WebPhoneд Version 2.01 Release Notes Copyright Љ 1995, 1996 NetSpeak Corporation. All rights reserved. PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT COMPLETELY BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE! WebPhoneд is a professional, feature rich voice communication system, which requires some preparation on your part in order to use it properly and to take advantage of all the functions that it has to offer. Please take the time now to read through these release notes (wpnotes.wri) and read the How to Guide (wphowto.wri) to learn how to operate your WebPhone (webphone.exe) before attempting to use it or if you require help. 0. Table of Contents 1. Entering information in the Configure window 2. Entering your User Information 3. Entering your Network Parameters 4. Finding someone to talk to 5. Information search criteria 6. New Features 7. Limitations of WebPhone 2.01 8. Purchasing WebPhone 2.01 9. Hardware and Software Requirements 10. NetSpeak Corporation 11. Installing WebPhone 2.01 12. WebPhone Directory Structure 13. Operating your WebPhone on the Internet via a Dialup Connection 14. Operating your WebPhone on a network 15. Operating your WebPhone on a network connected to the Internet 16. Audio Programs and your WebPhone 17. WinSock Programs and your WebPhone 18. VGA Displays and your WebPhone 19. Sound Cards and your WebPhone 20. Modems and your WebPhone 21. WebPhone Databases 22. How your WebPhone works 23. GSM and TrueSpeechд audio codecs 24. Half Duplex vs. Full Duplex 25. Troubleshooting 26. Acknowledgments 1. Entering information in the Configure window When you start your WebPhone (webphone.exe) for the first time, it will open the Configure window for you to specify your User Information and Network Parameters. This information is very important. If you enter erroneous data, chances are your WebPhone will not operate properly. Once you enter your User Information and Network Parameters, press the CONFIGURE text, located at the top of the Configure window, to save the information. 2. Entering your User Information Please enter all your User Information. If it is inaccurate, you will be misrepresented in NetSpeak's Information Assistance and other WebPhone users will not be able to find you to call you. In addition, your 'Caller ID' information will be incorrect when you place outbound calls. Information You can select how much of your user information will be published in NetSpeak's Information Assistance (all, some or none) to be made visible to other WebPhone users. Use standard Post Office abbreviations Use standard post office abbreviations for your State so other WebPhone users can find you via Directory Assistance (e.g., use FL instead of Florida). 3. Entering your Network Parameters The Network Parameters required in this release are your: З E-mail address that serves as your WebPhone number З WebPhone password protects others from using your WebPhone number З Password Confirmation used to confirm your WebPhone Password З POP Server address used for retrieving your off-line voice mail messages З SMTP Server address used for sending voice mail to off-line parties З E-Mail Login used for connecting to your POP Server З E-Mail Password used for connecting to your POP Server WebPhone Password Enter a unique password for your WebPhone. You will not need to enter your password each time you use the WebPhone, but you will need to enter your password if you reinstall the WebPhone for any reason, so take care not to lose your password. You may change your WebPhone password at any time by entering a new password in the WebPhone Password and password confirmations fields. A message will be displayed when your password change has been accepted. Please write this password down and save it in a safe place for future reference. Network Parameter descriptions To assist you in understanding the other Network Parameters, lets look at Roger Wilco's Network Parameters: E-Mail address: rwilco@provider.net E-Mail Login: rwilco E-Mail Password ******* Password Confirmation ******* POP Server address: mailhost.provider.net SMTP Server address: mailhost.provider.net Roger has a dialup SLIP/PPP account to his Internet Service Provider (ISP) which has a domain name of "provider.net". Roger's E-Mail Login is "rwilco", which he defined when he established his Internet account with his ISP. The E-Mail login is used along with his provider's domain name to construct his E-Mail address: "rwilco@provider.net". His ISP's POP Server (retains e-mail sent to you by other users) and SMTP Server (used to send e-mail from you to other users) are both named "mailhost" which is used along with his provider's domain name to construct the POP and SMTP Server addresses: "mailhost.provider.net". If you do not know or are not sure of the values for some of these parameters, check your E-Mail program's (e.g., Eudora) setup screen, check your