magic jack PLUS started to ship backing August todays email was the first I’ve seen that actually mentioned HDVoice.

According to the web site for the service;

“magicJack PLUS™ service has received rave reviews and many people think it is the best Call Quality they have ever heard. The magicJack PLUS™ has added High Definition Voice. Best Call Quality and it’s FREE.”

The big change from magic jack to magic jack PLUS is in the hardware. The little USB interface device once required the used a computer. With an RJ45 connection to your home network the new version can run completely standalone. No computer required. This was largely a competitive issue driven by the NetTalk Duo.

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Late last week I took an hour to sit through a Voxeo webinar on the impact of IP v6 on SIP communications. It was the latest in their series of Developer Jam Session presentations.

Dan York presented a nice introduction to the issues surrounding IP v6 implementation with respect to real-time communication using SIP. If you’re new to IP v6, as I am, then the recording of that session is a recommended resource.

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It has been said that, “the devil is in the details.” It has also been noted that I’m fussy about such things. After all, it usually takes little or no extra effort to get something right, often with much benefit moving forward.

Cast in this light I would like to revisit the Freetalk Everyman Headset being offered by InStore Solutions through the Skype online store. You may recall that I reviewed this device a while ago. I found it to be a decent product at a very attractive price. I’ve recommended it to a number of people, and none have come back to complain.

I think that USB attached audio devices, whether headset or speakerphone, are exceptionally convenient. They isolate the low-level analog signal handling from the harsh electrical environment inside a computer, often allowing for improved noise performance. They also save us from the painful prospect of loading unique device drivers.

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Just before the holidays the folks at Xiph.org put up a nice demonstration page with a lot of detail about their CELT codec. Word of this new offering was announced on the IETF CODEC mailing list.

The samples and explanations provided are first rate. They clearly illustrate the merit in ultra-low-latency for some applications, as well as exemplify how CELT currently fares against other common codecs at a variety of bit-rates and with various types of source material.

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I recently received an email from someone asking about enabling HDVoice in PBX-In-A-Flash.

I’m about to implement a PBXact for our small company, and I have a nicely running PBX in a Flash in my home. I’m wondering if I can HD-Audio-ize the home rig.

Here’s why I ask. We currently run a SIPX PBX in my company. Everything in that box, all the sound files, are all HD. When you talk to it with an HD endpoint, everything just talks HD. It’s a no brainer.

In my home PIAF/FreePBX/Asterisk, nothing is HD. How do I go about HD-izing it? I have the G.722 codecs all turned on, but I’m wondering if there is an easy way to make all HD-capable endpoints automatically talk HD to each other, and to talk HD to the PBX itself.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks,

Joe
Fort Collins, Colorado

Since PBX-In-A-Flash is built upon Asterisk there’s a a good chance that this is possible, but its way outside of my scope. Given my employers migration to the OnSIP Hosted PBX I haven’t run Asterisk seriously for some time.

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