We are trying to use Skype. Unfortunately there does seem to be some echo present by the party calling us. I did have a long distance call to Vienna where they said they did not hear an echo. Maybe there is hope.
I had previously bought a Sony Ericcson HBH-30 headset. The main reason for selecting it was because it did not look so geeky. It's very sleek, but that is because the battery is in the earpiece. However, it doesn't fit so well, so I don't know if I would really ever use it for a headset for my mobile phone.
Anyway, in the meantime, the uConnect device has also arrived. It seems to work very well, so I can hook up any phone to my PC. Most important, I can even hook up a cordless phone. The quality seems to be very good (except for the annoying echo part which is not related to the uConnect device).
Anyway, I have tried adjusting some Windows settings to try to minimize the echo. I have not used it all that much, so it is difficult to say how well it is working. I was wondering that since Skype is based on Europe, I wonder if the connections in other parts of the world including US are not as good.
Showing posts with label VoIP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label VoIP. Show all posts
Monday, October 31, 2005
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Lingo... You're fired!
After being in japan and comparing Skype to Lingo, there is no contest. The quality is very good with Skype, plus there are no drops, like I experience with Lingo. To be on the fair side, I am not sure if some of the problems are caused by Lingo directly or my D-Link router. However, considering Skype also has to go through the same router, Skype performs much better. Now the only question is when dialing a phone number with Skype (as opposed to PC to Pc communication), is there any degradation in quality. We'll find out soon.
Another major annoyance with Lingo is the time delay with Lingo. There is about a second delay. However, since communication is a two-way street, the one-second delay actually means a two-second delay. There is a one second delay on what you say to the other party, which means there is a one-second delay for the party to hear what you said, and then they reply, which means there is a one-second delay in what you hear as a reply. So at the end of what you say, you wait two seconds before hearing the reply. This causes major problems when there is "interactive" communication. That is, someone interrupts you, but it is two-seconds later from the point where you should have been interrupted.
By the way, this delay is most notable with calls to Japan. With calls to Europe, the delays are not as significant, but that doesn't help with the calls to Japan.
Of course the dropped lines is pretty bad, and the worst part about it is that you are not aware you were dropped, so you can keep on talking and talking and not realize the other party is no longer there. I am even calling into conference calls with two lines just so that in case I am dropped by my Lingo line, I can quickly join with the other connected line.
Another major annoyance with Lingo is the time delay with Lingo. There is about a second delay. However, since communication is a two-way street, the one-second delay actually means a two-second delay. There is a one second delay on what you say to the other party, which means there is a one-second delay for the party to hear what you said, and then they reply, which means there is a one-second delay in what you hear as a reply. So at the end of what you say, you wait two seconds before hearing the reply. This causes major problems when there is "interactive" communication. That is, someone interrupts you, but it is two-seconds later from the point where you should have been interrupted.
By the way, this delay is most notable with calls to Japan. With calls to Europe, the delays are not as significant, but that doesn't help with the calls to Japan.
Of course the dropped lines is pretty bad, and the worst part about it is that you are not aware you were dropped, so you can keep on talking and talking and not realize the other party is no longer there. I am even calling into conference calls with two lines just so that in case I am dropped by my Lingo line, I can quickly join with the other connected line.
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