Web browser's (e.g., Netscape) setup screen, consult your Internet service provider or ask your network's system administrator if you intend to use WebPhone on a TCP/IP based network connected to the Internet. If you can only find your SMTP Server address, you can probably safely assume your POP Server address is identical. If you intend to operate your WebPhone on a LAN or WAN that is not connected to the Internet, your network probably does not have a SMTP or POP Server. If this is indeed the case, you should leave everything but your E-mail address field blank (see section 6. "Operating your WebPhone on a Network"). Note: WebPhone only uploads your User Information and E-mail Address to its Connection Server for connection and Information Assistance purposes only. It does NOT upload your E-mail Login and Password. Changing your E-Mail Address In the event you change your e-mail address (e.g., you change your Internet service provider), you will need to change your E-Mail address in the Network Parameters section of the WebPhone Configure window. A message will be displayed when your e-mail address change has been confirmed. 4. Finding someone to talk to If you must try WebPhone (webphone.exe) before perusing the WebPhone How to guide (wphowto.wri), you will want to talk to somebody. WebPhone comes with an integrated Information facility for accessing NetSpeak's Information Assistance (e.g., like calling 411 and asking the operator for someone's phone number). To access NetSpeak Information Assistance to find someone to talk to, perform the following with your WebPhone: 1. Press the [INF] button to open the Information dialog. 2. Check Only Parties Online (this is checked as default) 3. Enter your search criteria (more about search criteria below) 4. Press the Search button to begin your search. 5. Double click on the desired party returned from your inquiry to call them. 6. (Optional) Right click on a returned party to obtained more details 7. (Optional) Drag one or more of the returned parties to the Personal Directory window to save them. Make the search criteria as specific as possible to speed up the search time. You may also give WebPhone (wpsetup.exe) to a friend or colleague so you can communicate with them straight away. 5. Information search criteria The Information dialog allows you to enter the following search criteria: First Name Last Name Organization City State/Province Country Some details you should know: • Search criteria may consist of complete or partial data as well as the * and ? wildcard characters. * is any number of any character and ? is any single character. • The maximum number of parties returnable from an inquiry is 100. • If you cannot find a specific party then you can assume they do not have a WebPhone. Examples To search for anyone in the United States: Select UNITED STATES in the Country field then press the Search button to begin your search. To search for anyone with a last name beginning with "Ga" at NetSpeak: Enter Ga or Ga* in the LastName field and NetSpeak in the Organization field then press the Search button to begin your search. 6. New Features In addition to the numerous features found in WebPhone 1.05, WebPhone 2.01 has the following new features: З off-line voice mail З call conferencing З call transfer З party selective text chat NoteBoard З party specific call blocking З party specific ring through DND З enhanced user interface З "on hold" MIDI music З ringer volume control З WebPhone password for security З auto-selected TrueSpeech and GSM audio codecs З Web browser helper application З How to Guide The new features are described below: Off-line voice mail When you call someone who is off-line, your WebPhone will prompt you to leave voice mail. If you leave voice mail, it will be e-mailed via your SMTP Server to the party's POP Server for later delivery. When the party's WebPhone comes back on-line, the party may retrieve any off-line voice mail that may be waiting. Since WebPhone retrieves your off-line voice mail as e-mail from your POP Server, always start your WebPhone before your E-mail program (e.g., Eudora, Pegasus, etc.). If you should start your E-mail program before starting your WebPhone, your E-mail program may intercept your off-line voice mail and treat it as if it were a MIME attached document. If your E-mail program does intercept your off-line voice mail, simply save the mime encoded attachment to the WebPhone\vmail\tmp directory and press the MSG button. You can recognize WebPhone off-line voice mail from the Subject and Text of the e-mail message. See: How to Get off-line voice mail in the How to Guide (wphowto.wri) Call conferencing You may talk to two or more parties together on one Line. Conference calls are half duplex conversations and the conference initiator functions as the conference server and as such is responsible for the reflection of all audio streams to all the conference participants. The maximum number of parties that may conference together is dependent upon the conference server's connection speed to the Internet (or Intranet speed if used on a LAN or WAN). If the conference server has a 28.8Kb modem then 3 parties may reside on a conference call. If, on the other hand, the conference server has a ISDN modem (64Kbps), then 5 parties may reside on a conference call. Therefore, if one of your friends has a WebPhone on a T1 or faster connection to the Internet, make sure that person initiates all your large conference calls. Any of the conference participants may add other participants and any participant (except the participant whose WebPhone is hosting the conference server) may exit the conference. If a Conference Server is specified, then the party whose WebPhone is hosting the conference need not participate. See: How to Conference calls in the How to Guide (wphowto.wri). Call transfer You may transfer a call to another party resident in your Personal Directory. See: How to Transfer calls in the How to Guide (wphowto.wri). Party-specific call blocking In order to prevent unwanted parties from calling, you may direct WebPhone to either reject calls from specific parties or route calls from specific parties to the answering machine. You may also direct WebPhone to reject all calls from any party not resident in your Personal Directory. See: How to Block calls from a party in the How to Guide (wphowto.wri). Party-specific ring-through DND You may inform WebPhone to allow certain parties to ring through when Do Not Disturb is enabled. See: How to Update a party's information in your personal Directory in the How to Guide (wphowto.wri). Enhanced user interface The WebPhone user interface has been enhanced for ease of use: The Voice Activation Level (VOX) slider is now located in the flip door and is activated whenever the slider has focus (i.e. you click on it and nothing else after that). The [INF] button has been added to the WebPhone to facilitate access to the Information window for obtaining NetSpeak Directory Assistance. Audio transmit and receive indicators are located in the WebPhone display. These indicators also inform you of the audio codec (GSM or TSP) that is being used on the outbound audio stream (transmitted audio) and the inbound audio stream (received audio). The red indicator is the transmitted audio stream and the green indicator is the received audio stream. Audio recording and playback controls have been removed from the flip door, Voice Mail Messages window and Outgoing Messages window and placed in the corresponding pop up dialogs: Voice Mail Composer, Voice Mail Player and Outgoing Message Composer. When you are prompted to leave voice mail, the Voice Mail Composer dialog will appear. When you double click on a voice mail message in the Voice Mail Messages window, the Voice Mail Player dialog will appear. When you double click or right click on an outgoing message in the Outgoing Messages window, the Outgoing Message Composer dialog will appear. On hold MIDI music Whenever a party places you on hold, you may listen to on hold music. The on hold music is specified by you in the Configure window in the Sound Effects section. Set the volume slider in the Configure window in the Sound Effects section to the desired volume level, or all the way to the left to disable the on hold music. You may substitute any MIDI based audio file for the default on hold music (hldmusic.mid). You may also obtain different on hold music clips from NetSpeak's Web site at http://www.netspeak.com on the Get The WebPhone page. WebPhone password for security Your WebPhone password protects your e-mail address form being used by another WebPhone user. Be sure to enter a password for your WebPhone that you will remember. You may change your WebPhone password at any time. Auto-selected TrueSpeech and GSM audio codecs If you are operating WebPhone on a PentiumЎ/80586-60MHz or faster PC, WebPhone will encode your speech with the TrueSpeech codec, otherwise, it will use the GSM codec. WebPhone is capable of transmitting audio encoded with one codec and receiving audio encoded with another. Web browser helper application The WebPhone Web browser helper application (wphelper.exe) works in conjunction with your Web browser (e.g., Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer...) to launch and/or place calls on your WebPhone which are initiated by clicking on a HTML WebPhone Call Tag present on home pages you visit on the Internet. Configuring the WebPhone Helper Application in Netscape Navigator(tm) From the Navigator menu bar, select "Options", "General Preferences..." and select the "Helpers" page under preferences. Then select the "Create New Type" button and enter "application" in the MIME type field and "wpc" in the subtype field. Then select the "Launch the Application" option, enter "c:\WebPhone\wphelper.exe" as the application name, and select "OK". Configuring the WebPhone Helper Application in MS Internet Explorer(tm) From the Windows Explorer (not the Internet Explorer) select "View", "Options..." an select the "File Types" page under options. Then select "New Type" and enter "wpc" as the associated extension, "OPEN" as the action, and c:\WebPhone\wphelper.exe as the application used to perform the action. For more information, refer to the WebPhone Web browser helper application release notes (wphelper.txt). How to Guide The How to Guide (wphowto.wri) explains how to operate the major functions of your WebPhone. It may be accessed by pressing the ? button on the WebPhone or any of its windows or dialogs. The How to Guide will be integrated into the final release of WebPhone 2.01's help system. 7. Limitations of WebPhone Version 2.01 WebPhone 2.01 has the following limitations. To remove these limitations simply activate your WebPhone. See 8 for information on activating your WebPhone. З Only one line may be used with a 3 minute talk time З A maximum of 3 Phone Directory entries allowed З 3 received Voice-Mail messages can be retained З 2 custom OGM may be defined З Cannot send offline voice mail, but can receive offline voice mail З Cannot start a conference, but can participate in one 8. Purchasing WebPhone Version 2.01 To purchase WebPhone 2.01, use your Web browser and go to NetSpeak's Home Page at http://www.netspeak.com or call us on your WebPhone at sales@netspeak.com and provide your American Express, Visa or MasterCard information. NetSpeak will charge $49.95 plus applicable sales tax to your credit card, e-mail you a receipt and automatically activate your WebPhone within 24 hours. If you are not connected to the Internet (i.e., using WebPhone only on a LAN or WAN), call us at +1 561 998-8700 or send a check or money order for $49.95 plus applicable sales tax to NetSpeak Corporation, 902 Clint Moore Road, Suite 104, Boca Raton, Florida 33487-2846. 9. Hardware and Software Requirements You will need the following for WebPhone to operate properly: З an 80486-33 MHz or faster computer (75 Mhz Pentium required for TrueSpeech) З Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups 3.x, Win 95, Win NT or OS/2 Warp with Windows З at least 4 MB RAM З a 14.4 Kb or faster network communication link (14.4Kb must enable error correction) З a WinSock 1.1 or higher compliant sockets library З a Windows compatible sound card that supports 8 kHz or 11 kHz sampling З a VGA display card supporting 256 or more colors З 5 MB or more of free hard disk space 10. NetSpeak Corporation We at NetSpeak Corporation wish to thank you for using WebPhone, the professional real time, full duplex, network based voice communication system for Microsoft WindowsЎ. WebPhone is not just a state of the art Windows application that is easy and fun to use; it is a serious communications tool that will save you or your company significant amounts of money on long distance telephone calls. If you have should any problems or suggestions that make WebPhone better, please let us know. When reporting problems please use the bug report form (bugrpt.txt). The bug report form asks you for a complete description of the bug and the events that transpired which lead to its occurrence. We will make every effort to quickly fix the bug so it will not appear in the next release of WebPhone. 902 Clint Moore Road Suite 104 Boca Raton, Florida 33487-2846 Telephone Numbers Tel. 561-997-4001 Corporate Offices Tel. 561-998-8700 Sales Department Tel. 561-998-8710 Technical Support Fax. 561-997-2401 WebSite http://www.netspeak.com E-mail addresses info@netspeak.com General info about WebPhone and NetSpeak Corporation bugs@netspeak.com WebPhone bug report form submission WebPhone Numbers sales@netspeak.com call this number on your WebPhone to activate your WebPhone support@netspeak.com call this number on your WebPhone for technical support 11. Installing WebPhone 2.01 To install WebPhone, run wpsetup.exe from Windows and follow the instructions. The installation program will prompt you to specify a directory into which it will create the WebPhone directory structure (described below); then create a WebPhone group in the Program Manager (Win 3.1, WfW 3.x and WinNT), or under Start->Programs (Windows 95). The WebPhone group contains launch points for your WebPhone (WebPhone.exe), the WebPhone User Manual (wpman.exe) and these release notes (wpnotes.wri). You should retain the wpsetup.exe file to give to your friends and colleagues. If you already have any previous WebPhone version installed, install WebPhone 2.01 in another directory. 12. WebPhone Directory Structure This is the WebPhone file structure created during the installation process: фR0[эќю1(O*шшPhotoStylerImage 0 0 87 125`+W}ј*ј*X``џџџџџџџџџџџ€€€РРРџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      4                                                                                                                           ^                                                                                                                                               y                                                                                                               “                                                                   Н                                                                               и                                                                            L                                          DIB§ѓџџ€/(W}ј*ФФџџџџџџџџџџџ€€€РРРџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџПџџџџџџџџџПџџџџџџџџџПџџџџџџџџџПџџџџџџџџџПџџџџџџџџџПќџџџџџџПјнџџџџџПњЊžнџџџџџПљU^нџџџџџПњЊžнџџџџџ€љU^нџџџџџПњЊžЭџџџџџПљU^гџџџџџПј?џџџџџџПќЇўџџџџџџПўџџџџџџџПџџџџџџџџџПџџџџџџџџџПџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ№џџџџџџџр}нмЖџџџџъЊ}нл6џџџџхUzнлЖџџџџъЊzнм6џџўхUzнпЖџџўџъЊwLлЖџџўџхUwS Setup screen: MTU: 552 TCP RWIN: 2048 TCP MSS: 512 WebPhone uses three officially registered user port numbers: 21845, 21846 and 21847. In the remote event WebPhone informs you that one of its ports is in use by another WinSock application, you should identify the offending application and refrain from using it at the same time as WebPhone or start WebPhone before you start the other application. Please contact us at support@netspeak.com and give us the name and manufacturer of any such applications. WebPhone uses at most 7 sockets at any given time so you should not encounter any conflict with other WinSock applications with respect to the number of available sockets. In the extremely unlikely event WebPhone informs you it is out of sockets, identify the offending socket sucking application and refrain from running it at the same time as WebPhone or obtain a better winsock.dll that allows more sockets. 18. VGA Displays and your WebPhone Your WebPhone and the WebPhone User Manual require the use of a VGA display card set in a 256 palletized color mode or better. If you can display more than 256 colors with your VGA card, do it, but not at the expense of resolution. The higher the resolution (i.e., 1024x768 is higher than 800x600), the more you will enjoy using your WebPhone. If you are using a resolution of 256 colors, you may experience palette swapping (a transient change in colors) when you switch focus between WebPhone and the WebPhone User Manual or when you switch focus between WebPhone (or the WebPhone User Manual) and another Windows application that uses a large number of colors (such a Photoshop, Paintbrush, etc.). The faster your computer, the less noticeable this effect will be if it occurs. Note that the animation of the cursor in the WebPhone User Manual during Show Me sequences is not visible when used with the ATI Graphics Pro Turbo sVGA PCI adapter (2MB and 4MB versions) in the 256 color mode regardless of resolution. This phenomenon may simply be a result of an incompatibility with the chip sets used on the motherboards of our "build them yourself because we are cheap" computer systems and may not affect users of the said VGA card on their computers. This phenomenon may occur with other high powered VGA cards. If it does, please let us know via e-mail at bugs@netspeak.com. If you have an Alliance ProMotion display adapter in your computer system (like in the NEC Ready 9532), the background color of the data entry fields on your WebPhone will periodically appear in random colors. It appears that the Null Brush (programmer speak) in Windows 95 is not handled properly by the Windows 95 driver for this video adapter. Contact NEC at 508-635-4706 for an updated Windows 95 video driver. 19. Sound Cards and your WebPhone WebPhone will work with any Windows compatible sound card that supports an 8 kHz or 11 kHz sampling frequency. Important Information here: Make sure your Voice Activation Level (located in the WebPhone flip door), is set to recognize silence. Otherwise, the parties you call using half duplex sound cards will never get an opportunity to talk (they will always see LISTEN in their display and you will always see TALK in your display). If this happens, stop talking into the microphone and move the Voice Activation Level (VOX) slider to the right until the VOX meter displays Silence and you see the red bar. Now verify the VOX enunciator displays Speaking and the red bar disappears (covered by the green bar) only when you talk into the microphone. Most Windows compatible sound cards enable WebPhone to allow you to control their microphone and speaker volume via the MIC and SPK controls on the flip door. However, some do not and if you have such a sound card, you may be able to control the microphone and speaker volume from a mixer application that may have come bundled with your sound card. If you do not have such a mixer application (as is the case with most inexpensive 8 bit sound cards), you can probably control the speaker volume with a dial on the back of the sound card. If no dial exists, you may be able to control the speaker volume only by adjusting the volume controls on your speakers and you probably have no control over the microphone volume. If this is the case, it is probably time to get a new sound card. If you are running WebPhone on Windows 95 or Win NT, you may not be able to control your microphone volume with the MIC control on the flip door (this is dependent upon the sound card you have installed). If you cannot adjust your microphone with the MIC control on the flip door, use the Configure Sound Card Devices screen to select the correct microphone volume device. You will obtain superior audio performance if you enable your sound card's automatic gain control (AGC) via the mixer application bundled with your sound card. If you have an 8 bit sound card you may not have AGC. If you do not have AGC but still have control over the input (recording) and output (speakers) gains, increasing the gains to 2x or 4x may improve the audio performance. WebPhone version 2.01 enables you to select the sound devices to use for your microphone and speakers. Therefore, if you have more than one sound device driver installed and your microphone and/or speakers are not operational, use the Configure Sound Card Devices screen to select the correct sound devices. 20. Modems and your WebPhone If you have a modem connection (dialup) to your Internet service provider, make sure your modem has error correction and data compression enabled (this is the default for almost every modem we know of). If your 14.4 kb modem does not support data compression (you have an ancient modem), you and the parties you talk to will not obtain the audio performance that is possible using data compression. To verify your modem has error correction and data compression is enabled, consult your modem's documentation. Bandwidth and your Answering Machine If you have a 14.4Kb modem and have your answering machine enabled, when you are talking to a party on a Line and one or more parties call and engage your answering machine (you fail to answer the calls in time), your answering machine will play an OGM to each of the parties in the background. This will degrade the audio performance of your conversation. It is recommended that you disable your answering machine while talking on your WebPhone. If you have a 28.8Kb modem this situation is not significant until you have 2 or more simultaneous calls being serviced by your answering machine while you are talking on your WebPhone. 21. WebPhone Databases WebPhone maintains 4 databases: The WebPhone Directory database is located in the file: webphone\webphone.dir The database of custom OGMs is located in the file: webphone\ogm\ogm.dir The database of received V-Mail is located in the file: webphone\vmail\vmail.dir The database of cached WebBoards is located in the file: webphone\webboard\wblist.dir We recommend backing up these database files and the WebPhone Configuration file (webphone\webphone.cfg) periodically in case it becomes necessary to reinstall the WebPhone. The configuration file contains all of WebPhone's operational parameters. In the event this file becomes corrupted or destroyed, WebPhone will inform you of this fact by asking you if you want to re-create a new configuration database. If you opt to re-create a new one, you will have to re-enter all your User Information again in the Configure window. If you opt not to have WebPhone create a new one, restore the saved file and start WebPhone again. If WebPhone still informs you the configuration is corrupted, you must opt to let WebPhone re-create it. 22. How your WebPhone works As you speak into the sound card's microphone, WebPhone samples the incoming audio signal at 8kHz or 11kHz at 8 bit or 16 bit samples per second (e.g., 8 kHz - 8 bits/sample on 8 bit sound cards and 16 bits/sample on 16 bit sound cards), compresses the raw audio signal, encrypts the compressed audio, then transmits it in packets via TCP/IP over your communication link to another WebPhone which receives the packets of compressed audio, pieces them together, decrypts the compressed audio, decompresses the audio, then sends it to the sound card's speaker on that WebPhone's computer for the other party to hear. WebPhone is able to provide you with better than telephone quality audio due to the fact WebPhone samples the audio signal at a greater frequency and bit depth (more audio information per unit time) than most conventional telephone systems. The degree of signal loss is so small, the decompressed audio signal still contains more information than the conventional telephone audio signal. WebPhone enables you to communicate to other WebPhone users in real time due to the fact that WebPhone compresses the audio signal faster than it can transmit the compressed audio. The size of 1 second worth of audio, once compressed, can be transmitted in less than 1 second on a 14.4 Kb modem or faster communications link. When you use WebPhone on the Internet, you may experience transmission delays during periods of heavy activity. This is the nature of the Internet. In addition, the farther away the party is geographically, the longer it takes to transmit data. However, since you cannot see the party's lips moving (at least not until we introduce the video WebPhone version), you will probably not notice any lag time once the conversation is in progress. 23. GSM and TrueSpeechд audio codecs GSM and TrueSpeech are standardized audio compression and decompression algorithms that WebPhone employs to provide you with real time audio communications when used over a 14.4Kb or faster communications link. Data compression must be enabled when using GSM and a 14.4Kb modem connection for real time performance. GSM stands for Global System for Mobile communications and is the European standard digital cellular communications system. GSM provides close to a 5:1 compression of raw audio with an acceptable loss of audio quality on decompression. The GSM codec was developed by Jutta Degener (jutta@cs.tuberlin.de) and Carsten Bormann (cabo@informatik.uni-bremen.de) of the Communications and Operating Systems Research Group, Technische Universitфt Berlin: Phone: +49.30.31424315, Fax: +49.30.31425156. WebPhone employs a number of sophisticated enhancements to GSM in order to improve its performance over the Internet: codec optimized for Intel architecture, artificially imposed ramping and backlogging, intelligent half duplex switching sensitivity, etc. TrueSpeech, a product of DSP Group, Inc., is WebPhone's codec of choice when WebPhone is used on a Pentium/80586-60MHz or faster PC. The TrueSpeech codec compresses 8kHz, 16bit audio 15:1 for a transmission rate of 8.5K bits per second (NetSpeak's enhanced GSM transmission rate is about 12K bits per second). You will transmit using TrueSpeech if you have a pentium class computer. This will provide the listner with enhanced audio quality. 24. Half Duplex vs. Full Duplex Half duplex mode is like talking on a conventional speaker phone or walkie-talkie: you talk and the other party listens, then the other party talks and you listen. Actually, it is a great way to enforce proper conversation etiquette, yet it is not the usual way we communicate. Full duplex is the natural way to converse: the talking parties can both talk and listen at the same time, and are free to interrupt each other at any time. If you do not have a sound card that can input audio from the microphone and output audio to the speakers at the same time, WebPhone will operate in half duplex mode. The obvious solution to this problem would be to rush out and buy a full duplex sound card at your local computer store. An alternative solution to obtaining full duplex communications is to put another conventional half duplex sound card in your computer. This is not a task for those of you who are uninitiated in the ways of IRQs, DMAs and I/O base address settings (if you did not understand this last sentence, this means you). We do not recommend this approach. If you do wish to pursue this approach, you will need to attach your microphone to one sound card and your speakers to the other. To determine which sound cards WebPhone is using for your microphone and speakers, open the flip door and set your Voice Activation Level. If you do not observe voice activity while speaking into the microphone, swap your microphone and speakers between the two sound cards or swap the sound devices in the Configure window in Configure Sound Card Devices section. If you have a Creative Labs' SoundBlaster 16 or AWE32 sound card, direct your Web browser to http://www.creaf.com and download the full duplex driver. This will enable your SoundBlaster card for full duplex operation. 25. Troubleshooting Received audio is delayed and choppy This may happen if you have a bad connection to the Internet and/or you are talking during a heavy traffic period on the Internet (slow packet transmission because of diminished available bandwidth). This is not a problem with WebPhone but a natural phenomena associated with the Internet. If this is the case, try reconnecting to the Internet or call at another time, or see "Advanced audio controls" below. This may also happen if you are talking to a party who is using a 80486 based PC and a 14.4Kb modem that does not have error correction and data compression enabled. Instruct them to enable error correction and data compression to resolve this problem. If their modem does not support data compression, it is time for them to acquire a new modem (get a 28.8Kb modem this time). You cannot hear the remote party If WebPhone always displays TALK and never displays IN USE or LISTEN, then you must raise your Voice Activation Level (the VOX slider in the flip door) so WebPhone can detect silence and allow the remote party to talk (this is would not be the case if both you and the remote party have full duplex sound cards). If this is not the case and WebPhone displays LISTEN when you would expect to hear something from the remote party, check your Speaker volume on the flip door and in your sound card's mixer application (if it came with one). If you are running Windows 95, use the Volume Control dialog. If you still cannot hear the remote party and WebPhone does not periodically display LISTEN, the remote party's Voice Activation Level or MIC volume is not set correctly. If this is indeed the case, there is not a lot you can do about it at this time except try to reach to party via e-mail or conventional telephone and tell them to adjust their MIC and/or Voice Activation Level. See next section. The remote party cannot hear you Refer to the previous section. If WebPhone always displays LISTEN, the remote party's MIC volume is too high and/or their Voice Activation Level is set incorrectly so their WebPhone cannot detect silence and is constantly transmitting (not giving you an opportunity to talk). If this is not the case and WebPhone displays IN USE but never TALK when you speak into the microphone, increase your MIC volume and check your Voice Activation Level to verify WebPhone can detect your voice. If WebPhone does display TALK when you speak into the microphone and LISTEN when the remote party speaks and the remote party still cannot hear you, the remote party's speaker volume is probably not set correctly. If this is indeed the case, there is not a lot you can do about it at this time except try to reach to party via e-mail or conventional telephone and tell them to raise their speaker volume. You obtain the WebPhone Error: Cannot access your sound card driver! WebPhone 2.01 attempts to use the first sound card driver it finds installed in Windows. If you have more than one sound card driver installed, select the correct driver under Configure Sound Card Devices. Advanced audio controls WebPhone 2.01 provides two additional controls that can be used to improve audio quality under certain circumstances. They are known as "VOX Delay" and "Spkr Delay" and will appear in the flip door if you type "sliders=on" in the WebPhone number and press SND. The speaker delay setting specifies how long WebPhone will wait once audio is received before it begins playing. Increasing the speaker delay will result in a longer elapsed time period from when the person you are talking to says something until you hear it, but increases the likelihood that what they said will be played back continuously without breakup. If you are experiencing choppy sound quality, try increasing the speaker delay; if you are experiencing too long a delay in hearing the other party, try decreasing the speaker delay. The speaker delay ranges from a minimum of zero seconds (no delay) to a maximum of five seconds, with a default setting of 125 milliseconds. The VOX delay setting controls the length of time for which WebPhone must detect silence before it will stop sending audio data. This setting is useful under some conditions where the other party is hearing clicking or "cutting out" of what you are saying. If people you are talking to hear portions of words cut off or clicking between words, try increasing the VOX delay; if it seems to take too long before the other party can talk after you finish talking, try decreasing the VOX delay. The VOX delay ranges from a minimum of 50 milliseconds to a maximum of two seconds, with a default setting of 500 milliseconds. For additional information, see the NetSpeak home page, at http://www.netspeak.com. 26. Acknowledgments WebPhone is a trademark of the NetSpeak Corporation. Alliance ProMotion is a trademark of Alliance Semiconductor Corporation. ATI and ATI Graphics Pro are trademarks of ATI Technologies Inc. Chameleon is a trademark of NetManage, Inc. Creative and AWE32 are trademarks, and Sound Blaster is a registered trademark of Creative Technology Ltd. Eudora is a registered trademark of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, licensed to QUALCOMM Inc. NetCruiser is a trademark of NETCOM On-Line Communication Services, Inc. NetScape and NetScape Navigator are trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation. Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. Photoshop is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Inc. TrueSpeech is a registered trademark of the DSP Group, Inc. Trumpet is a trademark of Trumpet Software International Pty Ltd. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other products mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners and are hereby recognized as such.